Dec. 23, 2005

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FORT WORTH, Texas - 2005 Houston Cougars Football Postgame Notes
2005 Fort Worth Bowl
Houston Cougars (6-6, 4-4 C-USA) vs. Kansas Jayhawks (7-5, 3-5 Big 12)
Friday, December 23, 2005 * Amon G. Carter Stadium * Fort Worth, Texas

** This marked the the first time since 1980-81 that the Cougars appeared in two bowl games during a three-year span... The Cougars last competed at the 2003 Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl on Dec. 25, 2003.... The 1980-81 Cougar teams competed at the 1980 Garden State and 1981 Sun bowls.

** With the loss, the Cougars saw their losing streak in bowl games extended to six games... UH has not won a bowl game since a 35-0 win over Navy in the 1980 Garden State Bowl on Dec. 14, 1980... The 29-point loss was Houston's worst loss in a bowl game, topping the 26-point loss (14-40) to Oklahoma on Dec. 26, 1981 in the Sun Bowl.

** The Cougars fell to 22-9-1 (.703) all-time during the month of December... The Cougars dropped to 20-8 (.714) all-time in games played on Friday... The Cougars fell to 0-3 all-time against Kansas... This was the first time since 20-13 loss at Kansas on Sept. 23, 1995, that the Cougars met the Jayhawks on the gridiron.

** Senior defensive end Kade Lane made his 48th consecutive start, dating back to Aug. 31, 2002, against Rice at Rice Stadium... That is a school record and bests the previous mark of 46, set by offensive lineman Val Belcher from 1973-76... He also ties Larry Shepherd (1982-85) for the most games played as a Cougar during his career.

** With 20 completions, junior quarterback Kevin Kolb moved past Andre Ware (1987-89) into fourth place in UH career history.... He finished the night with 672 career completions... Up next in the UH records book is Chuck Clements, who completed 683 passes from 1993-96.

** With his 19-yard pass to Ryan Gilbert around the 11:30 mark of the second quarter, junior quarterback Kevin Kolb moved past the 9,000-yard mark passing during his collegiate career... He joined David Klingler (9,430 yards, 1988-91) as the only UH signal callers to throw for more than 9,000 yards during their careers.

** Junior quarterback Kevin Kolb became only the fifth quarterback in school history to play in two bowl games during his career... He joined Danny Davis (1977, 1979), Terry Elston (1980 Cotton, 1980 Garden State), Gary Mullins (1969, 1971) and Lionel Wilson (1980 Garden State, 1981) as the only UH signal-callers to accomplish that feat... No UH quarterback has played in three bowl games in their career.

** Junior quarterback Kevin Kolb made his 36th consecutive start dating back to season opener on Aug. 30, 2003, against Rice at Robertson Stadium.

** With his 1-yard touchdown run at the 0:57 mark of the fourth quarter, junior quarterback Kevin Kolb broke out of a tie with Lionel Wilson (1981-83) and set a new UH record with 17 career rushing touchdowns by a quarterback.

** With 83 all-purpose yards (7 rushing, 5 punt returns, 59 kickoff returns, 12 receiving), junior wide receiver Vincent Marshall moved past Kimble Anders (3,310 yards, 1985-89) into eighth place in UH career history... Marshall finished the night with 3,392 career all-purpose yards (240 rush, 2,791 receiving, 186 kickoff returns, 175 punt returns)... Up next in the UH records book is Robert Newhouse, who accounted for 3,426 all-purpose yards (2,961 rushing, 39 receiving, 416 kickoff returns) from 1969-71.

** With three receptions for 29 yards, senior tight end John McGilvray set new career high in both categories... They topped his previous bests of one catch for 16 yards against Oregon in the season opener on Sept. 1, 2005.

** With his 8-yard reception on the Cougars' first play from scrimmage, junior wide receiver Vincent Marshall caught a reception in his 36th consecutive game dating back to the season opener on Aug. 30, 2003, against Rice at Robertson Stadium.

** Sophomore linebacker Brendan Pahulu's 27-yard fumble return late in the second quarter was his second fumble return of the 2005 season and the longest by a UH defender this season, topping his 22-yard fumble return at UTEP on Sept. 22, 2005... It also was the first fumble return in the history of the Fort Worth Bowl.

** Sophomore kicker T.J. Lawrence's 44-yard field goal at he 8:29 mark of the third quarter was the longest in UH bowl history... It topped the 41-yard field goal kicked by Kenny Hatfield during the 1980 Cotton Bowl against Nebraska on Jan. 1, 1980... It also was the longest in the history of the Fort Worth Bowl.

** Kansas' Brian Murph's 85-yard punt return for a touchdown at the 10:26 mark of the first quarter was the longest punt return by a Cougar opponent in a bowl game in school history... It topped the 77-yard punt return by Maryland's Mike Sochko in the 1977 Cotton Bowl.