University of Houston Athletics
Houston Game Notes - Week 2 vs. North Texas
9/6/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 6, 2011
Game Note Central
Houston Game Notes North Texas Game Notes Conference USA Game Notes Sun Belt Game Notes
David Weekley, play-by-play
Drew Henson, analyst
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Tom Franklin, play-by-play
Ted Pardee analyst
Chuck Brown sideline
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Saturday, Sept. 10
6 p.m., Central
Denton, Texas
Apogee Stadium
(Capacity 30,850)
THE COACHES
Kevin Sumlin
Purdue 1988
4th year at UH and Overall, 24-16
Dan McCarney
Iowa 1975
1st year at UNT / 13th year Overall, 56-86
Fast Facts on the Series
Series Record Overall North Texas leads 7-5
Series Record in Denton Series tied 3-3
Series Record at Home North Texas leads 3-2
First Meeting Nov. 16, 1946; North Texas 7, Houston 3 (Public School, Houston)
Last Meeting Oct. 24, 1998; Houston 31, North Texas 9 (North Texas)
THE SERIES
- Saturday's contest will be the 13th meeting between Houston and North Texas in a series that the Mean Green lead, 7-5.
- The last meeting between these two teams was Oct. 24, 1998 when the Cougars defeated North Texas, 31-9.
- Houston has five starters from the Dallas/Fort Worth area on the roster -- FS Chevy Bennett (Dallas / Sachse), OL Ty Cloud (Highland Village / Flower Mound Marcus), PK Matt Hogan (Keller) and WR Justin Johnson (Richardson / Berkner) and LB Marcus McGraw (Arlington / Bowie)
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Case Keenum, QB, SR.
Case Keenum earned Conference USA Player of the Week honors from Rivals.com for his performance leading the Cougars over UCLA in the season opener. He passed for 310 yards, completing 75 percent of his passes and tossing two touchdowns. He recorded his 26th 300-yard game of his career and posted his 24th win as a starting quarterback. With one more win, he will tie the school record currently held by Arizona Cardinal QB Kevin Kolb.
Sammy Brown, LB, Sr.
Senior linebacker Sammy Brown ranks second in the nation and leads the conference in tackles for loss after posting 3.5 in the season opener against UCLA. In the past eight games (dating back to the Rice game in 2010), Brown has recorded 21 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, averaging 2.6 per game. He led Conference USA in 2010 with 20 for loss.
FOR OPENERS
- If Houston wins against North Texas, quarterback Case Keenum will tie former UH and current Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb for most wins as a starting signal caller at 26.
- Keenum was named the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week for his 310-yard, two touchdown performance vs. UCLA in the season opener when he completed 75 percent of his passes.
- Senior linebacker Sammy Brown leads Conference USA in tackles for loss as he did a year ago after posting 3.5 in the season opener, which also ranks second in the NCAA through one game. In 2010, he recorded 20 TFL, ranking fifth in the nation.
- In the season opener, the Cougars started nine new players, including the entire defensive secondary with junior college transfers Chevy Bennett at FS, D.J. Hayden at CB, Texas A&M transfer Colton Valencia at SS and sophomore Zach McMillian at CB. The defense also had first-time starters at middle linebacker in true-freshman Derrick Mathews and junior college transfer noseguard Dominic Smith. On the offensive side, there were three new faces on the offensive line in right tackle Rowdy Harper, and guards Ty Cloud and Kevin Forsch.
- In the preseason polls, Houston received 13 votes in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches' Poll, good enough for No. 36 and No. 37, respectively.
- Keenum needs 37 yards to pass Colt McCoy (Texas) on the NCAA career total offense list and 297 yards to pass Colt Brennan (Hawaii) on the NCAA all-time passing yardage list. He would be fourth on both lists.
- In 2010, 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.
- The Cougars have been to six bowl games in the last eight seasons.
SIXTH TIMES THE CHARM
Senior quarterback Case Keenum learned in January 2011 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 25 games with him at the helm in four years as a starter.
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 in 2009, 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 last 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.
Keenum 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 26 300-yard passing performances in his career and has led Houston to 14 career come-from-behind victories.
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.
Keenum is moving up the NCAA FBS all-time charts in several total offense and passing categories, after one game in the 2011 season, he ranks fifth on the NCAA's all-time total offense list, fifth in passing yardage and eighth in touchdowns thrown.
