"It's my fault," said Ron Lee, who coaches the UH receivers. "We weren't really ready to crank it up and make plays. Nobody made a play. We didn't have one play out of the whole bunch. That's real disappointing. ... It's my fault for not getting the guys ready."

UH coach June Jones did not appear to be alarmed, noting, "It goes in streaks. We dropped some passes. We had little routes that, if you catch them, you can turn them up (for additional yards). Those kinds of things. It evens out."

But Lee would like to improve in that area, particularly because opponents are retreating into prevent defenses, creating openings on short pass routes.

"The yards after the catch are important because (defenses) are giving us a lot of cushion," UH slotback Se'e Poumele said. "We have to take advantage of that. We have to come out ready to rock and roll."

"We've got guys who are quick," Jones said. Florida Atlantic "didn't want to get beat deep, but we got guys open deep. They just dropped balls."

Against FAU, of the 18 passes of at least 20 yards, two were caught.

"The most important thing is to catch the ball," said Poumele, a fifth-year senior. "After that, you can worry about how many yards you can get."

Manners taking crash course in linebacking

Like most college students, Lono Manners is used to cramming for a test.

"It's difficult, but I'm trying to learn as quickly as I can," said Manners, who will be used at outside linebacker in Saturday's road game against Rice. Manners had no previous experience as a linebacker when he was moved from strong safety during Sunday's practice.

The Warriors need an extra perimeter defender against Rice, which employs the run-oriented, triple-option offense.

"You've got to have speed against this offense, and (Manners is) really tough," Jones said. "He's got a good motor. He really runs hard."

In previous seasons, Jones has improved his team's speed by relocating players, such as turning cornerbacks into safeties, safeties into outside linebackers, and outside linebackers into defensive ends. "We're always trying to find the proper position for a guy," Jones said.

During the summer, 5-foot-10 Manners gained 10 pounds and now weighs 204. He can run 40 yards in 4.5 seconds and bench press 225 pounds 27 times.

Rich Miano, who coordinates UH's pass defense, said Chad Kapanui and safeties Leonard Peters and Landon Kafentzis also will take turns playing outside linebacker.

Scout's honor, Satcher may be on travel squad

Freshman quarterback Brandon Satcher appears to have played his way on to the 60-player travel roster.

Jones declined to comment, saying to a reporter, "I wouldn't tell you. If I did, I'd have to kill you."

But Jones said Satcher "would be a valuable scout guy."

Satcher has portrayed the "Rice" quarterback during practice the past two weeks. It is his first major acting role since his fourth-grade production of "Stage By Stage."

"I'm trying to do my best to give our defense a good" preview of Rice's offense, Satcher said. "I can do the option a little bit."

Rice recruited Satcher as a quarterback/running back. But a week before his recruiting trip, he learned his "grades weren't exactly up to their level." Satcher, who met all of the NCAA requirements to play as a freshman, signed with UH in February.