Houston Gridders Prepare to Travel to Southern Miss
11/15/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 15, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format 
| UH Football on Facebook | UH Football on Twitter | | Listen to the ISP Radio Network
GAME 11
Houston (5-5, 4-3 C-USA) at Southern Miss (7-3, 4-2 C-USA)
Nov. 20, 2010 // M.M. Roberts Stadium (36,000)
7 p.m. CT // Hattiesburg, Miss. // CBS-CS
RADIO BROADCAST
The Houston/ISP Radio Network will carry the radio broadcast with its pregame show beginning at 6:00 p.m. CT. Calling the action will be Tom Franklin (play-by-play), Ted Pardee (color analyst) and Chuck Brown (sideline). The broadcast can be heard on 790-AM KMBE and six affiliates (see page 13 of game notes for list of affiliates). The postgame show lasts 30-minutes after game conclusion.
TELEVISION BROADCAST
This Friday's game at Southern Miss will be nationally televised by CBS College Sports. Handling the play-by-play is Roger Twibell along with analyst Mike Leach.
Fast Facts on the Series
Series Record Overall -- Southern Miss leads 7-4
Series Record at Hattiesburg -- Southern Miss leads 1-4
Series Record at Home -- Houston leads 4-3
First Meeting --Nov. 9, 1957; Houston 27, Southern Miss 12 (Jackson, Miss.)
Last Meeting -- Oct. 31, 2009; Houston 50, Southern Miss 43 (Robertson Stadium)
THE SERIES
• This weekend's contest will be the 12th meeting between Southern Miss and Houston and the Golden Eagles lead the series, 7-4 and 4-1 in Hattiesburg, Miss.
• Head coach Kevin Sumlin is 1-0 vs. USM. Houston is 3-7 since the inception of Conference USA in which both teams joined 1995.
• The 2009 game vs. USM was an exciting 50-43 victory for the Cougars. Case Keenum hit Patrick Edwards for a 28-yard touchdown with 21 seconds remaining to break the 43-43 tie and give the 15th-ranked Cougars the win. James Cleveland had 190 yards receiving and two touchdowns. Tyron Carrier added 88 yards and Edwards had 61 in the 559-yard passing performance by Keenum.
• This week's game will be a homecoming of sorts for two Houston players -- junior starting lineback Sammy Brown (Wiggins, Miss./Stone County HS/Mississippi Gulf Coast CC) and junior wide receiver E.J. Smith (Canton, Miss./Velma Jackson HS).
• E.J. Smith's thoughts and prayers will be with his cousin, Southern Miss linebacker Martez Smith, who was injured earlier this week in the nightclub shooting. ____________________________________________________________________________
FOR OPENERS
• Starting linebacker Sammy Brown has come on strong in the past five games, recording 13.5 tackles for a loss of 51 yards and 5.5 quarterback sacks (-31 yards). He led the team with 11 stops vs. UCF, eight tackles in Houston's win over SMU and had eight against Rice. He leads the league in tackles for loss and ranks seventh in the NCAA. His 5.5 sacks are fifth in Conference USA and 34th nationally.
• Junior wide receiver Patrick Edwards is 202 receiving yards shy of recording his second straight 1,000-yard season. He has 54 receptions this year for a 14.8 yard per reception average. Entering this season, Edwards had scored 10 receiving touchdowns and in this year alone he has caught 11 touchdown passes.
• Junior running back Bryce Beall is 195 yards short of posting his second career 1,000-yard rushing season. In 2008, he rushed for 1,247 yards as a freshman.
• With his two rushing touchdowns at SMU, Beall broke the school career record for rushing touchdowns with 32, topping Jackie Battle's 31 scored from 2003-06. Beall also has 12 rushing touchdowns for the season which is three away from the school single-season record of 15.
• Houston ranks in the top-13 nationally in total, passing and scoring offense. With 39.1 points per game, UH is 10th in the NCAA in scoring, while 301.9 passing yards per contest is ninth. The UH total offense is ranked 13th with 469.0 yards per game.
• In Houston's five wins, the Cougars have outscored their opponents by an average of 30.6 points. UH won by 40 in the season opener vs. Texas State, by 30 over UTEP, were 19-point winners over Tulane, won by 25 at SMU and defeated Memphis by 39.
