Austin Armstrong, pivotal to Gators’ defensive success, steps into a new role as Houston’s defensive coordinator, 247Sports reports.
Austin Armstrong, the co-defensive coordinator for Florida football, has informed the Gators’ coaching staff that he has accepted the role of defensive coordinator at the University of Houston, according to Matt Zenitz of 247Sports.
Armstrong has been a major reason why Florida’s defense has found success this season.
During this past season, Armstrong helped the Florida defense notably enhance their tackling efficiency and pass rush. The Gators ranked in the upper half of the SEC for total defense, a significant step up from prior years.
In 2023, Armstrong joined the Gators’ coaching staff and over the last two seasons, he has been an integral part of the Gators’ defensive strategy, contributing to the development of a robust defensive unit.
Prior to his tenure at Florida, Armstrong spent two seasons as the defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach at Southern Miss. In 2021, Armstrong was the youngest defensive coordinator in the FBS at just 28 years of age.
During the 2017 and 2018 seasons, Armstrong served as an assistant defensive line coach under Billy Napier at Louisiana-Lafayette. In 2019, he served under Kirby Smart as a defensive quality control coach at Georgia.
Armstrong returned to Louisiana-Lafayette in 2020 and served as the inside linebackers coach.
The defensive coordinator led all of Florida’s assistant coaches salary-wise in 2024, earning $1.2 million per season which ranked 45th in the country. Financial details of his new deal have not been released yet.
With Armstrong’s departure, Florida will likely lean towards Ron Roberts (co-defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach) to take full control of the defense.
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The Crimson Tide and Cougars faced off Tuesday night in Las Vegas.
Tuesday night brought about what was arguably the toughest test yet for the 2024-25 Alabama Crimson Tide, as the nation’s No. 9 ranked program in the AP and Coaches Poll’s took to the court in Las Vegas against one of college basketball’s elite teams, the Houston Cougars.
The Cougars are ranked as the nation’s No. 6 team according to the AP Poll, as well as a spot below at No. 7 in the Coaches Poll.
This matchup between the Crimson Tide and Cougars certainly delivered as well, with Alabama eventually coming away with an impressive 85-80 win in overtime to advance to 5-1 overall on the season.
Let’s take a look at some of the top photos from Alabama vs. Houston in the Players Era Festival out in Las Vegas:
Alabama faced arguably their toughest test yet Tuesday night in the Houston Cougars.
The Alabama Crimson Tide made their return to action Tuesday night out in Las Vegas, Nevada for a highly-anticipated, Top 10 showdown with the No. 6 ranked Houston Cougars.
Two of the nation’s top teams, this matchup would certainly deliver as well, with Alabama eventually coming away with a big 85-80 victory in overtime in an all-around impressive showing against a truly elite opponent.
Let’s take a look at some instant reactions to Alabama’s 85-80 victory over Houston:
Alabama vs. Houston a back-and-forth contest
As expected with two teams the caliber of Alabama and Houston, this game was certainly close throughout, with both programs going back-and-forth in lead changes. Both the Crimson Tide and Cougars also went on multiple runs to build leads, with the other team also responding.
5 Alabama players in double-figures
A total of five Alabama players scored in double-figures Tuesday night against Houston, led by guard Mark Sears with a team-high 24 points. The other Alabama players in double-figures were Aden Holloway (14), Grant Nelson (13), Latrell Wightsell Jr. (12), and Mouhamed Dioubate (10).
Mouhamed Dioubate’s big game
Tuesday’s game against Houston was certainly one of the best in Mouhamed Dioubate’s Alabama career. In all, Dioubate finished with a double-double at 10 points, 16 rebounds, one assist, one steal, and three blocks.
Alabama Crimson Tide’s big night on the glass
A big reason behind Alabama’s success against Houston was their impressive night on the glass when rebounding. The Crimson Tide out-rebounded Houston a combined 48-39, which included a 20-16 advantage on the offensive glass.
Alabama Crimson Tide now 5-1 overall
With this result, Alabama now sits at 5-1 overall for the 2024-25 season. The Crimson Tide’s next game will come tomorrow night in Las Vegas against Rutgers.
Was this a preview of March?
