When Will James intercepted a pass in the second quarter against Oklahoma State last weekend, he could hear the TDECU Stadium crowd roar.
"I missed that feeling," said James, an All-Big 12 cornerback at the University of Houston last season.
UH is tied for third in the Big 12 with six interceptions, but coach Willie Fritz believes the total could be much higher. By Fritz's count, the Cougars' defense has dropped 15 interception opportunities.
"We counted them up," Fritz said. "You just catch half of those, you're one of the nation's leaders in interceptions."
Finishing those plays could be critical Saturday, when the No. 14 Cougars (6-1, 3-1 Big 12) face No. 10 Utah (6-0, 3-0 Big 12) in Salt Lake City.
"I don't know that there's a secret formula to finishing on the ball," UH defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong said. "We've had some great opportunities. It's unfortunate and is what it is."
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Armstrong said missed takeaways have allowed opposing offenses to extend drives. That has been particularly costly at times against three of the Cougars' opponents - Oregon State, Oklahoma State and Georgia Southern - which rank among the nation's top 25 passing offenses.
"The more plays you have to play after a missed opportunity with a takeaway, it kind of sucks the life out of everybody," Armstrong said. "It's like missing a fast-break slam dunk in basketball. Everybody's coming free and you miss it, it kind of sucks the life out of you."
Armstrong pointed to two situations that could have helped the Cougars pull away in the 35-32 win over Oklahoma State. JD Rhym, who replaced injured cornerback Jalen Mayo, made a play in the end zone but couldn't come up with the interception. Another was on a strip-sack on which UH was unable to recover the loose ball.
"We've just got to finish, you know what I mean?" Armstrong said. "I think we could've run away with that game against an outstanding, well-coached football team, but it didn't happen. And you've got to be able to recenter, focus and execute after that."
James has experienced those frustrations firsthand. In a Week 4 win at Georgia Southern, James had three interception chances but came away empty-handed each time.
"It's a big relief," James said of the Oklahoma State pick. "The past five games, I was going through it really. I was in the right spot but couldn't finish the play."
For the past three weeks, UH has emphasized finishing plays in practice. Dropped interceptions or assignment breakdowns come with consequences: five up-downs.
"We're going to make sure you install it in your brain so you're not going to mess up again," said Mayo, who was named to The Athletic's midseason All-America second team.
Has the approach worked? Half of the Cougars' interceptions have come in the last three games.
"It's sunk in," Mayo said.
Mayo said one culprit has been players getting ahead of themselves on plays.
"Just look the ball in," Mayo said. "Some of us try and catch it and tuck it (before we have the ball). You've got to look it all the way in."
Interceptions have been scarce in games and even rarer in practice against UH's first-team offense. Quarterback Conner Weigman has thrown only two interceptions in 198 pass attempts this season. He's been better still in practice.
"He does a good job keeping the ball away from us," safety Kentrell Webb said. "I don't think we've picked him off since the spring. It definitely helps getting to do full speed against a dominant receiving corps and soon-to-be NFL quarterback."
UH leads the nation with 40 pass breakups, and five Cougars are among the national leaders in the category: Jordan Allen has seven; James has six; and Mayo, Webb and safety Javion White each have five. Allen also has the first two interceptions of his career, tying James for the team lead. Mayo and Latreveon McCutchin have one interception apiece.
Mayo said creating more takeaways starts with a "defensive back's mindset."
"After one play goes by, you have to eliminate it from your brain and move on to the next," Mayo said.
That mindset will be tested against Utah, which has the nation's ninth-ranked total offense (486.5 yards per game) behind veteran quarterback Devon Dampier. The Utes average 266.3 passing yards per game.
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There’s more to Houston with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at Will James, UH defense looking to make most of its chances for interceptions against Utah.