Falcon Points
With bizarre D'Eriq King announcement, UH is playing the long game. Will it work?
Sep 25, 2019, 6:55 am
Photo via Houston Cougar Football/Facebook
When the news broke on Monday, it made little sense. Sensational senior quarterback D'Eriq King and receiver Keith Corbin announced they were redshirting thanks to a new rule that allows players to do so after four games. It was confusing, in that some reports had King planning to transfer.
As of now, he says he is staying. But should he decide to transfer, he will be a hot property. On the surface, punting on the season seems bizarre. But if it really plays out this way and he is back at UH next season, the move makes a lot of sense.
Rough start
King is under his third coach in four years. When Dana Holgorsen came in, it seemed to be a godsend for the program, a successful Power Five coach with a knack for offense. But a tough early schedule that included games against Oklahoma and Washington State led to a 1-3 start. The killer was a loss at Tulane, a game in which UH blew a 21-point lead. Even with King and Corbin, the Cougars have little shot at anything more than a bottom feeder bowl game.
Does it make sense?
Make no mistake, the Cougars are tanking. It's not something we have seen in college football. But if King does return, it makes sense. Holgorsen has several high profile transfers sitting out this season, and the roster will be in much better shape in 2020. King can work on his craft for another year and come back ready to make a run at a conference title; maybe more. Or he can graduate and go to a bigger school. His accuracy was not the same this season; time off to work on it could help.
Bare cupboard
The Cougars collapse began last season, and culminated in an ugly bowl loss to Army, one that cost Major Applewhite his job. Other than King and a few quality players, Applewhite left a fairly bare cupboard, especially on the defensive side of the ball. The decline actually started in Tom Heman's final year, and got worse under Applewhite.
The Cougars are better than they were at the end of last season, but the record does not reflect it. Truthfully, they aren't good enough to compete for a conference title. So why not get some young players experience and come back strong next season?
Serious impact this year
With King, the Cougars might have been favored in three or four games left in the season. They would need five wins to get bowl eligible. As it stands? They will likely only be favored in one, against UConn.
They opened as 1 1/2 point favorites at North Texas; now they are seven point underdogs. Clayton Tune has some experience at quarterback, filling in when King got hurt last year. He won't be a disaster. But the Cougars will not be nearly as good.
People who bought season tickets on the Holgorsen hope can't be happy. This is not what they were sold on. It also means the Cougars better have some success in 2020, or Holgorsen's seat will get hot fast. He is likely headed for a losing season at a place that brags about firing coaches for eight win seasons.
Now that will have to happen in 2020, when they have games at Washington State and at BYU. But who knows how it will all play out? The bizarre move does not guarantee them anything. But despite how it looks on the surface, it does make some sense.
Welcome to tanking in college football. To quote Dodgeball, "That's a bold strategy, Cotton. Let's see if it pays off."
Victor Caratini hit the winning RBI single in the top of the 12th inning, as the Houston Astros beat the Seattle Mariners 2-1 on Tuesday night.
Caratini comes through! #BuiltForThis pic.twitter.com/TtKTeRmFWM
— Houston Astros (@astros) April 9, 2025
Caratini came into the game as a pinch hitter in the 10th and struck out, but against reliever Jesse Hahn (0-1), took a curveball the opposite way that plated Brendan Rodgers, who advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Chas McCormick.
The game was tied at one after eight until Caratini's single. The Astros had the bases loaded in the 11th, but a double play ended the rally.
It was a scoreless contest through six innings. Houston rookie Cam Smith hit an RBI triple down the third-base line in the seventh to give the Astros a 1-0 lead.
CAM THE MAN!
1-0 Astros. pic.twitter.com/8QpTPf7KGc
— Houston Astros (@astros) April 9, 2025
Starting pitcher Framber Valdez struck out eight in six innings and No. 9 hitter Jake Meyers had two hits. Ryan Gusto (1-0) pitching an inning of relief for the win and Steven Okert earned his first save.
Seattle’s Luke Raley tied the game in the bottom of the seventh with a run-scoring single. The Mariners finished with just five hits. Luis M. Castillo finished his five-inning outing with six strikeouts in over 100 pitches.
Despite going 3 for 15 with runners in scoring position, Houston has a shot to win the series on Wednesday.
Key Moment
Closer Josh Hader pitched the ninth and 10th innings and didn’t allow a hit to keep the game tied. The lefty used his sinker-slider combo on 21 of his 22 pitches.
Key Stat
Houston’s bullpen finished with 11 combined strikeouts and only allowed one hit.
Up Next
Houston will throw right-hander Hunter Brown (1-1, 3.00 ERA) in Wednesday’s series finale while Seattle will counter with Luis F. Castillo (0-0, 9.00).