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."
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How Astros enter exciting stretch with familiar names in unfamiliar spots
May 15, 2025, 5:52 pm
The Houston Astros took a step in the right direction this week, securing a hard-fought series win over the Kansas City Royals with a strong combination of pitching and timely hitting. While the offense still isn’t firing on all cylinders, recent signs suggest the bats may finally be waking up—albeit slower than hoped.
Over the past seven days, Houston ranks 6th in OPS, 7th in slugging, and 10th in runs scored across MLB—a noticeable jump from their underwhelming season-long ranks of 13th, 18th, and 19th in those categories, respectively. But perhaps the biggest concern remains their lack of home run power. The Astros are just 23rd in home runs over the past week and 24th on the season. That’s a major problem for a team that has historically relied on slugging to fuel its October pushes.
Only two Astros hitters currently boast an OPS over .800: Jeremy Peña and Isaac Paredes. Peña’s breakout season has been one of the few bright spots for Houston’s offensive staff, while Paredes continues to deliver consistent production that aligns with his career norms. But beyond those two, it’s been a struggle.
Christian Walker has emerged as the biggest red flag in the lineup. After a hitless series with 7 strikeouts against Kansas City’s tough rotation, Walker’s strikeout total climbed to fifth-most in the American League with 50. His offensive regression now spans over a quarter of the season, drawing troubling comparisons to José Abreu’s disastrous 2023 and 2024 campaigns.
And he’s not alone. José Altuve, a longtime engine for Houston’s offense, is in a prolonged slump of his own—slashing just .220/.268/.297 over his last 30 games. Combined with Walker’s woes, the middle of the order has become a black hole that may soon force a change.
With 10 of their next 13 games coming against division rivals, the Astros must decide quickly whether it’s time for a lineup shakeup. Dropping Walker in the order feels increasingly necessary. And unless Altuve finds his rhythm, manager Joe Espada may need to explore new options in the two-spot to spark the offense.
The potential return of Yordan Alvarez could help remedy the power problem. When healthy, Alvarez is one of baseball’s premier sluggers and could be the missing piece that lifts Houston’s home run totals and extra-base hit production.
But even with Alvarez’s return looming, broader questions about the team’s hitting development persist—especially when contrasted with the pitching staff’s continued excellence. Houston's pitching coaches have consistently gotten the most out of arms, while the hitting side has seen a pattern of stagnation.
A recent reminder of that contrast comes from an unexpected source: Alex Bregman. Now thriving with the Boston Red Sox, Bregman is putting up MVP-caliber numbers after working with Boston’s hitting coaches on timing and mechanical tweaks. He credits their staff with helping him get back to his 2019 form—raising eyebrows in Houston. It’s hard not to wonder why those same adjustments never materialized under the Astros' watch.
To be fair, Jeremy Peña’s breakout could be considered a win for the current hitting coaches, but even that comes with caveats. Meanwhile, Isaac Paredes’ production isn’t a surprise—he’s done this before. And for every Peña, there are several Walkers or Abreus who join the Astros and regress at the plate.
As the Astros look to gain more ground in the AL West race, their pitching remains a strength and their offense is showing signs of life. But if the bats can’t fully turn the corner—and if the team’s approach to hitting development doesn’t evolve—the gap between Houston and the elite teams in the league may continue to grow.
We have so much more to discuss. Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday!
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