Lastly, was this a preview of the caliber of matchup Alabama could have later this season in March? Yes, it’s entirely possible that Alabama and Houston do not play again this season, but this is exactly the caliber of opponent that the Crimson Tide could face deep in the NCAA Tournament.
Alabama will face arguably its’ toughest opponent yet Tuesday night.
After nearly a week off, the Alabama Crimson Tide are now set to officially return to action Tuesday night for a highly-anticipated matchup against the Houston Cougars.
Arguably the Crimson Tide’s toughest opponent so far this season, Houston comes into this matchup with Alabama ranked as a Top 10 team nationally, and are currently considered among the favorites in their conference.
The Cougars are also a team that Alabama is familiar with, as the two teams have met twice in recent years, with the Crimson Tide winning both games in a home-and-home series back in 2021 and 2022.
So, ahead of Tuesday night’s Top 10 matchup, let’s take a minute to preview the 2024-25 Houston Cougars before their last matchup with Alabama.
Houston Cougars Team Overview
Team Name: Houston Cougars
Conference: Big 12
Arena: Fertitta Center, Houston, Texas
Record: 3-1 overall
Ranking: No. 6 in AP Poll, No. 7 in Coaches Poll
The Cougars at 3-1 overall are the highest-ranked one-loss team in both the AP and Coaches Polls’, with their lone loss this season having come against Auburn on a neutral-court. Houston’s wins have come against Jackson State, Louisiana, and Hofstra.
Houston Cougars Coaching Staff
Head Coach: Kelvin Sampson
Assistant Coach: Kellen Sampson
Associate Head Coach: Quannas White
Assistant Coach: K.C. Beard
Houston is in season No. 11 of the Kelvin Sampson era, with the Cougars owning a combined 267-80 overall record during that span. The Cougars have also won 30+ games each of the last three seasons, and have made a total of four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
Houston Cougars 2024-25 Stats
PPG: 84.2 (No. 53 in NCAA)
PPG Allowed: 50.8 (No. 2 in NCAA)
FG%: 48.2
3P%: 48.8
FT%: 72.2
RPG: 39.3
APG: 14.8
SPG: 11
BPG: 4.8
When looking at the season stats for the Cougars, there are two numbers that stand out, the first of which is allowing the second-fewest points per game to opponents nationally at only 50.8. The Cougars are also the nation’s No. 1 team when it comes to three-point shooting, averaging a combined 48.8% as a team.
Houston Cougars Names to Know
J’Wan Roberts, Forward – Graduate Student
Emanuel Sharp, Guard – Redshirt Junior
L.J. Cryer, Guard – Graduate Student
Joseph Tugler, Forward – Sophomore
Terrance Arceneaux, Guard – Redshirt Sophomore
The Cougars are led by a trio of experienced players in Roberts, Sharp, and Cryer, each of which are averaging in double-figures so far this season. In addition to that trio, another name to watch for is Arceneaux, who is just short of that group at 9.5 PPG.
After the first week of the 2024-25 season, Duke sits behind only the Auburn Tigers and Houston Cougars in the site’s net rating. The Cougars began the season atop the KenPom rankings, but Auburn (who comes to Cameron Indoor Stadium in December) dethroned them with a head-to-head victory on Saturday.
Those three teams are also the only ones within the top five in both offensive and defensive efficiency ratings. According to KenPom’s advanced metrics, the Blue Devils have the fourth-best offense and fifth-best defense in the nation.
The Kansas Jayhawks, another upcoming Duke opponent, are No. 8 in the KenPom rankings despite sitting atop both the coaches poll and the AP Poll. The North Carolina Tar Heels, who lost to the Jayhawks, slid all the way down to No. 16.
The Kentucky Wildcats, whom the Blue Devils play on Tuesday, sit 30th in the KenPom rankings ahead of this week’s battle.
The Tigers’ plane turned around barely 45 minutes after takeoff
The Auburn basketball team’s flight to Houston for a showdown between the No. 11 Tigers and No. 4 Cougars barely made it the 55 miles to Montgomery, Alabama when it abruptly started heading back to campus on Friday night.
Reportedly, a scuffle had broken out among unnamed players in the cabin and head coach Bruce Pearl did not hesitate to turn this plane around.
