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Keenum, #20 Houston Could Make History Saturday
Oct. 17, 2011
Houston, Texas - Game Notes Central 
THE COACHES Doc Holliday SERIES FAST FACTS THE SERIES COUGARS VS. THE HERD In addition to that touchdown, senior running back Bryce Beall rushed for 68 yards on 14 carries, while contributing 73 yards receiving (and that score) on five catches vs. the Thundering Herd. Senior receiver Tyron Carrier made a game-high six catches for 104 yards in that game at Marshall in 2008 and fellow senior Patrick Edwards made three grabs for 30 yards. FOR OPENERS Houston debuted at #19 in the initial Bowl Championship Series polls of 2011 ... It's not the first time the Cougars have been ranked in the first B.C.S. poll of the year ... UH was #17 in the poll in 2009 as well. Houston is one of six teams from the state of Texas ranked or receiving votes in this week's Top 25 poll ... Only Texas A&M is ranked higher than UH ... In the Coaches Poll A&M is #17, Houston is #20, SMU is #29, Texas is #30, Baylor is #33 and TCU is #37. Houston is back in the national rankings and one of only 10 undefeated teams remaining in F.B.S. in 2011 ... The Cougars debuted at #22 nationally in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and were #25 in the Associated Press poll last week and elevated to #20 /#21 this week ... Houston has been ranked (at least one week) each of the last three seasons, a first for the Cougars since the 1989-91 campaigns. Head Coach Kevin Sumlin is 5-0 at Robertson Stadium when coaching a ranked club ... In fact "home" has been a great place for the Cougars as a ranked program ... UH has won 18 consecutive home games as a ranked team dating back to a 14-7 loss to Miami (Fla.) in 1980. As if that streak wasn't impressive enough, All-America signal caller Case Keenum has won 20 consecutive home games (18 as a starter) ... He boasts 17 TD throws and just two INTs already in 2011, but over his 18 consecutive home wins (as a starter) the Abilene, Texas, native has 60 TD tosses and just nine interceptions. Houston is 6-0 for only the fourth time in school history, the first such start since 1990 ... Other Houston teams that started 6-0 were: 1979 and 1973 ... The last Cougar club to start out at 7-0 was in 1990 as well ... That crew opened 8-0 and elevated to #3 in the country. The Cougars have been to six bowl games in the last eight seasons and are already bowl eligible in 2011 after starting 6-0. Houston continues to lead the country in passing offense and total offense ... The Cougars average 435.5 yards per game through the air and are a very respectable #51 on the ground at 168.2 yards a game ... The club averages a national-best 603.7 yards in total offense as well. Points have not been an issue either through the first six games ... UH is ranked #4 nationally with 47.0 points a night and when the Cougars do manage a rare fourth down, the club ranks #4 nationally at 42.6 yards per boot, including an average of 46.4 from sophomore Richie Leone on 20 total punts. Senior linebacker Sammy Brown ranks #2 nationally in tackles for loss with 14.0 through six games ... Dating back the last 13 games (to Rice in 2010), Brown has recorded 31.5 tackles for loss, an average of 2.42 TFL per game ... Brown was recently added to the Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List, given annually to the nation's top defender. Keenum needs 130 yards to break the NCAA career total offense record ... He is currently #2 in career passing yardage as well ... He has 15,895 career passing yards, 1,178 yards shy of Timmy Chang's (Hawaii) NCAA record. With his three TD tosses in the 56-3 win over East Carolina, Keenum is third all-time in NCAA history with 124 scoring passes ... He needs seven more to pass Hawaii's Colt Brennan for second.
