Beyond the Boxscore

Undefeated: LSU and.. the Houston Cougars? The Coogs make their Case Keenum

Case Keenum went right at SMU, repaired knee and injury concerns, who cares?It's the dream season.
Sorry Nick Saban. Your team doesn't deserve an LSU rematch.
Kevin Sumlin
Erin Andrews helped bring the crowd, but she was on her way to Waco by the timeHouston actually kicked off against SMU.

Case Keenum could slide. He probably should slide. His coach is screaming at him to slide . . . just slide . . .

But Keenum is not sliding. Not on this stage. Not in this game. Not in this season.

So Keenum keeps running, right past the spot at the 8-yard-line where he should probably go down, right by the closing SMU defenders, right around the corner into the end zone. Keenum's 16-yard touchdown run is not the biggest play in the University of Houston's 37-7 Saturday beatdown of SMU. It probably doesn't even deserve to be in that discussion.

It's a telling play though — one that explains a lot about this 11-0 team. Case and The Coogs just keep coming. There is no let up in this Houston team. Kevin Sumlin's squad is going to squeeze everything that it can out of every moment, and then look and see if it cannot wring out a little more. So Keenum refuses to slide even though UH is already up 23-7 on SMU with less than seven minutes remaining, even though the win is already secure, even though he's running on that surgically-repaired knee, even though he took a pounding in the first half.

Case and The Coogs are not going to cheat their dream season. Not even for a moment. And college football's faulty method of determining a national champion shouldn't cheat it either.

The greatest season in the history of Houston's football program should be allowed the chance to become the greatest underdog story in the history of college football.

The University of Houston needs to be playing for the national championship if it finishes 13-0. That's right, UH must be No. 1 LSU's last hurdle on Jan. 9 in New Orleans if both teams stay undefeated.

If that still sounds crazy to you . . . well, you just haven't been paying close enough attention.

For it would have been a crazy thought for a good three months of this season. Heck, the argument would have been borderline insane only a few mornings ago. After another wacky weekend of college football though, a two-day stretch in which almost every traditional power conference team that could argue that it deserves a shot at the Tigers threw up all over itself, one way or the other, LSU-Houston is the only thing left that makes sense.

It's just bonkers enough to be perfect.

Enough already with the talk of The Rematch. No one in America outside of the SEC honks who think their conference is a religion wants to see LSU-Alabama II.

Iowa State outguns No. 2 Oklahoma State as a 27-point underdog. USC blitzes No. 4 Oregon in Eugene, which makes No. 8 Stanford look even worse for getting destroyed by the Ducks. Robert Griffin III throws for nearly 500 yards against No. 5 Oklahoma with RG3 taking the Bears 80 yards in five plays to win it.

Who's left? No. 6 Arkansas? The Razorbacks get to play LSU the day after Thanksgiving. That's their opportunity, lose and they're out of the picture. No. 3 Alabama? You mean the team that just gave up 302 yards to an FCS school? The haughty power that already took its swing at Les Miles and the Tigers and couldn't give America anything more than a self-destructive 9-6 groaner of a loss?

Please, enough already with the talk of The Rematch. No one in America outside of the SEC honks who think their conference is a religion wants to see LSU-Alabama II.

Who's left? Case and The Coogs, that's who.

If you win, you will not be ignored.

That is what Sumlin's told his team all season. When the dream was young and Robertson Stadium wasn't selling out, when the thought of ESPN College GameDay coming to Cullen Circle felt as realistic as Tupac walking into the school library, the coach kept harping on one theme. If you win, you will not be ignored.

It's time for all the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) critics, for the writers and coaches who vote in the polls even as they whine about the system, to embrace this bit of fairness, to make Houston the No. 2 team in the country in their rankings. If a 13-0 team is going to be denied a title shot, it must be blocked by the computers.

There are two undefeated teams still standing in major college football. Two out of 120. LSU, Houston. Match them up. Make them one, two in the human polls. See what happens.

Don't do it just to mess with a broken system though. Do it because it's right. This Houston team is earning this moment.

The Stand

Rip into UH's schedule all you want. It's an easy target, sign of at least a residue of small thinking at a school that likes to tell you how big it's planning. But know this too, the schedule's getting better and it's going to end up looking more impressive than anyone thought back in September.

The SMU win marks the start of a nice little stretch. Southern Mississippi's inexplicable loss to UAB hurts, but Houston is still set to play at an 8-3 Tulsa team the day after Thanksgiving and then a possibly 10-2 — albeit, no longer ranked — Southern Miss in the Conference USA title game at Robertson Dec. 3.

Understand this too: Houston keeps getting better. It's hard to be both undefeated and the most improved team in the country from Sept. 3 to now, but that's exactly what the Cougars are. For there is the Brian Stewart-coached defense — the same unit that drew deserved comparisons to the horrific 2010 Houston Texans defense in that 38-34 season-opening win over UCLA — controlling the game for Keenum in the first half, holding a June Jones offense scoreless for the first 50 minutes and 20 seconds of game clock.

So much for the UH fan who jokes pregame, "They're bringing in Wade Phillips next year. That's the rumor."

Sumlin meets the defenders coming off the field after almost every big stop, making a point to slap hands with all 11 men each time. There's Sammy Brown collecting three sacks on senior day. There's Phillip Steward coming out of nowhere — on a leap — to intercept a pass in the end zone. There's cornerback D.J. Hayden separating the SMU quarterback from the football.

There's defense?

"(The defense) came to play," Sumlin says afterwards. "They've been getting better all year."