NCAA FBS All-Time Total OffenseRk. 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. Case Keenum Houston 2007- 14,788
NCAA FBS All-Time Passing YardageRk. 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- 13,896
NCAA FBS All-Time Touchdown PassesRk. Player School Years Yards1. 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- 109
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). He caught one pass for 16 yards against UCLA in the season opener. Carrier recorded his two 1,000-yard seasons in 2008 and 2009 with 1,026 and 1,029, respectively. He got off to a great start in 2011 with a 10-catch performance for 138 yards.
The duo both rank in the UH top-10 all-time receiving yards -- Edwards sixth with 2,771 yards and Carrier seventh with 2,673.
START ME UP FOR KEENUM
Quarterback Case Keenum has 25 wins as the starting quarterback for the Cougars, and with two 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 39 wins at Boise State.
Most Wins - Active FBS QuarterbacksRk. Name School Wins1. Kellen Moore Boise State 392. Case Keenum Houston 253. Tim Jefferson Air Force 224. Andrew Luck Stanford 215. Jordan Jefferson LSU 206. Russell Wilson Wisconsin 19* Wins came at N.C. State Landry Jones Oklahoma 19 Austin Davis Southern Miss 199. Matt Barkley USC 1810. Stephen Garcia South Carolina 17 Kirk Cousins Michigan State 17
Best Winning Percentage - Active FBS QuarterbacksRk Name School Pct. (W-L)1. Kellen Moore Boise State .951 (39-2)2. Andrew Luck Stanford .807 (21-5)3. Landry Jones Oklahoma .760 (19-6)4. Jordan Jefferson LSU .741 (10-7)5. Matt Barkley USC .720 (18-7)6. Tim Jefferson Air Force .687 (22-10)7. Case Keenum Houston .657 (25-13)8. Kirk Cousins Michigan State .653 (17-9)9. G.J. Kinne Tulsa .576 (15-11)10. Austin Davis Southern Miss .594 (19-13)
RUSH HOUR
UH has been known for its passing offense, however have a stable of running backs to strengthen the ground game.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 4,245. Among the three, Beall (2008) and Sims (2009) were honored as Conference USA Freshmen of the Year in their respective seasons.
In the season opener, the trio rushed for 131 yards (Case Keenum added another 30 yards rushing), led by Beall's 69 yards and a touchdown. Hayes scored twice and ran for 42 yards. Beall and Hayes both averaged over six yards a carry. Sims averaged 5.0 yards per rush on four carries for 20 yards.
Beall's A Ringing Senior running back Bryce Beall has 2,856 rushing yards in three-plus years at UH, which currently ranks fifth on the school's career rushing yards list. He needs 781 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 in 2010 and broke the UH career record for total and rushing touchdowns after scoring 12 last season. In three-plus seasons, he has rushed for 33 touchdowns and has 40 total for his career. He also has averaged 5.6 yards per rush.
EDWARDS DEFYING THE ODDS
Houston 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.
THE OFFENSE UNDER SUMLIN
In three-plus seasons at Houston, Kevin Sumlin has created an offense with gaudy numbers ranked among the nation's best each season. Its tough to match the numbers posted in 2009 when three phases ranked No. 1 nationally. However, through one game, UH ranks 17th in passing offense, 29th in total offense and 41st in scoring.
Year Passing (Rk) Total (Rk) Scoring (Rk)2011 310.0 (17th) 469.0 (29th) 38.0 (41st)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 40 consecutive games with a catch, which is tied for most in the country with Oklahoma's Ryan Broyles. Edwards ranks fourth nationally with 35 straight games played with a reception.
40 -- Tyron Carrier (Houston, Sr.); Ryan Broyles (Oklahoma, Sr.)
39 -- Damaris Johnson (Tulsa, Sr.)
38 -- Kendall Wright (Baylor, Sr.)
35 -- Patrick Edwards (Houston, Sr.); Joe Adams (Arkansas, Sr.)
34 -- Jeff Fuller (Texas A&M, Sr.)
OFFENSIVE NOTES
Senior quarterback Case Keenum totaled 340 yards of total offense against UCLA in the season opener to move to up to fifth on the NCAA's career total offense chart passing BYU's Ty Detmer and Hawaii's Colt Brennan. He now has 14,788 total yards, 37 yards shy of surpassing Texas' Colt McCoy.