TEAM NOTES KICKING IT OLD SCHOOL WELCOME HOME DON'T DISCOUNT IMPROVING DEFENSE CARDIAC COOGS
KEENUM CHASES NCAA RECORDS 
The Abilene, Texas, native (15,895 career yards) threw for 304 yards in the win over East Carolina and passed former Texas Tech standout Graham Harrell (15,793, 2005-08) for second place on the NCAA career passing yardage list ... Hawaii's Timmy Chang holds the NCAA career record with 17,072 yards. Keenum totaled 292 yards of total offense (304 pass, -12 rush) against ECU to move closer to the NCAA career record in that category ... He is 139 yards shy of passing Chang. Keenum threw three touchdown passes against ECU as well, surpassing BYU's Ty Detmer (1988-91) for third place on the NCAA all-time touchdown pass list with 124 scores ... Up next in the NCAA records book is Hawaii's Colt Brennan, who threw 131 touchdowns from 2005 to 2007 ... Texas Tech's Graham Harrell holds the NCAA career record with 134 career passing touchdowns. NCAA FBS All-Time Total OffenseSIXTH TIMES THE CHARM Senior quarterback Case Keenum learned in January 2011 he had been granted a sixth season of eligibility after suffering a torn ACL vs. UCLA in the third game of the 2010 season ... Keenum returns to captain a UH team which has won 30 games with him at the helm in four years as a starter, including 18 consecutive at home. KEENUM'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS 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 31 300-yard passing performances in his career, 15 over 400 yards, and has led Houston to 16 career come-from-behind victories ... He has also completed passes to 30 different receivers in his career as a starter. START ME UP FOR KEENUM Most Wins - Active FBS Quarterbacks Rk. Name, School Wins 1. Kellen Moore, Boise State 44 2. Case Keenum, Houston 30 3. Andrew Luck, Stanford 26 4. Russell Wilson, Wisconsin 25 5. Tim Jefferson, Air Force 24 Landry Jones, Oklahoma 24 7. Austin Davis, Southern Miss 23 8. Matt Barkley, USC 22 Stephen Garcia, South Carolina 22 Jordan Jefferson, LSU 22 11. Kirk Cousins, Michigan State 21GOING FOR THE TRI-FECTA Senior receivers Tyron Carrier and Patrick Edwards have both posted two 1,000-yard receiving seasons ... If either, or both, receivers record a third 1,000-yard season, it will be a first in program history. 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). In 2011, he has 37 catches for 642 yards through six games, including a career-best performance of 178 yards vs. North Texas ... He most recently added 12 grabs for 133 yards and two scores vs. ECU ... He leads Conference USA in receiving yards and stands 11th 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 in the season opener vs. UCLA and has a team high 39 grabs for 456 yards through six games ... His 6.5 receptions per game ranks 29th nationally. The duo both rank in the UH top-10 all-time receiving yards -- Edwards second with 3,397 yards and Carrier fifth with 2,991. RUSH HOUR In each of the first six games, the three have combined to rush for more than 100 yards with a season high of 226 yards at UTEP in the Conference USA opener ... Beall and Hayes lead the team with six rushing scores apiece, while Sims is a close third with five touchdowns, including four in his last two games. BEALL'S A RINGING Beall earned All-Conference USA First-Team 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 38 touchdowns and has 44 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 435.5 (1st) 603.7 (1st) 47.0 (4th) 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 (2003) 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 45 -- Tyron Carrier (Houston, Sr.) 44 -- Ryan Broyles (Oklahoma, Sr.) 42 -- Kendall Wright (Baylor, Sr.) 40 -- Patrick Edwards (Houston, Sr.); 39 -- B.J. Cunningham (Michigan State, Sr.) 38 -- Jeff Fuller (Texas A&M, Sr.) EDWARDS DEFYING THE ODDS OFFENSIVE NOTES In a note to show the offensive line some love, the Cougars rank second with only eight sacks allowed and are fourth in C-USA with 168.2 yards per game rushing ... The team's 4.9 yards per carry is third in the league, just behind the 5.0 ypc of Southern Miss and Tulsa. The Cougars continue to rack up incredible total offense and passing numbers, leading the nation in total offense (603.7), while throwing for 435.5 yards per night, also tops in America ... The Cougars scoring offense of 47.0 points per game ranks #4 nationally. Kevin Sumlin will coach his 21st game at Robertson Stadium on Oct. 22 vs. Marshall and over his first 