• UH has started true freshmen quarterbacks the past seven games since the season-ending injury of senior Case Keenum -- David Piland is 2-4 in the past five games, and Terrance Broadway won against Tulane. Until the fourth game of the season, UH had not started a true freshman quarterback since Kevin Kolb in 2003.
• In Houston's six home games this season, the total attendance was 190,366, for an average of 31,727 per game, the best total in Robertson Stadium history. Only four times since 1995 have the Cougars averaged more than 21,000 fans per game and three of those years were under head coach Kevin Sumlin (21,524, 2008; 25,242, 2009). UH put together five-straight attendance marks of 32,000-plus tickets sold, the first time the Cougars have sold out five straight games at Robertson Stadium.
• Twelve (12) true-freshmen have played for the Cougars this season opener -- TE Kenneth Bibbins, Jr., QB Terrance Broadway, DB Kent Brooks, DL Jeremiah Farley, DB Aaron Johnson, DB D.J. Jones, WR Darian Lazard, P Richie Leone, DB Zach McMillan, LB Efrem Oliphant, QB David Piland and LB Austin Wilson.
• Five of UH's 11 FBS opponents are now bowl eligible -- Mississippi State (7-2), UCF (7-2), Southern Miss (6-3), Tulsa (6-3) and UTEP (6-4).
• Houston football is in its 65th season of the program.
• With last year's trip to the Air Force Bowl, the Cougars have been to a school-record five straight bowl games and six bowl games in seven seasons.
• UH will be televised in 11 out of its 12 games this season. During the Sumin era, the Cougars have been on television 22 times in 26 games.
• Houston is the only FBS team in the NCAA with a minority head coach, offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator.
CONFERENCE LEADERS
Houston or Cougar individuals lead the conference in:
- Patrick Edwards, WR, touchdown scoring (1.2 per game)
- Patrick Edwards, WR, punt returns (16.5 per return)
- Sammy Brown, LB, tackles for loss (1.65 per game)
- Matt Nicholson, LB / Marcus McGraw, LB, fumbles recovered (0.30 rpg)
- Team, Scoring Offense (39.1 ppg)
- Team, Punt Return Average (15.2 per return)
- Team, Third-Down Conversions (55.5 pct)
LEADING THE WAY
• Head coach Kevin Sumlin is in his third season at Houston in 2010. In only two-plus seasons, the Cougar coach has established himself as one of the nation's premier collegiate leaders, compiling a 23-14 (.622) record and back-to-back bowl appearances.
• He is the only head coach in school history to lead the Cougars to bowl appearances in each of his first two seasons.
• Entering the 2010 season, Sumlin currently has the highest winning percentage in school history and ranks sixth in total wins. With one more win he will tie Harold Lahar and Kim Helton's 24 wins, which is the fourth highest win total in school history.
• In June, Sumlin was honored by the Black Coaches and Administrators as its Fritz Pollard Male Coach of the Year.
• Sumlin has an undefeated record vs. ranked opponents with wins over No. 5 Oklahoma State in 2009 and over No. 23 East Carolina and No. 24 Tulsa in 2008.
OFFENSIVE NOTES
• Despite a 33-40 loss to UCF, UH was just the second team to bypass the 30-point mark against the Knight's defense this season. Only East Carolina has scored more against the Knights in the 49-35 UCF victory. The Houston offense posted the most rushing, passing and total offense on the UCF defense this season. UH had 198 yards rushing, 334 yards passing and 532 yards of total offense.
• The UH offense had a 300-yd passer (David Piland, 334 yards), 100-yd rusher (Michael Hayes, 110 yards) and a 100-receiver (Patrick Edwards, 162 yards) against UCF, marking the first time for the Cougars since UTEP in 2008.
• Houston ranks 10th nationally in scoring offense with 39.1 points per game and leads Conference USA. The Cougars have scored 40 or more points in five of 10 games this season. In their five wins this season, the Cougars have won by a margin of 30.6 points.
• UH's total offense average of 469.0 ranks No. 13 in the NCAA and its 301.9 passing yards per game are ninth. In Coach Sumlin's career at UH, the offense has averaged 537.6 yards, 386.8 passing yards and 40.8 points. In 37 games under Sumlin, the team has scored 1,510 points.
• The UH offense has had only 16 three-and-outs all season, which is 12.7 percent of the 126 offensive drives this year.
