Up Next: Houston runs away from Rice late

Arizona visits Cougars in Week 2

All summer long, Arizona fans had to hear ad nauseam about how difficult it was going to be to guard Houston defensive tackle Ed Oliver. But it may be just as frustrating having to deal with Houston’s offense, which got off to a potent start to the season in a 45-27 win at Rice on Saturday.

The Cougars gained 577 yards against the Owls, their most since November 2016, with quarterback D’Eriq King doing the bulk of that work. The junior threw for 320 yards and three touchdowns on 17-of-24 passing and added 33 rushing yards with a 4-yard TD run.

Three of King’s four TDs came in a nine-minute span in the second half during which Houston went from down 10 (27-17) to up 11 (38-27). The Cougars scored the game’s final 28 points.

Considering how Arizona just struggled with a BYU offense that was downright awful a year ago, Houston’s offense is going to be a problem.

But just because the Cougars put up a lot of points and yards doesn’t mean we should forget about Oliver. That would be unwise, since the junior—and presumptive No. 1 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft—was incredibly disruptive for the Cougars on Saturday.

Week 1 stat line for Houston All-America DT Ed Oliver:
• 13 tackles (5 solo)
• 3 1/2 tackles for loss
• 2 quarterback pressures

— Joseph Duarte (@Joseph_Duarte) September 1, 2018

Oliver had 11 tackles against Arizona last year. For comparison’s sake, the Wildcats entire defensive line had just eight tackles against BYU.

As if this game wasn’t big enough already, what with Kevin Sumlin making his return to the school he coached from 2008-11, consider this: Arizona hasn’t started 0-2 since 1981.

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