http://www.foxsports.com/college-fo...er-mayfield-houston-cougars-tom-herman-091315
RANDOM STUFF
--There are no sure things when it comes to drafting QBs or assistants becoming head coaches. If you'd asked me which assistant was the safest pick to win big as a first-time head coach, I'd have said Tom Herman. Houston was my pick to be the top Group of Five team in the preseason, and while I think QB Greg Ward Jr. is a dynamic talent, the biggest reason for the hunch was because of Herman. His pedigree as a creative offensive mind had been proven at several stops before he arrived at Ohio State, but it's been the past few seasons where Herman not only helped turn QB catastrophe into wizardry -- and a national title -- but also got a Ph.D in program management under Urban Meyer.
That was evident in Herman's first big win as a head coach at Houston this weekend when the Cougars went to Louisville and beat Bobby Petrino's team. The Cougars went 11-of-22 on third downs and ran off 92 plays. Better still, UH again has an opportunistic defense, which forced four turnovers and kept the Cards from having a play of 30 yards or longer.
Here's what I think mattered even more: a team with a rookie head coach and new staff won on the road despite big struggles in the red zone and having an 18-play drive that yielded no points. That's some soul-crushing stuff and usually leads to frustration and defeat, especially on the road and especially as an underdog. Herman's team, though, never buckled.
"It sounds cliche or like coach-speak, but we've been training for this moment for nine months, training them how to respond to adversity," Herman told FOX Sports late Saturday night.
Louisville isn't a Top 25 team, but it is an established program that has finished in the Top 25 the past three seasons. "We did not pass the eye test against them," Herman said. "They were bigger and faster than us."
This win for Herman and UH isn't just a statement to the rest of college football and to recruits (who already have been buying in), but also to his own players.
"We've got a lot of buy-in from some key players, but there are some fringe guys that are kinda dabbling their toes in," he said. "This gives a lot of credence and testimony to, 'Oh shoot, maybe this guy does know what he's doing in pushing us so hard and demanding so much of us.'"
Herman got a close-up look at a master at handling a college football program. He says Meyer has talked about how you really need 40 to 50 guys who are "all-in" to be very successful. Herman estimated that before the Louisville trip, maybe his team had 25 to 30 guys he would deem as all-in. But he hopes now they'll have about 15 to 20 more because those other guys will be critical in a long college season in which players get injured and worn down.
In many ways, it's pivotal for football coaches to manage the psyche of a team as if it's a living, breathing thing. Herman said he agrees with that theory, echoing something he said he heard a coach say recently: "'I don't coach football. I coach people.' That's my biggest job, managing the psyche of our team on a day-to-day basis. We can't afford any days off or any periods of practice off. We've got to make sure our guys are in a peak mental place."
RANDOM STUFF
--There are no sure things when it comes to drafting QBs or assistants becoming head coaches. If you'd asked me which assistant was the safest pick to win big as a first-time head coach, I'd have said Tom Herman. Houston was my pick to be the top Group of Five team in the preseason, and while I think QB Greg Ward Jr. is a dynamic talent, the biggest reason for the hunch was because of Herman. His pedigree as a creative offensive mind had been proven at several stops before he arrived at Ohio State, but it's been the past few seasons where Herman not only helped turn QB catastrophe into wizardry -- and a national title -- but also got a Ph.D in program management under Urban Meyer.
That was evident in Herman's first big win as a head coach at Houston this weekend when the Cougars went to Louisville and beat Bobby Petrino's team. The Cougars went 11-of-22 on third downs and ran off 92 plays. Better still, UH again has an opportunistic defense, which forced four turnovers and kept the Cards from having a play of 30 yards or longer.
Here's what I think mattered even more: a team with a rookie head coach and new staff won on the road despite big struggles in the red zone and having an 18-play drive that yielded no points. That's some soul-crushing stuff and usually leads to frustration and defeat, especially on the road and especially as an underdog. Herman's team, though, never buckled.
"It sounds cliche or like coach-speak, but we've been training for this moment for nine months, training them how to respond to adversity," Herman told FOX Sports late Saturday night.
Louisville isn't a Top 25 team, but it is an established program that has finished in the Top 25 the past three seasons. "We did not pass the eye test against them," Herman said. "They were bigger and faster than us."
This win for Herman and UH isn't just a statement to the rest of college football and to recruits (who already have been buying in), but also to his own players.
"We've got a lot of buy-in from some key players, but there are some fringe guys that are kinda dabbling their toes in," he said. "This gives a lot of credence and testimony to, 'Oh shoot, maybe this guy does know what he's doing in pushing us so hard and demanding so much of us.'"
Herman got a close-up look at a master at handling a college football program. He says Meyer has talked about how you really need 40 to 50 guys who are "all-in" to be very successful. Herman estimated that before the Louisville trip, maybe his team had 25 to 30 guys he would deem as all-in. But he hopes now they'll have about 15 to 20 more because those other guys will be critical in a long college season in which players get injured and worn down.
In many ways, it's pivotal for football coaches to manage the psyche of a team as if it's a living, breathing thing. Herman said he agrees with that theory, echoing something he said he heard a coach say recently: "'I don't coach football. I coach people.' That's my biggest job, managing the psyche of our team on a day-to-day basis. We can't afford any days off or any periods of practice off. We've got to make sure our guys are in a peak mental place."
