|
Game Notes Week 3 - Houston at Louisiana Tech
Sept. 13, 2011
TELEVISION (ESPN3.com) John Sadak, play-by-play Rene Nadeau, analyst RADIO (AM 790) ON THE WEB  
Game Note Central
 Kevin Sumlin Purdue, 1988 4th year at UH and Overall, 25-16 Sonny Dykes FOR OPENERS Punter Richie Leone has averaged 53.8 yards on five punts, including four over 50 yards. He doesn't have enough punts to qualify for NCAA rankings but based on his average he would lead the nation. He has laned two-of-five punts inside the 20 yard line. As a team Houston leads the NCAA in net punting with 50.8 yards per game. Senior receiver Patrick Edwards earned Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week honors for his 187-yard performance in Houston's 48-23 win over North Texas. He averaged 23.4 yards per catch and scored on a 46-yard pass from Keenum. The receiving yards were the most in a single game for Edwards and ranks him No. 1 in the conference in the category. After the second week of play, Houston is receiving 32 votes in the Associated Press poll and 43 votes in the USA Today Coaches' Poll, good enough for No. 28 in both polls. In Houston's 48-23 win over North Texas, the Cougars outscored the Mean Green 28-6 in the second half. PLAYERS TO WATCH
Keenum needs 345 yards to pass Graham Harrell (Texas Tech) on the NCAA career total offense list and 678 yards to pass Ty Detmer (BYU) on the NCAA all-time passing yardage list. He would be third on both lists. Through two games, Houston is back as the NCAA's top passing team with 436.5 yards per game. The team also ranks sixth in total offense with 579.5 per contest. Both those numbers are the best in Conference USA. The Cougars have been to six bowl games in the last eight seasons. In the season opener, the Cougars started nine new players, including the entire defensive secondary with junior college transfers Chevy Bennett at FS, D.J. Hayden at CB, Texas A&M transfer Colton Valencia at SS and sophomore Zach McMillian at CB. The defense also had first-time starters at middle linebacker in true-freshman Derrick Mathews and junior college transfer noseguard Dominic Miller. On the offensive side, there were three new faces on the offensive line in right tackle Rowdy Harper, and guards Ty Cloud and Kevin Forsch. SIXTH TIMES THE CHARM KEENUM'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS In 2008, he ranked No. 1 with 403.2 yards per game and repeated in the category with 416.4 yards in 2009. He also led the nation in passing in 2009. Keenum is only the seventh quarterback in FBS history to lead the nation in total offense in consecutive seasons, and the last since Hawaii's Colt Brennan accomplished the feat in 2005-06. If Keenum matches that success in 2011, he could join Louisiana Tech's Tim Rattay (1997-99) as the only quarterback to lead the nation in total offense three years in his career. Keenum is the school record holder in passing yards, total offense, passing touchdowns, attempts and completions. He also holds Houston's single-season records for completions, attempts, passing yards and total offense. Keenum finished eighth in the 2009 Heisman trophy voting, and led Houston to a No. 1 ranking in the NCAA in passing offense, total offense and scoring offense in 2009. He passed for 5,671 yards in 2009, the third-highest passing total in NCAA Division I-FBS single season history and joined Texas Tech's Graham Harrell as one of only two players to pass for 5,000 yards in two seasons. Keenum has had 27 300-yard passing performances in his career, 13 over 400 yards, and has led Houston to 14 career come-from behind victories. KEENUM CHASES NCAA RECORDS Keenum is moving up the NCAA FBS all-time charts in several total offense and passing categories, after two games in the 2011 season, he ranks fourth on the NCAA's all-time total offense list, fourth in passing yardage and sixth in touchdowns thrown. NCAA FBS All-Time Total Offense Rk. Player, School Years Yards 1. Timmy Chang, Hawaii 2000-04 16,910 2. Dan LeFevour, Central Michigan 2006-09 15,853 3. Graham Harrell, Texas Tech 2005-08 15,599 4. Case Keenum, Houston 2007- 15,255 START ME UP FOR KEENUM Most Wins - Active FBS Quarterbacks Rk. Name, School Wins 1. Kellen Moore, Boise State 39 2. Case Keenum, Houston 26 3. Tim Jefferson, Air Force 22 Andrew Luck, Stanford 22 5. Jordan Jefferson, LSU 20 Russell Wilson, Wisconsin 20 (18 wins came at N.C. State / 2 at Wisconsin) 7. Landry Jones, Oklahoma 19 Austin Davis, Southern Miss 19 Matt Barkley, USC 19 GOING FOR THE TRI-FECTA Edwards, the former walk-on, missed four games of the 2008 season after a devastating leg injury. One year later (2009), he posted 1,021 receiving yards on 85 catches. In 2010 he followed up his performance with 1,100 (71 catches). He has 10 catches for 208 yards