It’s bad enough to lose to a UCLA team that, at least offensively, has been one of the worst teams in the nation in their 0-2 start to the season.
Then, to lose your starting quarterback during the course of the loss on top of that? That’s almost too much to bear.
Yet, that’s exactly the position finds themselves in Sunday morning.
Just over a week after being knocked out of a win over UTEP with a head injury, Case Keenum left yet another game early as the Heisman Trophy contender suffered an undisclosed injury to his right leg in the second quarter. The senior did not return.Both injuries occurred as Keenum was attempting to make a tackle following an interception.
“It doesn’t boggle your mind; it’s football,” UH coach Kevin Sumlin said when asked about back-to-back weeks with his QB suffering an injury on essentially the same play. “In different seasons, things happen, and it’s unfortunate. That’s just how things kind of happened.”
The extents of the injury is not yet known, and his leg will be evaluated after the Cougars return to Houston.
As for the loss to the previously winless Bruins, Sumlin was looking for any sliver of sunshine he could find.
“If there’s any positives you can take, and there aren’t a lot, it’s how he responded in that situation,” Sumlin said. “He had very, very limited reps and being cold and coming into a game on the road, you’ve got to be pleased with how he responded. How he handled the situation, how he moved the football and created plays with his arms, his legs, any way he could. With a very, very limited script.”