The flight map is pretty wild. The audio between the air traffic controllers and the cockpit of Auburn’s plane is even more bizarre. You can hear the pilot struggle to describe exactly what happened as he tells the tower the flight deck is secure amid a “passenger disturbance.”
CBS Sports reports the incident involved freshman forward Jahki Howard and senior forward Ja’Heim Hudson.
You can’t make this stuff up. The pilot audio is both bizarre and hilarious on the now infamous team flight from Auburn to Houston. pic.twitter.com/qacIQ8KZPI
MORE: ATC audio includes pilot saying “flight deck is secure the threat level is contained. We just had—we’ll have police on the ground, we had 2 players that got into a physical altercation, clothes were ripped.” And appears to say one of the players was bloody https://t.co/orsMUytM5w
Both Howard and Hudson were reportedly barred from getting on Auburn’s second flight to Houston on Friday night and will not rejoin the team for Saturday evening’s game, according to CBS Sports. The two bench players each saw at least 15 minutes of action in Auburn’s season-opening victory against Vermont.
We’ll learn more about what exactly occurred when Pearl and Auburn meet with the media after facing the Cougars.
The #Jayhawks are playing their homecoming game at Arrowhead Stadium, and took an early lead over the Houston #Cougars with this touchdown.
The Kansas Jayhawks are playing their homecoming game at Arrowhead Stadium against the Houston Cougars, and they wasted no time finding the endzone in the first quarter.
With so much pressure on Kansas to turn their 1-5 around this season, the Jayhawks needed to make a statement early against the Cougars, and star quarterback Jalon Daniels was able to do just that.
After a short kickoff return by Kansas to open the game, Daniels easily marched the Jayhawks’ offense down the field, and eventually connected with tight end Jared Casey for the game’s opening score.
Take a look at the outstanding red zone connection between Daniels and Casey in this video, which was posted by Kansas Football’s official account on Twitter:
Kansas continued extending its lead at Arrowhead Stadium through the end of the first quarter and into the second, and it currently holds a convincing 21-0 advantage over Houston before halftime.
Check out this key information about the Kansas #Jayhawks’ homecoming football game against the Houston Cougars at Arrowhead Stadium.
When the Kansas City Chiefs head to California for a Super Bowl LVIII rematch against the San Francisco 49ers, the Kansas Jayhawks will take the defending champions’ place at Arrowhead Stadium to play their homecoming game against the Houston Cougars.
The Jayhawks have fallen well short of expectations to start their 2024 season, and are still reeling after a brutal 35-31 loss to Arizona State last week in Tempe.
Kansas will have the benefit of a bye week to assess the damage and make much-needed adjustments ahead of their matchup against the Cougars on October 19.
On Monday, Kansas Football’s official Twitter account announced the start time for the Jayhawks’ second game at Arrowhead:
Now halfway through the season, Kansas is desperately hoping to turn things around in search of their third-straight bowl game.
If speedy quarterback Jalon Daniels can avoid crucial turnover mistakes and running back Devin Neal can continue to perform at an elite level against Houston, the Jayhawks may be able to get out of Kansas City with a win.
There is plenty to digest after Week 5. Who made our list for the Good, Bad, & Ugly?
There were several key matchups on Saturday across the college football landscape but none bigger than the top five matchup featuring the Alabama Crimson Tide and Georgia Bulldogs. More on that game in a moment.
Plenty of eyes were also checking in on the Colorado Buffaloes as they visited the UCF Knights for a Big 12 showdown. It was about about Travis Hunter, the best two-way college football athlete we have seen in some time. He recorded both an interception while leading the team in receiving in a monster win.
There were two major upsets among the top ten with the Ole Miss Rebels and Utah Utes. One was more impressive than the other given that the Utes were upset with a backup quarterback under center in place of the injured Cam Rising. The pesky Kentucky Wildcats, who gave UGA all they could handle a couple of weeks ago, broke through against Ole Miss.
Without further ado, here are Week 5’s “Good, Bad, & Ugly” across all of college football.
Good: Alabama QB Jalen Milroe
William McLelland-Imagn Images
Despite having a top-five team there was a lot of talk of the Georgia Bulldogs vs Texas Longhorns as the matchup we could see twice. Once in the regular season on Oct. 19 and potentially again in the SEC title game. Former Texas pledge Jalen Milroe made sure the college football world didn’t forget about the Tide. Even with Nick Saban now a part of the media, Alabama’s new man Kalen DeBoer made an impressive debut in SEC play.