in two games, including a career-best performance of 178 yards vs. North Texas. He leads Conference USA in receiving yards and ranks 23rd nationally. Carrier recorded his two 1,000-yard seasons in 2008 and 2009 with 1,026 and 1,029, respectively. He got off to a great start in 2011 with a 10-catch performance for 138 yards. He ranks third in C-USA in receiving yards. The duo both rank in the UH top-10 all-time receiving yards -- Edwards fourth with 2,771 yards and Carrier seventh with 2,673. RUSH HOUR In the season opener, the trio rushed for 131 yards, led by Beall's 69 yards and a touchdown. Hayes scored twice and ran for 42 yards. Beall and Hayes both averaged over six yards a carry. Sims averaged 5.0 yards per rush on four carries for 20 yards. In game two, Hayes and Beall combined for 104 yards with a rushing touchdown by Hayes. Beall's A Ringing Beall earned first-team All-Conference USA honors in 2010 and broke the UH career record for total and rushing touchdowns after scoring 12 last season. In three-plus seasons, he has rushed for 33 touchdowns and has 40 total for his career. He also has averaged 5.6 yards per rush. THE OFFENSE UNDER SUMLIN Year Passing (Rk) Total (Rk) Scoring (Rk) 2011 436.5 (1st) 579.5 (6th) 43.0 (24th) 2010 327.2 (5th) 480.5 (11th) 37.7 (13th) 2009 433.7 (1st) 563.4 (1st) 42.2 (1st) 2008 401.6 (2nd) 562.8 (2nd) 40.6 (10th) Houston became only the third team in NCAA history to have a 5,000-yard passer and three 1,000-yard receivers when it accomplished the feat in 2009. The other two teams are Texas Tech (2002) and Tulsa (2007). Case Keenum is only the second quarterback in NCAA history to pass for over 5,000 yards in two different seasons (2008, 2009. The other was Texas Tech's Graham Harrell in 2007 and 2008. In 2008, Keenum passed for over 5,000 yards, running back Bryce Beall rushed for over 1,000 and receiver Tyron Carrier caught for over 1,000 yards, marking only the second time in NCAA history. UH became the fourth team in NCAA history to have three 1,000-yard receivers when Tyron Carrier, James Cleveland and Patrick Edwards each eclipsed the mark --the other teams were Texas Tech 2002, Hawaii in 2007 and Tulsa in 2007. GOIN' STREAKING 41 -- Tyron Carrier (Houston, Sr.) EDWARDS DEFYING THE ODDS Houston receiver Patrick Edwards knows the word adversity. He came to UH as a walk-on and earned a scholarship from head coach Kevin Sumlin in 2008. That same year, he suffered a devastating broken leg in a game against Marshall. However in 2010, Edwards led the team with 70 receptions for 1,100 yards. Edwards topped the 2,000-career receiving yard mark, becoming one of only nine Cougar receivers to hit that milestone. If he puts together another 1,000-yard season, he could become the school's all-time receiving yards record holder. Last season, he also ranked ninth nationally and second in the conference in punt returns with a 15.4 per return average. Against Memphis, he took one 74 yards for a touchdown, the first of his career. OFFENSIVE NOTES Senior quarterback Case Keenum threw for 458 yards against UNT to improve to fourth on the NCAA Career Passing Yardage list passing BYU's Ty Detmer and Hawaii's Colt Brennan. Keenum totaled 467 yards of total offense against North Texas to move to up to fourth on the NCAA's career total offense chart passing Texas' Colt McCoy. He now has 15,255 total yards, 345 yards shy of surpassing Texas Tech's Graham Harrell. Keenum's 458 yards vs. UNT was his 13th 400-yard passing performance of his career. It was his highest total since his 527 yards vs. East Carolina in the 2009 Conference USA Championship game. Senior receiver Tyron Carrier posted his first 100-yard performance since the 2009 season with his 10-catches for 138 yards in the season opener against UCLA. Houston has gone six consecutive games with a 100-yard receiver, which ranks as the second-longest streak inthe nation behind Oklahoma State's seven games. The University of Houston offense has led the nation in total offense seven times, which is the most in the NCAA tied with Arizona State and Tulsa. UH has beenthe national total offense leader in 2009, 1992, 1990, 1989, 1968, 1967 and 1966 . The Cougars' offense is led by coordinators Jason Phillips and Kliff Kingsbury. Both coordinators enjoyed illustrious collegiate careers which led to time in the NFL. Phillips was an All-American receiver at the University of Houston, leading the nation in receiving yards in both 1987 and `88. He was drafted by Detroit in 1989 and went on to an eight-year career in the NFL. Kingsbury recorded more than 12,000 yards passing in his All-American career at Texas Tech. He was a sixth-round draft pick by the New England Patriots. Senior receiver Patrick Edwards earned Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week