All the Cougars have, Keenum included. And the crowds at Robertson are finally reflective of that. A stadium-record 32,207 cram into Houston's old relic of a stadium on this ESPN College Gameday afternoon. The stadium is almost completely packed a good hour before the opening kickoff and the red-clad sea largely remains until the final minutes.

Sumlin meets the defenders coming off the field after almost every big stop, making a point to slap hands with all 11 men each time.

"I saw people standing all over the place," an appreciative Sumlin says. "I hope the fire marshal wasn't there. I saw people where they're not supposed to be."

One of the funny things about the day is that the people largely responsible for the giant crowd — ESPN's GameDay hype machine — are long gone well before opening kickoff. Erin Andrews is high tailing it to Waco to work the sidelines of Baylor-OU. Lee Corso is probably trying to explain to his superiors why he dropped an F-Bomb on national TV.

No matter, Case & The Coogs are more than happy to pick up the party.

Keenum will break another all-time NCAA record (most career completions), but it's his toughness that really stands out. SMU sends everything it can at Keenum, hits him again and again and again in the first half. He's still going at them, running right at them, refusing to slide, late in the fourth quarter.

Two more wins and Case & The Coogs should be running right at LSU.

There's no denying the righteousness of this matchup anymore. In an upside down season of college football, it's the only one that makes sense. Just any BCS bowl berth would not be justice enough for this Houston team. Not anymore.

If you win, you will not be ignored.

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High Score

Austin named the nation's pickleball capital in industry report

Photo by Henry Selis Photo

Other Racquet Social Club is back after city woes.

It's no secret that Austinites love pickleball. A new study proves just how much by ranking Austin the No. 1 city for pickleball in the whole country. Dallas and Houston also made the top 10 at Nos. 3 and 8, respectively.

The report was published by TeachMe.To, an online marketplace for learning sports (and sometimes music) from private instructors. It used data from its own platform, USA Pickleball, Places2Play, local pickleball associations, and more. It also referred to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), which named pickleball the fastest-growing sport in America, with a growth rate of 223.5 percent over three years.

Similarly, TeachMe.To ranked Austin as the fastest-growing city for pickleball, and citing this as the main reason for the overall title of "the nation's pickleball capital."

It name-checked the Austin Metro Pickleball Association (AMPA) — with approximately 3,000-3,500 members — and the Austin Pickleball League (APL), estimating that overall, "15,000-20,000 people play pickleball at least occasionally in the greater Austin area." About half of those players — about 8,000-10,000 people — play at least twice a month.

The report did not include gender data on Austin, specifically, but it did note that not only are two-thirds of pickleball players female; women's involvement in the sport is also growing 50 percent faster than men's.

New courts everywhere
This probably isn't a surprise to people who have noticed the number of courts opened around Austin in recent years. By 2024, TeachMe.To's data shows 32 dedicated courts in Austin, and thanks to with a utility rate of 92 percent it doesn't look like that'll be slowing down.

In the summer of 2023, the online booking platform Swimply noticed how many pickleball courts there were in Austin compared to such great demand, and added courts to its service. In fall 2023 and summer 2024, at least two important developments expanded that availability: Other Racquet Social Club opened as a friendly, country club-like neighborhood option, and national chain The Picklr announced it's bringing five locations to Austin and Round Rock.

Perhaps because Austin is such a food-obsessed city, there seems to be some growing opportunity for food and beverage hospitality around pickleball, too. Other Racquet recently started hosting the Bill's Dips food truck, a spinoff of the popular downtown restaurant Bill's Oyster; and a pair of bars with pickleball courts, Drifters Social Coffee & Cocktails and The Pickle Pub, also opened in South Austin this year, with strong online ratings already.

The trend has even reached into real estate (see this cute house with its own pickleball court) and inspired athletes to introduce similar sports to the local market, as in the case of the padel club Paddle39. TeachMe.To's report also mentioned tech companies adding pickleball to their campuses.

Aside from growth, the study also considered lesson activity (including information about teacher availability and diversity of clinic offerings), infrastructure, community vitality, the tournament scene.

Austin had the highest concentration of all the cities of players under 40 (65 percent), as well as the highest share of national lesson bookings. At 16.90 percent, that means about one in six of the pickleball lessons contracted through this platform were in Austin. Lesson demand, the report says, is growing 125 percent year-over-year.

Elsewhere in Texas
Dallas was No. 3 thanks in part to its "central location" according to the report.

"The city's 45 dedicated courts and 85 [percent] public accessibility rate have fostered one of the most active competitive scenes in the country, with 8,500 registered league players," it says. "The combination of strong tournament presence, extensive infrastructure, and a 112% growth in lesson bookings solidifies Dallas as a powerhouse in the national pickleball landscape."

Houston made No. 8 with an emphasis on integrating pickleball with other sports.

"The city's 22 dedicated courts have seen a 92% increase in lesson bookings, driven by innovative programming that includes the nation's first corporate league system," it says. "Houston's success in integrating pickleball into existing sports infrastructure while maintaining 72% year-round utilization demonstrates a sustainable model for rapid growth."

Overall predictions
After laying out data about the top cities in pickleball, the report made some predictions. As the Austin newcomer mentioned above believes, the report also thinks padel is the next big thing. It also guesses more cities will act like Houston by focusing on hybrid facilities.

It also expects to see an expanded professional circuit and mainstream coverage, more technology used on the court, a rise in the prevalence of young players, and more opportunities in corporate wellness and real estate. "Dedicated pickleball facilities will become as common as swimming pools in luxury developments," it says. Texans will be the judge of that one.

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