Football Postgame Notes at UTEP
9/29/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 29, 2011
GENERAL NOTES
1. With Thursday's win, the Cougars improved to 5-0 for only the fourth time in school history... It is the first time since 1990... Other Houston teams that started 5-0 are 1979 and 1973.
2. The Cougars are 32-16-1 (.663) all-time in conference openers... The Cougars are 11-5 (.688) all-time in their Conference USA openers and have won four of their last five C-USA openers... UTEP is the only C-USA team to win during that current streak following a 58-41 win on Oct. 3, 2009, in El Paso.
3. The Cougars are 38-29-1 (.566) all-time when playing non-Saturday games... The Cougars are 7-12 (.368) all-time when playing on Thursdays,
4. Head coach Kevin Sumlin is 4-3 (.571) all-time when playing non-Saturday games... During his Houston career, Sumlin has led the Cougars in games played on every day of the week except Sunday and Monday.
5. Trailing 14-0 with 6:09 remaining before the half, the Cougars scored three touchdowns to take the lead in only 2:31. Houston scored offensive touchdowns in a combined six plays in 1:24, while taking the lead on a Marcus McGraw fumble recovery for a touchdown.
6. Thursday's contest marked the fifth-straight game the Cougars have scored at least 35 points.
7. Thursday's game marked only the second time in school history the Cougars had a 300-yard passer (Case Keenum - 471), two 100-yard rushers (Charles Sims - 111, Michael Hayes - 100) and a 100-yard receiver (Patrick Edwards - 144) in the same game. The first time it happened was on Aug. 31, 1996, against Sam Houston State in a 43-25 win (Chuck Clements - 321 passing yards, Ketric Sanford - 121 rushing yards, Antwan Smith - 108 yards rushing, Charles West - 111 receiving yards).
8. The Cougars racked up 710 total yards on Thursday, marking the second-straight contest with more than 700 yards (732 yards against Georgia State).
Case Keenum IN THE NCAA RECORDS BOOK
8. With 489 yards of total offense (471 pass, 18 rush), senior quarterback Case Keenum moved closer to the NCAA career record... Keenum now has 16,489 yards (15,591 pass, 898 rush) during his career... Hawai'i's Timmy Chang holds the NCAA career record with 16,910 yards from 2000 to 2004.
9. With 471 passing yards, Keenum moved higher in the NCAA records book... Keenum now has 15,591 passing yards during his career... Up next in the Houston records book is Texas Tech's Graham Harrell, who threw for 15,793 yards from 2005 to 2008.
10. With two touchdown passes, Keenum moved into a tie for third place in NCAA career history with 121 career touchdown passes... Keenum tied BYU's Ty Detmer (1998-91). Up next in the NCAA records book is Hawaii's Colt Brennan, who threw for 131 touchdowns from 2005-07.
Case Keenum NOTES
10. With two touchdown passes, Keenum posted the 31st multi-touchdown game of his career.
11. Keenum scampered for 17 yards early in the third quarter, marking the longest run for the signal caller of the season.
12. With 471 yards, Keenum posted the 30th 300-yard game and the 11th 400-yard game of his career.
13. Keenum improved to 29-13 (.690) all-time as the Cougars' starting quarterback... He owns the school career record with his win total.
OFFENSIVE NOTES
13. Sophomore Charles Sims posted a 40-yard touchdown run with 6:09 remaining in the second quarter for a new career long. Sims also scampered for 32 yards in his previous carry, breaking a previous best of 31 yards against Southern Miss on Oct. 31, 2009 in back-to-back carries.
15. Sims rushed for two scores on Thursday night, marking his first multiple-touchdown game of the season and the fourth of his career, marking the first time since Nov. 28, 2009 at Rice.
16. Sims also caught a 84-yard touchdown pass from Keenum, marking only the second time in his career he posted a rushing and receiving touchdown in the same game. Sims recorded a career high with three total touchdowns.
17. Sims rushed for 106 yards in the first half, marking his third-career 100-yard rushing game and the first since Sept. 27, 2009, against UCF. It was the first 100-yard rushing contest by a Cougar running back this season.
18. Senior receiver E.J. Smith caught a 23-yard touchdown pass with 6:10 remaining in the third quarter as Houston regained the lead at 31-28. The touchdown grab was the first of Smith's career, while he became the 20th different Cougar receiver to catch a touchdown pass from Keenum.
19. Senior running back Michael Hayes reeled off a career-long 71-yard touchdown run with 3:08 remaining in the third quarter. Hayes surpassed his previous long of 36 yards against UCF on Nov. 5, 2010.
20. Senior wide receiver Tyron Carrier recorded a reception in his nation-leading 44th consecutive game, every game of his collegiate career.
21. Carrier caught five passes for 77 yards to move to fifth place all-time with 2,938 career receiving yards.
22. Senior wide receiver Patrick Edwards recorded a reception in his 39th consecutive game.
23. Edwards caught eight passes for 144 yards, marking his 12th-career contest of 100-yards receiving.
24. With eight catches for 144 yards, Edwards moved into third place in Houston history with 227 career catches and remained in fourth place all-time with 3,264 total yards.
DEFENSIVE NOTES
25. The UTEP touchdown with 12:05 remaining in the first quarter was the first points scored on the Houston defense in 83:06, dating back to a Louisiana Tech touchdown with 5:11 remaining in the third quarter on Sept. 17, 2011.
26. Senior safety Nick Saenz posted his first interception of the season and the third pick of his career with 5:19 remaining in the first half in UTEP territory.
27. Senior linebacker Marcus McGraw recovered a fumble for a touchdown with 3:38 remaining in the first half to give the Cougars a 21-14 lead. The recovery was McGraw's first of the season and fourth of his career, while the 34-yard return was his career-best, as well as his first-career touchdown.
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
28. With Matt Hogan's missed 32-yard field goal attempt late in the first quarter, it broke his streak of nine-consecutive field goals dating back to Nov. 5, 2010. Hogan was 14-of-14 on field goals of 30-39 yards and had connected on 27-straight field goals under 40 yards prior to Thursday night.
29. With 11 points on Thursday, Hogan moved into fourth place all-time in kick scoring with 213 total points, surpassing Mike Clendenen (1981-84). Hogan improved to 31-of-35 in his career on field goal attempts and 121-130 on extra-point attempts.
SERIES NOTES
30. Houston now leads the series 5-4... Houston is 2-4 (.33) all-time against UTEP in El Paso, Texas... Houston won the last meeting with a 54-24 win on John O'Quinn Field at Robertson Stadium on Sept. 10, 2010.
UP NEXT
31. The Cougars return to action when they play host to Conference USA East member East Carolina at 6 p.m,, Saturday, Oct. 6, on John O'Quinn Field at Robertson Stadium.... That game will be televised live on CBS Sports Network.