• Patrick Edwards has 21 career touchdown receptions, which ranks tied for sixth in the Houston record books. He moves to fifth on the list with two more scoring catches.
• The Cougars are 82.0 percent in the red zone this season, scoring 41 times in 50 tries. Among those scores are 31 touchdowns and 10 field goals.
• Houston leads the conference and ranks third in the NCAA in third-down conversions at 55.5 percent (76-of-137).
• Four different Houston quarterbacks have completed passes to 14 different receivers this season.
• UH has scored 20 rushing touchdowns through 10 games. The school record for rushing touchdowns in a season is 36 in 1968. Bryce Beall broke the school career record for rushing touchdowns with 32.
• Junior running back Bryce Beall was named the Conference USA's Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 13 for his 195-yard rushing performance in the league-opening 54-24 win over UTEP. In the game, he averaged 10.3 yards per carry and scored three touchdowns.
• Edwards, Beall and Hayes rank 1-2-3 in the conference in touchdown scoring with 7.4, 7.2 and 6.0 points per game, respectively. Edwards and Beal each have 12 touchdowns in 10 games and Edwards has an added two-point conversion to his total. Hayes follows up with 10 touchdowns.
• True-freshman quarterback David Piland has led the UH offense on two 99-yard drives, the longest of the seasons -- vs. Rice, which ended in a 49-yard touchdown pass to Patrick Edwards and against Memphis culminating in a 33-yard TD to James Cleveland.
• In six starts, Piland has thrown 18 touchdown passes and averaged 288.8 passing yards per contest. He is 2-4 as a starter.
• The first-team offense was on the field for seven minutes in the season opener vs. Texas State. In 7:21, the offense scored 48 points, scored seven touchdowns, accumulated 342 yards of total offense and completed 17 passes including big plays of 63, 40 and 35 yards.
GROUND SURGE
The Houston offense has always been known for its explosive passing game, but through 10 games, the run game has become just as successful. With the 1-2 punch of junior running backs Bryce Beall and Michael Hayes, the Cougars are averaging 167.1 yards per game. Against UTEP, UH recorded 308 rushing yards, marking the first time the Cougars have topped 300 on the ground since Nov. 24, 2007 vs. Texas Southern (377). The Cougars also went over 200 yards rushing at Memphis with its 248-yard performance.
Hayes and Beall have worked as a two-headed tailback and combined have posted 1,329 yards in 10 games, 132.9 yards per game on 267 carries, averaging 5.0 yard per carry. The pair have scored 20 touchdowns. Beall also topped 2,000 yards rushing for his career and now ranks sixth on the school's all-time rushing list as a junior. He needs 55 yards to move up to fifth.
Beall put up a career-best 195 yards against UTEP, and had 100-yard games vs. Tulane and at Rice. Beall ranks third in the league 80.5-yard average and is averaging 5.7 yards per carry. Hayes rushed for 110 yards vs. UCF, after posting 123 the previous week at Memphis. The back-to-back 100-yard rushing performances marks the first time a Cougar running back has achieved the feat since the 2008 season when Beall racked up 107 yards against UAB (Oct. 9) and 105 yards at SMU (Oct. 18). Hayes has eight rushing touchdowns, ranking third in Conference USA in touchdown scoring.
DEFENSIVE CHANGES
Sumlin made changes to the defensive coaching staff during the offseason, bringing in long-time professional and college coach Brian Stewart to serve as defensive coordinator. Stewart spent the past nine years in the NFL ranks, including a three-year stint as defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys. He brought with him the 3-4 style, which has differed from the 4-3 run by the Cougars in Sumlin's first two seasons.
QUICK DRAW McGRAW
Junior linebacker Marcus McGraw is in his third year as a starter and leads the team in tackles for the second straight year with 9.10 per game. In 2009 he averaged 11.1 per game and ranked fifth nationally and led Conference USA. This season, he has 91 tackles, ranking fifth in the league, along with two sacks, one interception and two forced and three recovered fumbles including one 33-yard return. He leads the conference in fumbles recovered. He topped 300 in career tackles and now has 350 in three seasons, an average of 116 per year.
DEFENSIVE NOTES
• Starting linebacker Sammy Brown has come on strong in the past five games, recording 13.5 tackles for a loss of 51 yards and 5.5 quarterback sacks (-31 yards). He led the team with 11 stops vs. UCF, eight tackles in Houston's win over SMU and had eight against Rice. He leads the league in tackles for loss and ranks seventh in the NCAA. His 5.5 sacks are fifth in Conference USA and 34th nationally.
