University of Houston Athletics
Houston Game Notes -Week 1 vs. UCLA
8/29/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 29, 2011
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Houston Game Notes vs. UCLA 
Conference USA Game Notes
Saturday, Sept. 3
2:30 p.m., Central
Houston, Texas
Robertson Stadium
(Capacity 32,000)
The Coaches
Kevin Sumlin
Purdue 1988
3rd year at UH and Overall, 23-16
Rick Neuheisel
UCLA 1984
4th year at UCLA, 15-22 / 12th year Overall, 81-52
Fast Facts on the Series
- Series Record Overall UCLA leads 3-2
- Series Record in Los Angeles UCLA leads 2-1
- Series Record at Home Series tied 1-1
- First Meeting Sept. 17, 1977; Houston 17, UCLA 13 (Astrodome)
- Last Meeting Sept. 18, 2010; UCLA 31, Houston 13 (Rose Bowl)
- The Series
- This weekend's contest will be the sixth meeting between Houston and UCLA and will be the rubber match in games played in Houston.
- The last meeting between these two teams was on Sept. 18, 2010 when UCLA defeated the Cougars, 31-13. During that game, UH lost two quarterbacks, Case Keenum (ACL) and Cotton Turner (broken collarbone) to season-ending injuries.
- Houston placekicker Jordan Mannisto (Westlake Village, Calif. / Westlake) and back-up running back Braxton Welford (San Diego, Calif./Hoover/San Diego Mesa CC) are the only two players on the UH roster from the state of California.
Players to Watch
Case Keenum, QB, SR.
Case Keenum returns for his sixth year and fourth as a starter at the University of Houston. Keenum's 2010 season was cut short when he tore his ACL against UCLA in Los Angeles. Keenum is one of the nation's most prolific quarterbacks after leading the nation in total offense in 2008 and 2009. He was voted the 2011 Conference USA Preseason Offensive Player of the Year.
Tyron Carrier, WR/KR, SR.
University of Houston starting receiver and kick returner needs just 57 yards to break the school's all-time all-purpose yardage record. He also is one kickoff return for a touchdown away from tying the NCAA's career record in the category. He joins fellow senior Patrick Edwards with two 1,000-yard receiving seasons under their belts and look to make UH history with a third.
For Openers
- Saturday's game marks the 66th season of football at the University of Houston.
- UH is 33-30-2 in season openers and 37-28 in home openers.
- The Cougars have been to six bowl games in the last eight seasons.
- Houston is receiving 13 votes in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches' Poll, good enough for No. 36 and No. 37, respectively.
- Case Keenum needs 208 yards to pass Ty Detmer (BYU) on the NCAA career total offense list.
- The 2011 UH squad returns seven starters on offense (QB Case Keenum, RB Bryce Beall, C Chris Thompson, OT Jacolby Ashworth, WR Patrick Edwards, WR Tyron Carrier and WR Justin Johnson). Defensively, the team also returns seven starters (DL David Hunter, DL Tyrone Campbell, LB Marcus McGraw, LB Sammy Brown, LB Phillip Steward, LB Efrem Oliphant, DB Nick Saenz).
- Last season, Houston led Conference USA in passing offense (327.25) , punt returns (14.25 yards per return) and sacks allowed (1.00 per game). Receiver Patrick Edwards led C-USA in both touchdown scoring (7.4 points per game) and punt returns (15.4 yards per return). Linebacker Sammy Brown also led the league in tackles for loss with 1.67 per contest.
SIXTH TIMES THE CHARM
Senior quarterback Case Keenum learned in January 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 24 games with him at the helm in two-plus years as a starter.
KEENUM CHASES NCAA RECORDS
After throwing for 5,020 yards as a sophomore in 2008 and 5,671 in 2009, senior quarterback Case Keenum has the chance to become the first quarterback in FBS history to have three seasons with at least 5,000 yards passing. Also, Keenum is moving up the NCAA FBS all-time charts in several total offense and passing categories entering the 2011 season with a chance to become the NCAA's all-time leader in total offense, passing yardage and touchdowns thrown.
NCAA FBS All-Time Total Offense
Rk. Player, School Years Yards1. Timmy Chang, Hawaii 2000-04 16,9102. Dan LeFevour, Central Michigan 2006-09 15,8533. Graham Harrell, Texas Tech 2005-08 15,5994. Colt McCoy, Texas 2006-09 14,8245. Colt Brennan, Hawaii 2005-07 14,7406. Ty Detmer, BYU 1988-91 14,6657. Case Keenum, Houston 2007- 14,448
NCAA FBS All-Time Passing Yardage
Rk. Player, School Years Yards1. Timmy Chang, Hawaii 2000-04 17,0722. Graham Harrell, Texas Tech 2005-08 15,7933. Ty Detmer, BYU 1988-91 15,0314. Colt Brennan, Hawaii 2005-07 14,1935. Case Keenum, Houston 2007- 13,586
NCAA FBS All-Time Touchdown Passes
Rk. Player, School Years Touchdowns1. Graham Harrell, Texas Tech 2005-08 1342. Colt Brennan, Hawaii 2005-07 1313. Ty Detmer, BYU 1988-91 1214. Timmy Chang, Hawaii 2000-04 1175. Tim Rattay, Louisiana Tech 1997-99 1156. Danny Weurffel, Florida 1993-96 1147. Colt McCoy, Texas 2006-09 1128. Case Keenum, Houston 2007- 107
KEENUM'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS
In 2008, quarterback Case Keenum ranked No. 1 in the NCAA in total offense with 403.2 yards per game. One year later, he repeated in the total offense category with 416.4 yards while also adding an NCAA passing title. Keenum is only the seventh quarterback in FBS history to lead the nation in total offense in consecutive seasons and the first since Hawaii's Colt Brennan accomplished the feat in 2005-06. If Keenum matches that success in 2011, he could join Louisiana Tech's Tim Rattay (1997-99) as the only quarterback to lead the nation in total offense three years in his career.