What was even more impressive is how Milroe carried the load in the first half that helped build the 30-7 halftime lead. He led the team in rushing with 117 yards and two touchdowns. Milroe added two more touchdowns through the air with 374 yards, completing 81.9% of his passes.
That was a Heisman statement. After all, these stats via Pro Football Focus are video game-like:
I am not usually one to sound the alarm on a team in September, but the Florida State Seminoles‘ month was about as bad as it gets. They sit at 1-4 overall and 1-3 in ACC play. Meanwhile, the Miami Hurricanes and Clemson Tigers feel like they are on a collision course. Clemson is blowing everyone out, not named Georgia, and they invade Tallahassee next week.
Transfer QB D.J. Uiagalelei hasn’t looked anything like a Power Four passer and that doesn’t bode well for this team. While Mike Norvell might want to stick with his guy, he might not have any choice but to go with another quarterback. They stayed with DJ for long enough to see that whatever promise he showed at Oregon State, didn’t follow him back to the ACC.
The season could be salvaged but they have to find some juice and I am afraid they won’t have any with No. 4 under center.
The Ugly: Houston Cougar’s offense
Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
Bringing in a new head coach doesn’t always equate to immediate success, the Houston Cougars are a prime example. This past offseason they opted to part ways with Dana Holgorsen and bring in former Tulane head coach Willie Fritz after what he did with the Green Wave.
Outside of the matchup in the Bayou Classic against the Rice Owls, the Houston offense has been missing in action. They are one more poor performance from having their pictures plastered on milk cartons and ‘Have you seen me’ flyers posted around town.
Against the UNLV Rebels and Oklahoma Sooners, UH scored a combined 19 points before the 33-point outburst against their cross-town rivals. Since then the Cougars have been shut out by Cincinnati and Iowa State. The same Bearcats team just gave up 44 to Texas Tech.
It might get worse for Houston before it gets better with their remaining schedule.
The Oklahoma Sooners welcome the Tulane Green Wave to town this weekend and here are three key players to know ahead of their nonconference showdown.
Oklahoma’s performance against Houston rocked the foundation of the fan base. Many expected Oklahoma to flat-out dominate the Cougars.
Instead, they found themselves sweating out a 16-12 win that needed a late safety and a big third down conversion to make it out of the 4th quarter with the win.
This week, the Sooners get the opportunity for course correction, but their most challenging opponent to date looms large as they get set to host a dark horse playoff candidate out of the AAC in the Tulane Green Wave.
Tulane has dominated the AAC over the last few years. Tulane had 23 wins over the last two seasons under Willie Fritz, who is now at Houston, which included back-to-back conference title game appearances.
This year’s team has a new coach and features some players that could cause trouble for the Sooners on Saturday.
Makhi Hughes, RB
Malik Hughes resides at the heart of the Tulane offensive plan. He’s not getting as much love as some other running backs but make no mistake, he’s a really good player.
Hughes made a name for himself last year as a workhorse running back, ranking ninth in the country with 1,378 yards and earning 20+ carries in eight of his 14 outings. Oklahoma would be wise to expect a full dose of Hughes come Saturday.
Mario Williams, WR
If the name looks familiar, it should be. That is indeed Mario Williams, a former Sooner who started his career in Norman before transferring to USC along with Caleb Williams when Lincoln Riley defected to Southern California. Williams may have finally found his groove as a collegiate wide receiver. He entered Oklahoma as a consensus four-star and showcased the ability to be a threat at times in his only season wearing the Crimson and Cream.
For Tulane, he’s already leading them in receiving yards through two games with 252. He’s clearly a favorite target of new Green Wave quarterback Darian Mensah. Expect Williams to be targeted early and often with the quick screen game and other quick hitters.
Patrick Jenkins, DT
Former TCU transfer Patrick Jenkins has found a home anchoring the middle of Jon Sumrall’s Green Wave defense. He is Tulane’s best defensive player and with the instability along OU’s offensive line, he could have a day disrupting an already inept Oklahoma run game. Jenkins is cerebral yet very powerful despite staying under 300 pounds.
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