Houston-South Carolina Football Postgame Notes
12/29/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 29, 2006
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. - 2006 Houston Cougars Football Postgame Notes
2006 AutoZone Liberty Bowl
(ARV) Houston Cougars (10-4, 7-1 C-USA) vs. South Carolina Gamecocks (8-5, 3-5 SEC East)
Friday, Dec. 29, 2006 * Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium * Memphis, Tenn.
TEAM NOTES
** With their appearance in the 2006 AutoZone Liberty Bowl, the Cougars competed in a bowl game for the third time in the last four years... It marked the first time that UH has appeared in three bowls in four years since the 1978-81 Cougar teams competed in four straight bowl games (1978 Cotton; 1979 Cotton; 1980 Garden State and 1981 Sun).
** The Cougars made their 17th bowl appearance during the program's history... The Cougars fell to 7-10-1 (.417) all-time in bowl games.
** With Friday's loss, the Cougars lost their seventh consecutive bowl game... The Cougars last enjoyed a bowl victory with a 35-0 win over Navy during the 1980 Garden State Bowl on Dec. 22, 1980.
** With Friday's 2006 AutoZone Liberty Bowl appearance, the Cougars competed in their 14th game during the 2006 season... That set a UH single-season record for games played, topping the previous high of 13 games set in 2003 (7-6 record).
** The Cougars' 10 wins during the 2006 season ranked as the third-most in UH single-season history... The only previous teams to post double-digit victories came in 1973 (11-1), 1979 (11-1) and 1990 (10-1).
** Friday's attendance of 56,103 was a season high for the Cougars in 2006... It topped the previous high of 36,107 fans who watched Miami (Fla.) take a 14-13 win over UH in the Orange Bowl on Oct. 7.
** With their touchdown on their opening possession, the Cougars scored on their initial drive for the eighth time (6 touchdowns, 2 field goals)... However, it was their first score of any kind on their initial possession in their last three games... It also marked the seventh time in UH bowl history that the Cougars scored first.
** With Friday's win, the Cougars saw their six-game winning streak snapped. It was the first time since the 1990 team opened the season with eight straight wins that the Cougars recorded a six-game winning streak.
** Houston fell to 2-1 (.667) all-time against South Carolina... However, Friday's game was the first time since Oct. 5, 1974 (a 24-14 win in Columbia, S.C.), that the Cougars have faced the Gamecocks on the gridiron.
** Houston fell to 27-56-1 (.327) all-time against current teams from the Southeastern Conference.
** Houston fell to 23-10-1 (.691) all-time during the month of December.
** Houston fell to 1-1 (.500) all-time when playing on Dec. 29... The Cougars enjoyed a 47-7 win over Tulane during the Bluebonnet Bowl in 1974.
** The 27 points scored by South Carolina in the first half was the most points scored by a Cougar opponent in the first half since Rice scored 27 points on Sept. 2, 2006.
** With 527 yards of total offense, the Cougars topped the 400-yard milestone for the 34th time and the 500-yard milestone for the 15th time under head coach Art Briles.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
** Head coach Art Briles and legendary head coach Bill Yeoman are the only UH Football coaches to lead their teams to multiple bowl games during their coaching tenures.
** Running back Jackie Battle, cornerback Willie Gaston, linebacker Wade Koehl, quarterback Kevin Kolb, nose tackle Marquay Love, wide receiver Vincent Marshall and running back Roshawn Pope competed in the third bowl game of their collegiate careers... With their additions, only 28 players in UH history have competed in three bowl games during their careers.
** Senior quarterback Kevin Kolb was named Houston's Most Outstanding Offensive Player... He became the first player in school history to win multiple individual bowl game honors... Kolb was named Houston's Most Valuable Player at the 2005 Fort Worth Bowl on Dec. 23, 2005.
** Senior quarterback Kevin Kolb ended his collegiate career with 50 consecutive starts following the 2006 AutoZone Liberty Bowl... His streak set a UH record, topping the previous mark of 48 consecutive games by Kade Lane (2002-05).