In 2010, 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. 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 25 300-yard passing performances in his career and has led Houston to 14 career come-from-behind victories.
GOING 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 they will accomplish something no previous Cougar has.
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).
Carrier recorded his two 1,000-yard seasons in 2008 and 2009 with 1,026 and 1,029, respectively. The duo both rank in the UH top-10 all-time receiving yards -- Edwards sixth with 2,755 yards and Carrier eighth with 2,535.
START ME UP FOR KEENUM
Quarterback Case Keenum has 24 wins as the starting quarterback for the Cougars, and with three wins will surpass Kevin Kolb (26, 2003-06) with the most UH victories. He also has the second-most wins of all active NCAA quarterbacks behind only Kellen Moore's 38 wins at Boise State.
Most Wins - Active FBS Quarterbacks
Rk. Name School Wins1. Kellen Moore, Boise State 382. Case Keenum, Houston 243. Tim Jefferson, Air Force 214. Andrew Luck, Stanford 20 Jordan Jefferson, LSU 206. Russell Wilson, Wisconsin 18* Wins came at N.C. State Landry Jones, Oklahoma 18 Austin Davis, Southern Miss 189. Matt Barkley, USC 17 Stephen Garcia, South Carolina 17
Best Winning Percentage - Active FBS Quarterbacks
Rk Name, School Pct. (W-L)1. Kellen Moore, Boise State .950 (38-2)2. Andrew Luck, Stanford .800 (20-5)3. Landry Jones, Oklahoma .750 (18-6)4. Jordan Jefferson, LSU .741 (10-7)5. Matt Barkley, USC .708 (17-7)6. Tim Jefferson, Air Force .677 (21-10)7. Case Keenum, Houston .649 (24-13)8. Kirk Cousins, Michigan State .640 (16-9)9. G.J. Kinne, Tulsa .600 (15-10)10. Austin Davis, Southern Miss .581 (18-13)
CARRIER TAKING IT TO THE HOUSE
Senior kick returner Tyron Carrier has six returns for touchdowns over his three years at Houston, including four during the 2009 season. In 2010, he added another touchdown to his total with a 91-yard return at SMU. 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 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 5,761 all-purpose yards in three years, becoming only the third player in school history to hit 5,000. That number ranks second in the Houston record books in career all-purpose yards. With 57 yards, he will break the school's all-time record in the category. 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
RUSH HOUR
The Cougars return three running backs -- seniors Bryce Beall and Michael Hayes and sophomore Charles Sims -- with starting experience and a combined career yardage of 4,114. Among the three, Beall (2008) and Sims (2009) were honored as Conference USA Freshmen of the Year in their respective seasons. The trio are responsible for 74 percent of the rushing touchdowns over the past three years (49-of-66).
TOUGH TO BEAT AT THE ROB
The Cougars have taken advantage of playing at home at Robertson Stadium. Dating back to the 2006 season, UH is 26-5 record (.838) at home. Even more impressive, the Cougars' margin of victory in those 26 wins is a remarkable 24.7 points per game (624 in 26 wins).
QUICK DRAW MCGRAW
Linebacker Marcus McGraw has started 39 straight games, every contest of his collegiate career, including as a true freshman in 2008. McGraw was named Second Team All-Conference USA in both 2009 and 2010 as one of the league's top defenders.
As a sophomore he led the conference and ranked fifth in the NCAA in tackles with 11.1 per game.
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 (Gary McGuire, Ryan McCoy and Mike Parker) who have accomplished that feat. Parker is the only defender in UH history to lead the team in four seasons.
With 369 total career tackles, McGraw ranks sixth in the UH record books needing 139 to break the all-time mark held by Ryan McCoy (1990-93).
Beall Ringing
Senior running back Bryce Beall has 2,787 rushing yards in three years at UH, which currently ranks fifth on the school's career rushing yards list. He needs 850 yards in his senior season to become Houston's all-time rusher and surpass record-holder Ketric Sanford's (1996-99) 3,636 yards. Beall ran for 1,247 yards as a freshman, 670 as a sophomore in 2009 and 870 last year.
