Thursday night's college football spotlight will be on Houston, where Tom Herman and the Cougars will make their last stand as one of the most exciting teams from the Group of Five in 2016. Louisville is coming to town for a game that figured to be Houston's best shot to impress the playoff committee and potentially crash the playoff.
The Cougars set that expectation with a dominant 33-23 win in their season-opener against Oklahoma. But after losing to Navy and SMU earlier this season, Houston fell from the playoff picture and lost its inroad to earning the Group of Five spot in the New Year's Six for a second year in a row. Those games and the missed opportunities from their results are added to the list of disappointing and unexpected developments for the Cougars, along with the Big 12's decision to halt expansion talk.
Herman is a coach brimming with enthusiasm and all too aware of the spotlight pointed at his program on Thursday night. Earlier this week, fans received pre-written notes signed by Herman to excuse them from work or school so they can fill the stadium before kickoff. On Thursday, he hopped on the radio to boast about his team's status and told fans the Louisville game will be the first time they're "full strength" since that Oklahoma win.
A note: Backup quarterback Kyle Postma has a broken forearm and a foot injury. If Greg Ward Jr. has to leave the game for any reason, his backup will be freshman D'Eriq King. That doesn't seem exactly like full strength but who am I to argue with Herman's read on his own team.
Here's something Houston definitely has going for it: a history of slowing down Lamar Jackson.
Jackson threw two interceptions and lost one fumble against Houston last year and was held to just 168 passing yards and 16 rushing yards on 12 attempts. It didn't look like the Lamar Jackson that is currently the runaway favorite for the 2016 Heisman Trophy.
"Somebody in that building, whether it's coach Petrino or [a position coach], they've changed him," defensive coordinator Todd Orlando told ESPN this week. "He can see the field, he can see coverages now, he makes reads, he's very poised, he knows when to extend plays and when to throw the ball away.
"He's a completely different player. He has improved tenfold, in my opinion."
A lot has changed for Jackson since that September 2015 meeting, but a lot has changed for the Cougars as well. When Louisville faced Houston last season, it didn't have to worry about star freshman defensive tackle Ed Oliver.
Oliver, a five-star recruit and the gem of Herman's 2016 recruiting class, leads all defensive tackles and ranks sixth nationally regardless of position with 16.5 tackles for loss. He's a disruptive force on the inside of the Cougars' 3-4 front, shedding blockers and getting his hands up in passing lanes -- Oliver leads all defensive lineman in the country in pass breakups (six).
While many fans will tune in looking for Heisman moments from Louisville's No. 8, Herman plans to deliver the same kind of energetic, giant-slaying performance the Cougars had against Oklahoma. Oliver will be chasing Jackson around, Ward will be making his final stand and Herman hopes it all comes together for another victory against a Power Five foe.