** With 50 career starts, senior quarterback Kevin Kolb moved sole possession of fourth place in NCAA Division I-A history in career starts.... Kolb joined Georgia's David Greene (52 starts, 2001-04), Marshall's Chad Pennington (51 starts, 1995-99) and North Carolina State's Philip Rivers (51 starts, 2000-03) as the only quarterbacks in NCAA Division I-A history to record at least 50 starts during their careers.
** With 386 passing yards, senior quarterback Kevin Kolb recorded the 17th 300-yard passing game in his career... It also was his sixth 300-yard passing game during the 2006 season... The Cougars fell to 6-11 (.353) all-time during games in which Kolb passes for 300 yards.
** With three touchdown passes, senior quarterback Kevin Kolb recorded his 11th game in 2006 with multi-TD passes and the 28th multi-touchdown game of his career... It also was the ninth game of his career with at least three touchdown passes.
** With three touchdown passes, senior quarterback Kevin Kolb tied a UH bowl record... Kolb equaled the feat first accomplished by Billy Roland against Miami (Ohio) during the 1962 Tangerine Bowl on Dec. 22, 1962.
** With three touchdown passes, senior quarterback Kevin Kolb set a C-USA career record with 85 touchdown passes... Kolb moved past former Louisville quarterback Chris Redman who threw 84 touchdowns from 1996 to 1999.
** With 381 yards of total offense (386 pass, -5 rush), senior quarterback Kevin Kolb moved past North Carolina State's Philip Rivers into third place in NCAA career history with 13,715 yards (751 rush, 12,964 pass) of total offense.
** With 386 passing yards, senior quarterback Kevin Kolb moved into fourth place in NCAA career history with 12,964passing yards.
** With 386 passing yards, senior quarterback Kevin Kolb set a UH bowl record in that category... Kolb topped his own mark of 332 passing yards set at Hawai'I during the 2003 Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl on Dec. 25, 2003.
** Senior quarterback Kevin Kolb's interception around the 13:00 mark of the second quarter was his first interception in his last 131 pass attempts, dating back to the first quarter against C-USA rival UCF on Oct. 28, 2006.
** With his first catch on the Cougars' opening drive, senior wide receiver Vincent Marshall caught a pass in his 50th consecutive game... He added to his UH record, topping the previous best of 43 straight games by wide receiver Orlando Iglesias (1997-01).
** Senior wide receiver Vincent Marshall's 77-yard touchdown catch with 11 seconds remaining in the first half was the second-longest catch in UH bowl history... Marshall hauled in an 81-yard touchdown catch at Hawai'i during the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl on Dec. 25, 2003.
** With 201 receiving yards, senior wide receiver Vincent Marshall recorded his third 100-yard receiving game of the 2006 season and the 15th of his career... His total set a school career record, topping the 14 100-yard receiving games by Manny Hazard from 1989 to 1990... The Cougars fell to 7-8 (.467) all-time during games in which Marshall records at least 100 receiving yards.
** With 201 receiving yards, senior wide receiver Vincent Marshall set a personal single-game high... His total surpassed his previous high of 190 yards set against Southern Miss on Oct. 7, 2004.
** With 201 receiving yards, senior wide receiver Vincent Marshall set a UH bowl single-game record... His total topped his own record of 157 receiving yards at Hawai'i during the 2003 Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl on Dec. 25, 2003.
** With two receiving touchdowns, senior wide receiver Vincent Marshall set a UH bowl record... Entering Friday's game, 12 Cougar receivers had caught one touchdown in a bowl game with Marshall's 81-yard touchdown catch at Hawai'i during the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl on Dec. 25, 2003, being the most recent.
** With two touchdowns, senior wide receiver Vincent Marshall moved into a tie with Ketric Sanford (1996-99) for fifth place in UH career history with 29 career touchdowns.
** With nine receptions, senior wide receiver Vincent Marshall set a UH bowl record in that category... He topped his own record of seven catches set at Hawai'i during the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl on Dec. 25, 2003.
** With nine receptions, senior wide receiver Vincent Marshall moved into a tie with Marshall's Darius Watts for 12th place in NCAA career history with 272 receptions.
** With 201 receiving yards, senior wide receiver Vincent Marshall moved into 16th place in NCAA career history with 3,770 receiving yards.