Beall earned First-Team All-Conference USA honors last season and broke the UH career record for total and rushing touchdowns after scoring 12 last season. In three seasons, he has rushed for 32 touchdowns and has 39 total for his career. He also has averaged 5.6 yards per rush.
THE OFFENSE UNDER SUMLIN
In three seasons at Houston, Kevin Sumlin has created an offense with gaudy numbers ranked among the nation's best each season. It's tough to match the numbers posted in 2009 when three phases ranked No. 1 nationally.
Year Passing (Rk) Total (Rk) Scoring (Rk)2011 --- --- ---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 (2002) 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
Senior receivers Tyron Carrier and Patrick Edwards have caught a pass in every game of their college careers. Carrier is on a streak of 39 consecutive games with a catch, which is tied for most in the country with Tulsa's Damaris Johnson and Oklahoma's Ryan Broyles. Edwards ranks third nationally with 34 straight games played with a reception. 39 -- Tyron Carrier (Houston, Sr.); Damaris Johnson (Tulsa, Sr.); Ryan Broyles (Oklahoma, Sr.) 37 -- Kendall Wright (Baylor, Sr.) 34 -- Patrick Edwards (Houston, Sr.); Joe Adams (Arkansas, Sr.) 33 -- Jeff Fuller (Texas A&M, Sr.)
BLOCK PARTY
In three seasons under head coach Kevin Sumlin, the UH football team has blocked 16 kicks, fourth most in the country during that time span. The 16 blocks have come from six different players and include eight field goals, five extra point attempts and three punts.
AGAINST OTHER CONFERENCES
Kevin Sumlin has a 6-6 non-conference mark (7-7 including bowl games) in his first three years at UH. Outside of Houston's eight conference games on the schedule in 2011, the Cougars battle schools from the Pac-10 (UCLA), Sun Belt (North Texas), WAC (Louisiana Tech) and one independent school (Georgia State).
Conference Record Under Sumlin Team (Result, Year)Big 12 2-2 Oklahoma State (L, 37-56, 2008; W, 45-35, 2009) Texas Tech (W, 29-28, 2009; L, 20-35)MWC 1-3 Air Force (L, 28-31, 2008; W, 34-28, 2008*; L, 20-47, 2009*) Colorado State (L, 25-28, 2008)Pac-10 0-1 UCLA (L, 13-31, 2010)SEC 1-1 Mississippi State (W, 31-24, 2009; L, 24-47, 2010)Southland 2-0 Northwestern State (W, 55-7, 2009); Texas State (W, 68-28, 2010)SWAC 1-0 Southern (W, 55-3, 2008)* bowl games
POSITION CHANGES
After starting 36 games at offensive guard for Houston the past three years, senior Chris Thompson has moved to center. Thompson has been a part of offensive lines that led the nation in total offense in 2008 and 2009 and ranked in the top-15 in 2010. Junior Kelvin King played two seasons at linebacker before being moved full-time to defensive end. In two years, he has totaled 6.5 tackles for a loss of 34 yards and three sacks.
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 led the team with 70 receptions for 1,100 yards. He ranked second in the conference in receiving yards and fourth in receptions per game.
Edwards topped the 2,000-career receiving yard mark, becoming one of only nine Cougar receivers to hit that milestone. If he puts together another 1,000-yard season, he could become the school's all-time receiving yards record holder.
Last season, he also ranked ninth nationally and second in the conference in punt returns with a 15.4 per return average. Against Memphis, he took one 74 yards for a touchdown, the first of his career.
EARLY ENROLLEES
This spring junior college transfers from the defending national champion Navarro College, D.J. Hayden and Chevy Bennett, enrolled early at Houston to get a jump on learning the defensive system. The pair look to be starters in the defensive seoondary.
RECORD CROWDS AT ROBERTSON
Last season, Houston sold out five of its six home games, and posted its two largest attendances in Robertson Stadium in the first two games of the season vs. Texas State and UTEP. UH's five sold out games each ranked in the top-6 crowds in stadium history. Nine of the top-15 attendance numbers have come during Sumlin's three years as head coach.
Top-15 Crowds at Robertston Stadium1. 32,119 vs. UTEP 9/10/10 Sumlin 32,119 vs. Texas State 9/4/10 Sumlin3. 32,114 vs. Texas Tech 9/26/09 Sumlin4. 32,067 vs. Mississippi State 10/9/10 Sumlin5. 32,009 vs. Tulane 9/25/10 Sumlin6. 32,008 vs. UCF 11/5/10 Sumlin7. 31,818 vs. Southern Miss 12/1/06 Briles8. 31,784 vs. Texas 9/22/01 Dimel 31,784 vs. Rice 9/4/99 Helton10. 30,046 vs. Tulsa 11/13/10 Sumlin11. 28,260 vs. Oklahoma State 9/23/06 Briles12. 28,243 vs. Rice 11/28/09 Sumlin13. 27,302 vs. Grambling State 9/16/06 Briles14. 26,889 vs. SMU 10/24/09 Sumlin15. 26,555 vs. Southern 8/30/08 Sumlin