20 games he is 17-3 and his club has averaged a gaudy 47.5 points at home ... The Cougars own two undefeated seasons so far and are a perfect 3-0 in 2011. With the win over Louisiana Tech, quarterback Case Keenum became the University of Houston's all-time winningest quarterback passing former UH and current Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb ... Keenum has won 30 games in 44 starts. Keenum's 471 yards at Georgia State was his 15th 400-yard passing performance of his career ... He also has 31 career 300-yard efforts. Houston had a C-USA best seven players make Phil Steele's Midseason All-Conference C-USA squad ... Case Keenum (QB), Patrick Edwards (WR), Chris Thompson (C) and Jacolby Ashworth (OT) were first team picks, Tyron Carrier (WR) was a second team selection and Michael Hayes (RB) and Justin Johnson (WR) represented UH on the third team. 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 ... His average of 107.0 yards per game receiving ranks #11 nationally. 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 ... He is also one kickoff TD return shy of tying the NCAA record with former Clemson star C.J. Spiller. The University of Houston has led the nation in total offense seven times, which is the most in the NCAA, tied with Arizona State and Tulsa ... UH has been the 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 enjoyed illustrious collegiate careers which led to time in the NFL. Phillips was an All-America 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-America career at Texas Tech. He was a sixth-round draft pick by the New England Patriots. Keenum has twice this season been named the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week ... The first came for his 310-yard, two touchdown performance vs. UCLA in the season opener when he completed 75 percent of his passes ... The second was after he led UH from a 27-point deficit to defeat Louisiana Tech, 35-34. In that game, he passed for 351 yards and three touchdowns. 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 The Cougars lead Conference USA with nine interceptions in six games, including a season high four picks in the win over East Carolina ... The Cougars lead C-USA and rank #8 nationally in turnover margin (1.17). Houston had four defenders named to the Midseason All-Conference team by Phil Steele ... Marcus McGraw (2nd), Thomas Bates (3rd), Sammy Brown (3rd) and David Hunter (3rd) were named to the squad. Phillip Steward was named the C-USA Defensive Player of the Week for his two interceptions vs. East Carolina on Oct. 8. Houston's 56-0 victory over Georgia State was the Cougars' first shutout since a 45-0 win against Louisiana-Lafayette on Sept. 18, 1999 - a streak of 146 games. Georgia State's 133 passing yards was the fewest by a Cougar opponent since Memphis recorded 92 yards on Oct. 30, 2010 ... GSU's 241 yards of total offense (108 rush, 133 pass) was the fewest by a Cougar opponent since Texas Southern finished with 179 yards (48 rush, 131 pass) on Nov. 24, 2007. Houston then held East Carolina to just 21 yards rushing in 30 attempts in that 56-3 victory, the fewest since limiting Army to just 10 yards on Nov. 15, 2003. In addition to not allowing a TD at home since the season-opener, UH has been outstanding in the second half defensively all season ... It limited North Texas to just six second-half points and allowed only 107 yards of total offense in the final two quarters (46 rushing and 61 passing) in UH's 48-23 win ... Against Louisiana Tech, the defense kept the Bulldogs from scoring in 6-of-8 drives during the final two quarters ... Against ECU the Cougars pitched a second half shutout. Senior linebacker Sammy Brown has picked up where he left off in 2010 adding 14.0 tackles for loss through six games ... Brown ranks #2 nationally in TFLs, which include 5.5 sacks (#8 nationally) ... Dating back to the last 12 games (to Rice in 2010), Brown has recorded 29 tackles for loss, an average of 2.42 TFL per game. HOUSTON AGAIN REPRESENTED IN B.C.S. POLL DEBUT 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 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 6,510 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: 1st - 93 yards vs. Tulsa, 11/15/08
2nd - 92 yards vs. SMU, 10/24/09
3rd - 98 yards at Tulsa, 11/7/09
4th - 99 yards vs. Rice, 11/28/09
5th - 79 yards vs. Air Force, 12/31/09 (Bell Helicopter Armed Forced Bowl)
6th - 91 yds at SMU, 10/23/10
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