** With two touchdown runs, senior running back Jackie Battle scored his 14th and 15th rushing touchdowns during the 2006 season to set a UH career record... Battle moved past Antowain Smith who rushed for 14 touchdowns during the 1996 season.
** With two touchdowns, senior running back Jackie Battle moved into a tie for second place in UH single-season history with Jason Phillips (1988) and Antowain Smith (1996) who each scored 15 touchdowns during their respective seasons... Manny Hazard set the UH single-season record with 22 touchdowns scored in 1989.
** With his 42-yard touchdown run at the 2:09 mark of the third quarter, senior running back Jackie Battle scored the 31st touchdown of his career and moved into a tie with Manny Hazard (1989-90) in UH career history... Battle joined Hazard, Chuck Weatherspoon (37, 1987-90) and Elmo Wright (35, 1968-70) as the only players to score at least 30 touchdowns in their careers.
** Junior utility back Anthony Alridge's pass to senior wide receiver Vincent Marshall around the 13:10 mark of the first quarter on the Cougars' opening possession was the first pass of his collegiate career.
** Junior utility back Anthony Alridge's two-point conversion in the fourth quarter was UH's first two-point conversion since a rush at C-USA rival UTEP on Sept. 16, 2005.
** Senior cornerback Willie Gaston's interception at the 1:13 mark of the third quarter was his first pickoff of the 2006 season and the sixth of his career.
** Senior running back Roshawn Pope competed in the 51st game of his collegiate career to add to his UH-record total... Fellow seniors Vincent Marshall and Kevin Kolb played in the 50th games of their careers to tie for second place in UH history.
** By playing in Friday's game, the following players competed in their 14th game during the 2006 season to set a UH single-season record: offensive lineman Jeff Akeroyd, linebacker Trent Allen, utility back Anthony Alridge, wide receiver Donnie Avery, defensive back Carson Blackmon, holder Jordan Brown, offensive lineman Dustin Dickinson, center Sterling Doty, wide receiver Biren Ealy, fullback Jake Ebner, cornerback Kenneth Fontenette, cornerback Willie Gaston, wide receiver Brennan Gleason, tight end Mark Hafner, wide receiver Jeron Harvey, defensive end Phillip Hunt, deep snapper Norbie Juist, defensive tackle L.C. Kirkpatrick, linebacker Wade Koehl, quarterback Kevin Kolb, kicker Garrett LeFevre, nose tackle Marquay Love, linebacker Cody Lubojasky, wide receiver Vincent Marshall, wide receiver Perry McDaniel, safety Ernest Miller, fullback Roy Otis, linebacker Brendan Pahulu, linebacker Chris Pilot, running back Roshawn Pope, defensive back Harry Simon, defensive tackle Tate Stewart and defensive back Quinte Williams. That group topped the previous single-season high of 13 games played in 2003 by Harrison Arceneaux, Dustin Bell, Courtney Brooks, Bryant Brown, Joe Clay, David Douglas, Anthony Evans, Brandon Evans, Lance Everson, Thomas Gafford, Travis Griffith, Will Gulley, Rex Hadnot, Phil Hawkins, Kevin Kolb, Vincent Marshall, Matt Mattox, Jimmy McClary, Chad McCullar, Brandon Middleton, Shang Moore, Corbin Mozisek, Roshawn Pope, Jonathan Pritchett, Gerard Richard, Stanford Routt, Matt Schirmer, Roy Swan, Ricky Wilson and Jermain Woodard.
** By starting Friday's game, offensive lineman Jeff Akeroyd, offensive lineman Dustin Dickinson, center Sterling Doty, cornerback Kenneth Fontenette, cornerback Willie Gaston, defensive tackle Phillip Hunt, linebacker Wade Koehl, quarterback Kevin Kolb, nose tackle Marquay Love and linebacker Cody Lubojasky, became the only players in school history to start 14 games during a single season... They topped the previous record of 13 starts in a season by defensive end Joe Clay, linebacker Lance Everson, safety Will Gulley, center Rex Hadnot, quarterback Kevin Kolb, defensive end Kade Lane, offensive tackle Matt Mattox and wide receiver Brandon Middleton.
** Junior safety Joseph Gonzales returned to the Cougar lineup after sitting out the previous five games with a shoulder injury.