• Houston's new aggressive play has paid off through 10 games with 69 tackles for loss and 19 quarterback sacks. The Cougars are averaging 6.9 tackles for loss per game after only posting 4.6 per contest in 2009. The Cougar defense tallied the season's most tackles for loss vs. UCF, recording 11 for a loss of 24 yards.
• Nine different UH player have recorded 12 interceptions this season. Loyce Means has a team high three, Phillip Steward has two and Jeremy Smith, Matt Nicholson, Nick Saenz, Jamal Robinson, Marcus McGraw, Kent Brooks and Jacky Candy each have one.
• The Houston defense has forced 18 turnovers in 10 games, six fumbles and 12 interceptions. The Cougars have scored 58 points off turnovers. The offense has scored seven times off turnovers, and the defense has returned two interceptions for touchdowns. Senior linebacker Matt Nicholson had an interception return 42 yards for a touchdown vs. Texas State and senior corner Loyce Means had a 42-yard return vs. Tulane.
• Senior cornerback Loyce Means was named the Conference USA's Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 27 for his two-interception performance in the Cougars' 42-23 win over Tulane. Leading by five points, Means' two picks led to two scores, including his own 42-yard touchdown return, to ensure the win.
SEASON-ENDING INJURIES
Senior starting quarterback Case Keenum will miss the remainder of 2010 with a season-ending torn ACL knee injury. Additionally, junior back-up Cotton Turner suffered a fractured clavicle also resulting in the end of his play this year. Both quarterbacks sustained injuries in UH's game vs. UCLA on Sept. 18. Keenum left at the four-minute mark of the second quarter, while Turner went down at 4:09 in the third quarter.
The Cougars are also without two defensive players. Fifth-year senior linebacker Matt Nicholson went down with a season-ending knee injury vs. UCF. Defensive linemen Radermon Scypion suffered a broken leg and is out for the season.
EDWARDS DEFYING THE ODDS
Houston's leading 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 leads the team with 54 receptions for 798 yards. He has three times posted 100-yard games, vs. UCF, at Rice and vs. UTEP. Against Rice he topped the 2,000-career receiving yard mark, becoming one of only nine Cougar receivers to hit that milestone. He has 11 tocuhdown receptions this season, which ranks tied for sixth on the school's single-season list. He ranks fourth in the conference in receiving yards and sixth in receptions per game. He also ranks 10th nationally and leads the conference in punt returns with a 16.5 per return average. Against Memphis, he took one 74 yards for a touchdown, the first of his career.
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
• Through 10 games, sophomore placekicker Matt Hogan is 10-for-13 on field goal attempts. His 10 field goals combined with 47 extra points made gives him 77 points scored for the season, which is an average of 7.7 per game. That average ranks fourth in Conference USA in total scoring and in kick scoring. He has also made 22-of-25 field goals in his career at Houston, for 88.0 percent.
• Senior tight end Wesley Scourten has blocked three field goal attempts and one extra point this season. The 6-6 block specialist also blocked two field goals and a punt in 2008. He missed the 2009 season with an injury. He now has seven blocks for his career, which is a school record.
• The Houston special teams have blocked four kicks this season, bringing the total under Coach Sumlin to 15 in two-plus seasons.
• Starting true-freshman punter Richie Leone has averaged 42.0 yards on 26 punts, including 10 inside the 20 yard line and five over 50 yards. Against Tulane, he averaged 50.5 yards with punts of 63, 54 and 51 yards.
• Junior receiver Patrick Edwards leads the conference and ranks 10th nationally with his 16.5-yard average on punt returns. He has returned 14 punts in 10 games, including a 74-yard return for a touchdown vs. Memphis, his first career return.
• The duo of Jordan Mannisto and Leone have combined for 72 kickoffs in 10 games, 12 of which have gone for touchbacks. Mannisto averaged 63.0 yards on his 21 kickoffs, with six touchbacks and Leone has a 64.2 average with six touchbacks.
• Junior receiver/kick returner Tyron Carrier was named the Conference USA's Preseason Special Teams Player of the Year.
CATCHES STREAK
Junior receiver Tyron Carrier has caught a pass in every game of his college career, 37, which ranks third among active receivers in the NCAA.