Keenum was named the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week for his 310-yard, two touchdown performance vs. UCLA in the season opener when he completed 75 percent of his passes. Keenum connected with nine different receivers for 30 receptions. Keenum ranks ninth nationally in total offense with 340.0 yards per game
Senior receiver Tyron Carrier posted his first 100-yard performance since the 2009 season with his 10-catches for 138 yards in the season opener.
QUICK DRAW MCGRAW
Linebacker Marcus McGraw has started 40 straight games, every contest of his collegiate career, dating back to his true freshman season in 2008. With 385 total career tackles, McGraw ranks fifth in the UH record books needing 123 to break the all-time mark held by Ryan McCoy (1990-93). He got his senior season off to a great start with 16 tackles in the opener vs. UCLA, which ranks fourth in the NCAA and second in Conference USA.
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 who have accomplished that feat. He could be the second defender in school history to be the team leader in tackles all four years of college.
As a sophomore he led the conference and ranked fifth in the NCAA in tackles with 11.1 per game. McGraw was named Second Team All-Conference USA in both 2009 and 2010 as one of the league's top defensive players.
DEFENSIVE NOTES
Senior linebacker Sammy Brown has picked up where he left off in 2010 adding 3.5 tackles for loss in the season opener. Dating back the last eight games (to Rice in 2010), Brown has recorded 21 tackles for loss, an average of 2.6 TFL per game. He currently leads Conference USA (also led the league in 2010) and ranks second in the NCAA.
BLOCK PARTY
In three-plus seasons under head coach Kevin Sumlin, the UH football team has blocked 17 kicks, second-most in the country during that time span. The 17 blocks have come from seven different players and include eight field goals, six extra point attempts and three punts. In the 2011 season opener vs. UCLA, the Cougars had a crucial blocked kick on a Bruin extra point attempt in the fourth quarter. UCLA had a chance to get the score within three points after a late touchdown, but the UH block kept the margin at four points, which was the final score difference for the win, 38-34.
MOST BLOCKED KICKS SINCE 2008
21 -- Fresno State
17 -- Houston, Middle Tennessee, Texas
16 -- Florida
14 -- USC
12 -- UL-Lafayette
11 -- Rutgers
10 -- Air Force
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 5,941 all-purpose yards in four years, and with his 180 yards in the season opener he broke the school career record. 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
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
Placekicker Matt Hogan hit his 27th career field goal in the season opener and is now 27-of-30 in his three years at Houston, connecting on 90 percent of his attempts. He also added five extra points and has 97 for his career.
Jordan Mannisto returned to kickoff duties taking four-of-seven for touchbacks. He averaged 66.3 yards per kickoff and on the three kickoffs returned, UCLA averaged a mere 17.6 yards.
Punter Richie Leone averaged 49.3 on three punts, including two over 50 yards. He ranks eighth nationally and second in Conference USA.
POSITION CHANGES
After starting 36 games at offensive guard for Houston the past three years, senior Chris Thompson has moved to center. He started his 37th career game at UH in the season opener vs. UCLA and not only helped lead the team to 459 yards of total offense, but scored a touchdown on a fumble recovery. Thompson has been a part of offensive lines that has 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.
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 27-5 record (.844) at home. Even more impressive, the Cougars' margin of victory in those 27 wins is a remarkable 23.3 points per game (628 in 27 wins).
AGAINST OTHER CONFERENCES
Kevin Sumlin has a 7-6 (8-7 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
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 1-1 UCLA (W, 38-34, 2011; 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
RECORD CROWDS AT ROBERTSON
In 2010, 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. In the 2011 opener vs. UCLA, UH posted the 10th-largest crowd in stadium history and has seven of the school's top-10 crowds posted in the past three seasons. Nine of the top-15 attendance numbers have come during Sumlin's four 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. 31,144 vs. UCLA 9/3/11 Sumlin11. 30,046 vs. Tulsa 11/13/10 Sumlin12. 28,260 vs. Oklahoma State 9/23/06 Briles13. 28,243 vs. Rice 11/28/09 Sumlin14. 27,302 vs. Grambling State 9/16/06 Briles15. 26,889 vs. SMU 10/24/09 Sumlin
