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The Lowdown 2006 Schedule Coach: Art Briles (5th season, 16-20) 2005 record: 6-6 (Lost to Kansas in Fort Worth Bowl) C-USA finish: 4-4 (t-3rd West) 2005 I-A offensive rankings: Rushing: 39th (166.4 ypg) Passing: 22nd (272.3 ypg) 2005 I-A defensive rankings: Rushing: 87th (177.3 ypg) Passing: 60th (220.2 ypg) Date Opponent Sept. 2 at Rice Sept. 9 Tulane Sept. 16 Grambling State Sept. 23 Oklahoma State Sept. 30 at Miami Oct. 7 UL Lafayette Oct. 14 at Southern Miss Oct. 21 UTEP Oct. 28 UCF Nov. 4 Tulsa Nov. 11 at SMU Nov. 18 at Memphis Depth Chart: Offense 7 returning starters in red Ps. No. Player Yr. No. Player Yr. WR 1 Jeron Harvey Jr. 86 Biren Ealy Sr. WR 2 Donnie Avery Jr. 22 Anthony Alridge Jr. SL 17 Vincent Marshall Sr. 9 Perry McDaniel Jr. LT 74 SirVincent Rogers Jr. 13 Jason Wagner Jr. LG 77 Jeff Akeroyd Jr. 69 Jerrod Butler Fr. C 67 Sterling Doty Sr. 54 Jake Ebner So. RG 66 Byron Alfred Jr. 64 Michael Bloesch So. RT 73 Dustin Dickinson Jr. 79 Matt Hart Fr. TE 87 Mark Hafner So. 80 Rodney Hannah Sr. QB 4 Kevin Kolb Sr. 15 Blake Joseph Fr. FB 42 Chris Mitchell Fr. 26 Roy Otis Sr. RB 27 Jackie Battle Sr. 3 Roshawn Pope Sr. Depth Chart: Defense 9 returning starters in red Ps. No. Player Yr. No. Player Yr. DE 56 Cody Pree So. 90 L.C. Kirkpatrick Sr. NT 99 Marquay Love Sr. 90 L.C. Kirkpatrick Sr. DE 53 Phillip Hunt So. 98 Anthony Roulette Fr. OLB 1 Wade Koehl Sr. 47 Scott Lee Sr. WLB 34 Cody Lubojasky So. 4 Rodney Rideau So. MLB 41 Trent Allen Jr. 51 Shomari Williams Fr. OLB 3 Brendan Pahulu Jr. 7 Chris Pilot So. CB 10 Willie Gaston Sr. 8 Quinte Williams So. CB 28 Kenneth Fontenette So. 6 Kellan Yancy Jr. SS 20 Rocky Schwartz Jr. 9 Joseph Gonzales Jr. FS 18 Will Gulley Sr. 5 Ernest Miller So. Special Teams Ps. No. Player Yr. Ps. No. Player Yr. K 14 Ben Bell So. P 2 Justin Laird Sr. KR 17 Vincent Marshall Sr. PR 17 Vincent Marshall Sr.

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Well, it certainly was an interesting offseason for the Cougars, who underwent seismic coaching-staff changes following their terrible performance in the Fort Worth Bowl. The biggest change was the promotion of inside linebackers coach Alan Weddell to defensive coordinator, where he will replace Ron Harris. The Cougars also hired Larry N. Jackson from Oklahoma to revamp their woeful strength and conditioning program.

The changes are expected to translate into victories on the field. They had better. While last season's 6-6 finish was a big step forward from the injury-ravaged 3-8 record the year before, it was a tremendous disappointment since the Cougars were expected to challenge for the championship in the reorganized Conference USA. This season's expectations are the same, mostly because most everything between the lines will be remarkably similar.

The Cougars' signature fast-break offense returns almost everyone from a unit that rang up 28.1 points and 438.8 yards per game, so this year's squad should be able to put up some pretty impressive numbers. The defense should be better - or at least not worse - than last year's, which was adequate after it adjusted to the 3-4 scheme.

Briles was given a mulligan for his injury-ravaged 2004 campaign, so after last year's disappointing .500 finish, the honeymoon is over in Houston.

OFFENSE

The Cougars are loaded on offense but have to be more efficient in the red zone after converting on just over 75 percent of their opportunities inside the 20.

Kevin Kolb returns at quarterback, where he will add to his numbers as the NCAA active leader in total offense (9,752 yards), passing yards (9,155), total plays (1,494) and completions (672). Kolb, who took every snap last season, will have plenty of help rolling up numbers from senior wide receiver Vincent Marshall, who enters the season ranked first among active players in career receptions (192) and receiving yards (2,791).

The Cougars' pass-happy offense should be potent with big targets like senior Arizona transfer Biren Ealy (6'3", 195) and junior Jeron Harvey (6'5", 210). But they still have to find a deep-threat receiver. Junior burner Donnie Avery would appear to be the favorite for that role.

The Cougars have to replace both Anthony Evans, who rushed for 1,149 yards in 2003 and 788 yards in '04, and Ryan Gilbert, who had 1,037 rushing yards last season. But they think that Jackie Battle is just the man for the job. The 6'2" Battle dropped 20 pounds this offseason in anticipation of the increased workload this fall.

The offensive line returns all-conference tackle SirVincent Rogers. The unit trimmed its sacks-surrendered total from 44 in '04 to just 29 last season and should be better this year.

DEFENSE

With a new defensive coordinator, Alan Weddell, and a year of the 3-4 scheme under their belts, the Cougars should be better this season, even with the graduation of steady tackle Kade Lane.

Senior tackle Marquay Love (6'0", 320) anchors the line, and he'll be flanked by sophomores Cody Pree and Phillip Hunt. But Weddell is still hoping to find a taller, longer-limbed end who will provide the one facet that was glaringly missing during last season - a disruptive pass-rushing force.

The real strength of the defense will be the linebacking corps, which should be fast, versatile and physical. The starters will be senior Wade Koehl, juniors Brendan Pahulu and Trent Allen, and sophomore Cody Lubojasky, a rising star.

The defensive backfield will be bolstered by the return of senior safety Will Gulley, a rugged 6'3", 210-pounder who missed last season because of a knee injury.

SPECIALISTS

They all return, but is that a good thing? The Cougars were miserable in just about every aspect - punting (next-to-last in the nation in net punting), field goal kicking (13-of-22) and even kickoffs.

Yeah, it was messy. The Cougars have to decide on a field goal kicker, with Ben Bell and T.J. Lawrence being the prime candidates. The two split the duties last season, but neither seemed able to get into a rhythm.

About the only bright spot is Marshall, a dynamo who will be the primary return man after Ricky Wilson was dismissed because of a violation of team rules.

FINAL ANALYSIS

The pieces are all in place for the Cougars to challenge for the conference title. They have seven home games, and eight within the city limits, since the season-opener is at Rice. The only real overwhelming challenge is at Miami in the fifth game, Houston's first out-of-town trip.

The Cougars can't afford any of their usual pitfalls, like last season's crushing losses to injury-riddled Memphis and SMU. If they can take care of business in the games they should win, the Cougs should be in the hunt for the Conference USA West title all season.