47 - Scotty McKnight (Colorado, Sr.)
41 - Dwayne Harris (East Carolina, Sr.)
37 - Tyron Carrier (Houston, Jr.); Jock Sanders (West Virginia, Sr.)
36 - Damaris Johnson (Tulsa, Jr.); Greg Salas (Hawaii, Sr.)
35 - Ryan Broyles (Oklahoma, Jr.); Kito Poblah (Central Michigan, Sr.); Kendall Wright (Baylor, Jr.); Kris Adams (UTEP, Sr.)
TAKE IT TO THE HOUSE
As talented as junior Tyron Carrier has been as a wide receiver, he is just as impressive with his abilities on special teams. With his 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown at SMU, Carrier recorded his sixth touchdown off kickoffs. In 2009, Carrier led the Cougars and the nation with four kickoff returns for touchdowns, including a 79-yard effort against Air Force during the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl. He is the only player in school history with multiple kickoff return scores in a single season. Carrier is now just one touchdown from tying Clemson's C.J. Spiller's NCAA record of seven kickoff return touchdowns set from 2006 to 2009. In 10 games, Carrier has returned 37 kicks for 882 yards, a 23.8 yard per return average, which ranks fifth in the league. He has 5,341 all-purpose yards in three years, becoming only the third player in school history to hit 5,000. That number ranks third in the Houston record books in career all-purpose yards. With 374 yards, he will move up to second on that list and 477 yards would break the record in just his third season as a Cougar. 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
OFFENSIVE ACCOMPLISHMENTS UNDER SUMLIN
• 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 was 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.
POSITION CHANGE
With the start of the season, one player will be making a position change in 2010. After competing for three seasons on the defensive side of the ball, senior Isaiah Thompson will make the move to left guard in 2010. In three seasons at nose tackle, Thompson competed in 31 games, racking up 75 tackles and a fumble recovery. In his final game on the defensive line, he tallied a career-high nine tackles against Air Force at the 2009 Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl. Thompson has started all 10 games of 2010 at left guard and the offensive line has helped a balanced UH offense rank in the top-15 nationally in total, passing and scoring offense.
EARLY ENROLLEES
Two Cougars used the spring season as a head start for fall training camp. Senior defensive tackle Matangi Tonga (College of San Mateo) and junior linebacker Sammy Brown (Mississippi Gulf Coast CC) wore the Scarlet and White for the first time.
TOUGH TO BEAT AT THE ROB
Dating back to the 2005 season finale vs. Rice, the Cougars have taken advantage of playing at home on John O'Quinn Field at Robertson Stadium. The Cougars lost to UCF, 33-40, but still have a 27-5 (.844) record at home in their last 32 games. Even more impressive, the Cougars' margin of victory in those 27 wins is a remarkable 24.4 points per game (659 points in 27 wins).
KEENUM'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Prior to his season-ending injury, senior quarterback Case Keenun was in the race to break NCAA career records for total offense, passing yards, touchdowns, pass attempts and completions. After two-plus games played in 2010, Keenum will wrap up the year with 14,448 career yards of total offense (7th), 13,586 passing yards (5th), 107 touchdown passes (8th), 1,626 pass attempts (10th), 1,118 pass completions (7th).
Keenum passed for 274 yards and recorded 22 pass attempts vs. Texas State and with both he became the Houston career record holder in each, passing Kevin Kolb (2003-06). He is the school record holder in passing yards, total offense, passing touchowns, attempts and completions. Keenum 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 the nation in passing offense and total offense in 2009 and ranked No. 1 in total offense and second in passing in 2008. He 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 had 25 300-yard passing performances during his career and led Houston to 14 career come-from-behind victories.
COUGAR SUCCESS ACROSS THE BOARD
First-year Cougar volleyball coach Molly Alvey and her squad has won 11 of their last 13 matches and 11-4 record in Conference USA. The team is currently tied for third in the league. With 17 wins, the team has already surpassed its nine total victories from a year ago.
The UH women's soccer team finished third in Conference USA and head coach Susan Bush was awarded the Conference USA Coach of the Year Award. The team also made the semifinals of the C-USA Tournament with a 3-0 win over Marshall in the first round.
The UH women's cross country team finished their 2010 season with a 10th-place finish at the NCAA South Central Regional.