honors for his 187-yard performance in Houston's 48-23 win over North Texas. He averaged 23.4 yards per catch and scored on a 46-yard pass from Keenum. The receiving yards were the most in a single game for Edwards and ranks him No. 1 in the conference in the category. Keenum was named the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week for his 310-yard, two touchdown performance vs. UCLA in the season opener when he completed 75 percent of his passes. Keenum connected with nine different receivers for 30 receptions. MISCELLANEOUS OFFENSIVE NOTES QUICK DRAW MCGRAW He has topped the century mark in tackles in three consecutive seasons with 103 as a freshman, 156 as a sophomore and 110 in 2010. McGraw has also led the team in tackles three straight years, joining a group of only three other UH players who have accomplished that feat. He could be the second defender in school history to be the team leader in tackles all four years of college. As a sophomore he led the conference and ranked fifth in the NCAA in tackles with 11.1 per game. McGraw was named Second Team All-Conference USA in both 2009 and 2010 as one of the league's top defensive players. DEFENSIVE NOTES Senior linebacker Sammy Brown has picked up where he left off in 2010 adding 3.5 tackles for loss in the season opener. Dating back the last nine games (to Rice in 2010), Brown has recorded 21 tackles for loss, an average of 2.3 TFL per game. He currently ranks sixth in Conference USA after leading the league in 2010. Junior D.J. Hayden recorded his first collegiate interception in last week's win over North Texas, which also marked the first by the UH defense in 2011. BLOCK PARTY In the 2011 season opener vs. UCLA, the Cougars had a crucial blocked kick on a Bruin extra point attempt in the fourth quarter. UCLA had a chance to get the score within three points after a late touchdown, but the UH block kept the margin at four points, which was the final score difference for the win, 38-34. UH followed up that performance with another blocked extra point at North Texas. MOST BLOCKED KICKS SINCE 2008 21 -- Fresno State 18 -- Houston 17 -- Middle Tennessee, Texas 16 -- Florida 15 -- USC 12 -- UL-Lafayette 11 -- Rutgers 10 -- Air Force CARRIER TAKING IT TO THE HOUSE Carrier is now just one touchdown from tying former Clemson running back C.J. Spiller's NCAA record of seven kickoff return
touchdowns set from 2006 to 2009. Carrier had the school's most kickoff return yardage in a single season in 2010 with 1,174 yards
on 50 returns. He has 6,092 all-purpose yards in four years, and with his 180 yards in the season opener he broke the school career
record. Here is a list of Carrier's six returns: SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES Jordan Mannisto and Leone have shared kickoff duties in the first two games. Mannisto took four-of-eight for touchbacks. He averaged 67.5 yards per kickoff. Punter Richie Leone has averaged 53.8 yards on five punts, including four over 50 yards. He doesn't have enough punts to qualify for NCAA rankings but based on his average he would lead the nation. He has laned two-of-five punts inside the 20 yard line. POSITION CHANGES Junior Kelvin King played two seasons at linebacker before being moved full-time to defensive end. In two years at linebacker, he totaled 6.5 tackles for a loss of 34 yards and three sacks. This season, he has three tackles, one for loss. JUCO NATIONAL TITLES TOUGH TO BEAT AT THE ROB AGAINST OTHER CONFERENCES Conference Record Under Sumlin Team (Result, Year) Big 12 2-2 Oklahoma State (L, 37-56, 2008; W, 45-35, 2009) Texas Tech (W, 29-28, 2009; L, 20-35) MWC 1-3 Air Force (L, 28-31, 2008; W, 34-28, 2008*; L, 20-47, 2009*) Colorado State (L, 25-28, 2008) Pac-12 1-1 UCLA (W, 38-34, 2011; L, 13-31, 2010) SEC 1-1 Mississippi State (W, 31-24, 2009; L, 24-47, 2010) Southland 2-0 Northwestern State (W, 55-7, 2009); Texas State (W, 68-28, 2010) Sun Belt 1-0 North Texas (W, 48-23, 2011) SWAC 1-0 Southern (W, 55-3, 2008) * bowl games RECORD CROWDS AT ROBERTSON Top-15 Crowds at Robertston Stadium 1. 32,119 vs. UTEP 9/10/10 Sumlin 32,119 vs. Texas State 9/4/10 Sumlin 3. 32,114 vs. Texas Tech 9/26/09 Sumlin 4. 32,067 vs. Mississippi State 10/9/10 Sumlin 5. 32,009 vs. Tulane 9/25/10 Sumlin 6. 32,008 vs. UCF 11/5/10 Sumlin 7. 31,818 vs. Southern Miss 12/1/06 Briles 8. 31,784 vs. Texas 9/22/01 Dimel 31,784 vs. Rice 9/4/99 Helton 10. 31,144 vs. UCLA 9/3/11 Sumlin 11. 30,046 vs. Tulsa 11/13/10 Sumlin 12. 28,260 vs. Oklahoma State 9/23/06 Briles 13. 28,243 vs. Rice 11/28/09 Sumlin 14. 27,302 vs. Grambling State 9/16/06 Briles 15. 26,889 vs. SMU 10/24/09 Sumlin
|
ATHLETICS TICKET OFFICE
TICKET INFORMATION
ONLINE TICKET SALES
tickets@UH.edu
713-GO-COOGS (462-6647) 877-COUGAR-5 (268-4275) |
