University of Houston Athletics
Football Wraps Up Regular Season on Saturday
11/23/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 23, 2007
Houston-Texas Southern Football Game Notes (Nov. 24, 2007) in PDF Format 
HOUSTON - The University of Houston football team wraps up its 2007 regular season this weekend as it plays host to Texas Southern.
The Cougars will honor their 17 seniors as part of Senior Day activities prior to the game.
The Cougars (7-4, 6-2 Conference USA) face the Tigers at 2:30 p.m., Saturday at the friendly confines of John O'Quinn Field at Robertson Stadium. Fans can hear the game live on 790 AM The Sports Animal with Tom Franklin calling the play-by-play action, David Klingler providing color analysis and Chuck Brown reporting from the sideline. The pregame show is slated to begin one hour before kickoff.
Fans also can follow live stats over the Internet by clicking the "Gametracker" link at UHCougars.com.
The Cougars come into the game on the heels of a 35-28 win over C-USA rival Marshall last weekend in Houston. With that win, UH finished its league schedule with a 6-2 record.
The Cougars currently stand a half-game ahead of Tulsa in the West Division and have clinched at least a share of the Division title for the second straight season. However, UH needs crosstown rival Rice to upset Tulsa this weekend at Rice Stadium to advance to the C-USA Championship Game for the second consecutive year.
Tulsa owns the tiebreaker over the Cougars after taking a win on Nov. 10 in Oklahoma.
With a win over Texas Southern on Saturday, the Cougars will clinch their second consecutive winning season, a feat that has not been accomplished since 1989-90.
This season, senior running back Anthony Alridge and senior wide receiver Donnie Avery have given the Cougars one of the nation's most potent offensive tandems. Alridge paces the Cougar rushing attack with 1,411 yards and 12 touchdowns on 233 carries, while Avery leads the team with 75 catches for 1,193 yards and six touchdowns through the air.
Both players are ranked among the nation's Top-25 individual leaders in all-purpose yards per game.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Case Keenum has been a steady performer for the Cougars under center, racking up 1,803 yards and 12 touchdowns on 156-of-226 passing this season.
On the defensive side of the ball, senior free safety Rocky Schwartz is tops with 87 tackles, while junior strong safety Kenneth Fontenette leads the way with three interceptions. Junior defensive end Phillip Hunt, a 2007 C-USA Defensive Player of the Year candidate, ranks first with 15.0 tackles for a loss, including 8.5 sacks for a loss of 64 yards.
This marks the first time that the Cougars have met Texas Southern on the gridiron, though the two schools have been rivals in a variety of other sports.
It also marks the second straight season that the Cougars will face a team from the Southwestern Athletic Conference as part of the Cougar Classic. A year ago, the Cougars enjoyed a 42-22 win over Grambling State on Sept. 16, 2006.
Texas Southern (0-10, 0-9 SWAC) comes into this weekend's game on the heels of a 20-10 loss to Arkansas-Pine Bluff. This season, Brent Wilson leads the way with 318 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns, while Brian (B.J.) Haith is tops with 46 catches for 554 yards.
