WKU Football: Houston Christian Q&A With Underdog Dynasty
Underdog Dynasty’s Jared Miller drops by to talk about the Huskies ahead of Saturday’s showdown.
Week 1 of the 2023 season didn’t quite go as planned for the consensus Conference USA favorites, though the result is what mattered, a 41-24 win over the South Florida Bulls.
Up next for the Hilltoppers are Houston Christian - previously known as Houston Baptist - who are fresh off a major victory of their own, a 66-0 blowout win against NAIA-level Arkansas Baptist.
To help preview the Tops’ lone FCS opponent on the schedule, we reached out to Underdog Dynasty’s FCS guru Jared Miller to get the lowdown on the Huskies.
The Towel Rack: The Huskies are the artists formerly known as Houston Baptist University, where the Tops got three major pieces to its 2021 team in OC Zach Kittley, wide receiver Jerreth Sterns and, of course, quarterback Bailey Zappe. It looks like any growth HCU was building in the lead up to their departures has snapped back to earth. What are the expectations for HCU in the first year of the program without Vic Shealy at the helm?
Jared Miller: The Braxton Harris era is officially underway at HCU and I think fans can be excited. It’ll be really hard to slide down any further from where they’ve been in recent years. Ever since losing those big names you mention here, there hasn’t been a lot to write home about for the Huskies. Vic Shealy was around for a while but his teams never finished higher than sixth in the league standings. Since 2020, they’ve only scraped out three total wins and only one conference win. Harris has already nabbed a victory this season and even though it was over a non-DI team, it feels like they might actually be turning a corner.
Now, I don’t think fans should be expecting a trip to the FCS playoffs this season because the top of the Southland Conference is really tough. That being said, a four or five-win run is doable and that alone would be a huge step in the right direction. For a team that went 2-9 last fall, I do expect them to at least post a better record this time out. How much better? That’s tough to peg down right now. I think we’ll be able to learn a lot about the makeup of this group based on how they fare against an FBS team like WKU this weekend.
TTR: HCU opened the year with a 60-point output against, albeit, an NAIA opponent. What went right for the Huskies last week and do you think they'll be able to turn some of the close losses they had last year into wins?
JM: One thing that had to be a welcome sight for Huskies fans was the emergence of freshman transfer running back Champ Dozier. In his collegiate debut last weekend, Dozier ran for 97 yards and three touchdowns, earning himself Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Week accolades. Dozier is going to be a factor on this offense moving forward and it’ll be interesting to see what he can do against DI competition.
Another thing the Huskies did really well last week is they spread it around both through the air and on the ground. Yes, it’s certainly a lot easier to do that when you’re playing the likes of Arkansas Baptist as compared to Western Kentucky, but I think that’s something that can help this team in the long run if they’re able to do it consistently. 10 different players caught a pass for HCU last week and yet not one had over three grabs.
TTR: Justin Fomby returns under center for the Huskies and he, on paper, is the perfect postscript to a guy like Bailey Zappe. What is his game and how does he help elevate the Huskie offense?
Fomby actually didn’t get the start last week against Arkansas Baptist but he did see game time (he went 9-for-9 passing for 93 yards and a touchdown). He came in later in the game but it was ULM-transfer Colby Suits that got the nod.
As for Fomby, he’s a guy who’s been with this program since last year and he started 10 games in 2022, throwing for over 2,000 yards and 16 scores. He won’t run the ball a lot (the longest run he had last fall was 11 yards) but he’s solid when he has time in the pocket. It certainly helps to have receivers like Karl Reynolds, who averaged almost 15 yards per catch in 2022. Fomby likely won’t start in this one but I imagine he’ll see the field at some point.
TTR: We have to talk about the stadium - HCU's field backs up to a CVS. I just feel like we need to take a moment to appreciate this.
JM: This is one of the reasons I absolutely love the FCS brand of football. You have some teams that play in stadiums that are bigger than some G5 venues and you have others that play in glorified high school stadiums and then you just have some oddities like that. The 5,000-seat Husky Stadium certainly falls toward the latter end of that spectrum but HCU has made it a nice little home for themselves. Personally, I was a huge fan of those diamond-patterned end zones. (ed. note - as am I. Disheartened to hear they don’t exist anymore.) I was sad to see the school did away with them this year. Plus, who doesn’t like having the convenience of a CVS right next to a stadium? That’s great for everyone and it makes the tailgating scene much easier.
TTR: Is there any course of action the Huskies could take to shock WKU this weekend?
JM: I think the number one thing HCU would need to do to pull an upset this weekend is what any FCS team looking to stun an FBS foe needs to do; hang around, be pesky and, if you do that, let it all hang loose at the end. It’s the tried and true formula.
Now, I’d like to go on record saying I really don’t see the Huskies getting this one. If you’re HCU, though, turnovers and time of possession is going to be your greatest ally here. Keep the ball out of Austin Reed’s hands as long as you can and steal some possessions. If you find yourself with the lead at any point, that clock can’t move fast enough. So run the ball and slow the game down. It’s a tall order but I think that’s the game plan here.
TTR: Have a prediction for us?
JM: This is going to be a classic case of the better team simply wearing out its opponent. The Tops just have too much and they’re going to outlast HCU, even if the Huskies come out of the gates with a little pep in their step. I think Suits and Dozier are going to make some plays but in the end they won’t have enough in the tank to keep pace with WKU. Austin Reed and Dalvin Smith torched USF last week and it’s probably going to be even worse for the Huskies defense here. I love it when FCS squads beat their FBS counterparts, but it’s not happening here.
Give me WKU, 45-13.
Our thanks to Jared for taking time to answer our questions. Be sure you’re following him, as well as the rest of the Underdog Dynasty crew, on Twitter.