clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

THE HOUSTON COUGARS HAVE CHANGED OUR FUTURE

TWO PATHS NOW APPEAR BEFORE US

By Ryan Nanni
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

There's no going back to the time before Houston lined up two dudes in Easter Bunny costumes and had them scrap. There is only the question of what this means for the world that lies in front of us. By my estimates, we are looking at two possible future timelines.

Future 1: Houston stumbles to a 7-5 record this season, taking the bloom off Tom Herman's rose. Rumors of internal strife within the program make some wonder if Herman really has what it takes to be a head coach at a school with higher stakes. He sticks around for a few more seasons before taking an offensive coordinator job with LSU. We look back at this bunny fight as the beginning of the end, a sad and desperate stunt that should have showed us that Herman didn't have the chops.

Future 2: Houston starts the season by destroying Oklahoma 42-17, then coasts to a dominant 13-0 record that includes an exciting November victory over the then-undefeated (and eventual ACC champions) Louisville Cardinals. Fans and media members argue over whether the Playoff Committee can or will give Houston a spot, an argument which feels absurd after Tom Herman leads his team to playoff wins over Alabama and Michigan before taking the Texas job.

In this future, the bunny circle drill becomes glorified as the moment when Houston took the leap, where Tom Herman convinced his team to be loose and have fun while also competing at an insanely high level. Coach after coach starts adopting this drill for their own team. Auburn has two Santas Claus fight each other with cricket bats. UNC pays a Washington impersonator and a Lincoln impersonator to kickbox during a team meeting. Paul Chryst and Bucky start a vicious archery war on Valentine's Day. Mike Leach starts a turkey at slot receiver for a Thanksgiving weekend game. (That's entirely unrelated, though the turkey does burn Oregon for 148 yards and two touchdowns.)

I have no idea which future will be ours. But I know which one I'm rooting for. Sorry, Oklahoma.