University of Houston Athletics
Football Set to Play at Home This Weekend
9/21/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 21, 2007
Houston-Colorado State Football Game Notes in PDF Format
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HOUSTON - The University of Houston football team finally opens its home season at 3:30 p.m., this weekend when it plays host to non-conference rival Colorado State at the friendly confines of John O'Quinn Field at Robertson Stadium.
The Cougars (1-1, 1-0 C-USA) enter this weekend's game after an impressive 34-10 win at Conference USA rival Tulane last weekend. In that game, UH jumped out to a 31-0 lead and never looked back in winning for the fifth straight game against the Green Wave.
Senior running back Anthony Alridge, who rushed for a team-high 87 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries, also added a 49-yard touchdown catch against the Green Wave. He became the first player in school history to record both rushing and receiving touchdowns in one game in back-to-back contests.
This season, the Denton native leads all Cougar backs with 292 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns on only 40 carries.
Redshirt freshman Case Keenum and sophomore Blake Joseph have split time at quarterback in 2007. Keenum has compiled 364 yards on 27-of-48 passing with both signal-callers adding a pair of touchdowns.
Senior wideout Donnie Avery leads the Cougars with 13 catches for 169 yards through the air, while fellow senior Jeron Harvey has added 10 receptions.
On the defensive side of the ball, linebacker Rodney Rideau is tops with 11 tackles and is tied for second with two tackles for a loss. Junior nose tackles Tate Stewart is the team leader with three tackles for a loss and joins linebacker Brendan Pahulu and defensive end Phillip Hunt as the only players to post a sack in 2007.
Junior linebacker Cody Lubojasky and defensive back Kenneth Fontenette have each picked off one opposing pass with Fontenette chipping in with a team-high four pass breakups.
Fans can hear the game live on 790 AM The Sports Animal with Tom Franklin calling the play-by-play action, Ted Pardee 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 by clicking on the GameTracker link at UHCougars.com.
Saturday's game also will be televised live on CSTV (DirecTV Channel 610 and Dish Network Channel 152) with Carter Blackburn calling the play-by-play action and Brian Jones providing color analysis.
The Cougars own a 2-0 lead in the all-time series, which began in 1972. However, this will be the first time that these two teams have squared off on the gridiron since Nov. 10, 1973. This will be the first time that the Rams have visited Houston since the Cougars enjoyed a 48-13 win in the Houston Astrodome.
Colorado State comes into Houston this weekend looking for its first win of the 2007 campaign. Although the Rams are 0-2, they have suffered two losses by a combined nine points to Colorado in overtime and nationally ranked California.
CSU should be well rested when they face the Cougars, enjoying their lone off-weekend a week ago.
Senior quarterback Caleb Hanie leads the Rams with 530 yards and four touchdowns on 41-of-57 passing, while junior running back Kyle Bell is tops with 237 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 66 carries. Senior split end Johnny Walker leads all CSU wideouts with 10 catches for 127 yards.
Defensively, junior strong safety Mike Pagnotta has recorded a team-best 16 tackles, including eight solo stops. Sophomore defensive end Tommie Hill leads the way with a 7-yard sack.
