Three Things Houston Must Clean Up Against Southern

The Cougars gave up two turnovers, but they shockingly weren't able to produce takeaways of their own against Oregon State. Fritz pointed out in the postgame that the chances were there to make three interceptions, but none of those opportunities were taken advantage of.

If Houston's defense made those picks, the score could've looked a lot different. One turnover by the Cougars was an interception by senior quarterback Conner Weigman. However, that wasn't his fault as it got tipped in the air. Senior running back Makhi Hughes did fumble at the start of the second quarter, and that took some early momentum away.

Given Hughes' experience, it's obvious ball security will be paramount. It's reasonable to expect that Houston's defense will get back on track and force a couple of turnovers against Southern. It's a big emphasis for Fritz that the Cougars remain on the positive side of the turnover margin and not -2 like against Oregon State.

Penalties

Houston is generally a pretty disciplined team under Fritz. Penalties are highlighted as part of the "Coogs don't beat the Coogs" phrase that Fritz preaches during practice. Given that, the Cougars still had 10 penalties for 65 yards in Week 1, while Oregon State had just five penalties. There were multiple pre-snap flags as well.

Houston will need to cut down on the penalties in order to get back to that level of discipline.

Tackling

Fritz mentioned that tackling was also an issue, and it was presented in part of the team not practicing real tackling during fall camp.

Now that the rust might've worn off, Houston should be able to get back to clean form. It's an area that is underscored a lot as well. That would've also limited some of the big plays that Oregon State had through the air.