University of Houston Athletics
Game Notes - Houston vs. Memphis
10/8/2013 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 8, 2013
Game Notes (PDF) | Game Notes Central | Weekly Press Conference
TV/Radio Broadcast Schedule
| THE GAME AT A GLANCE | |
|---|---|
| Date | Saturday, Oct. 12, 2013 |
| Time | 11 a.m. |
| Location | Houston |
| Venue | BBVA Compass Stadium |
| Capacity | 22,000 |
| Surface | Natural Grass |
| TV | ESPNews |
| Radio | SportsTalk 790 |
| Audio | All Access |
| Live Stats | |
 | THE GAME |
» Houston's all-time record in its first 67 years of existence is 392-341-15 and the 2013 season marks Houston's first in The American and its first opportunity to automatically qualify for a BCS Bowl by winning its league crown. The American is Houston's sixth conference since the program started in 1946. The Cougars are a combined 32-22-1 when their first years as a conference newcomer are combined.
» Houston opened the season 4-0 for the eighth time in program history and the first time since 2011 and is looking to start the year 5-0 for the fourth time in program history. UH is one of 17 programs nationally that enter the weekend undefeated including two teams (Houston, Louisville) from The American. Thirteen of the 17 are in action this weekend.
» Houston's depth chart sports 23 underclassmen, including five true freshmen, vs. 23 upperclassmen, including just seven seniors.
» Houston returns on campus to the Houston Football Stadium in 2014 as its new stadium is being constructed on the footprint of its former home, Robertson Stadium. Houston will #PaintHoustonRed as it plays its 2013 games at three sites across the nation's fourth largest city. The Cougars will play five games in Reliant Stadium, home of the NFL's Houston Texans, one game at BBVA Compass Stadium, home of MLS' Houston Dynamo, and one game at Rice Stadium.
| | THE COACHES |
Justen Fuente | Murray State, 1999 | 5-11 (2nd year)
| | FAST FACTS ON THE SERIES |
Series Record at Houston Houston leads, 5-4
Series Record at Memphis Houston leads, 7-5
Last Meeting Houston 56, Memphis 17 (Oct. 30, 2010 at Memphis)
| | PLAYERS TO WATCH |
 | John O'Korn, QB, FR. True freshman quarterback John O'Korn looks to record his third career start Saturday against Memphis. After playing in the season's first two games, O'Korn took over as starter against Rice as David Piland recovered from a concussion suffered at Temple. O'Korn threw for 593 yards and seven touchdowns in his two starts and now has three games with at least three passing TDs. The first-year Cougar leads all true freshmen nationally with 10 passing TDs and a passing efficiency rating of 158.6. He is second among his classmates with a completion percentage of 63.5 percent. |
 | Efrem Oliphant, LB, JR. After starting three games as a true freshman in 2010, Efrem Oliphant redshirted in 2011 before playing 11 games on special teams in 2012. After a brief foray at defensive end in the spring of 2013, Oliphant has secured the starting weakside linebacker role for Houston and has responded accordingly as he leads the Cougars with four tackles for loss. Oliphant recorded his first career sack in Houston's win over Temple and has also forced a fumble and recovered a fumble early in the season. |
The weekly one-hour call-in radio show will take place each Tuesday from 8-9 p.m. CT and will air live on KPRC 950 AM (Weeks 1-5, 10, 12) and KBMF-AM SportsTalk 790 (Weeks 6-9, 11, 13). Join Houston head coach Tony Levine and host Jeremy Branham each Tuesday at Ragin Cajun restaurant at 4302 Richmond Ave. for the show.
| | THE OPPONENT |
» Memphis is seventh in The American in total offense with an average of 372.3 yards per game while its defense is third in the league in allowing 319.8 yards per game. Senior Brandon Hayes is Memphis' top rusher with 307 yards on 60 attempts while true freshman Marquis Watford is averaging nine yards a carry with 251 yards on 28 attempts. Defensively, Houston native and defensive lineman Martin Ifedi leads Memphis with 5.5 sacks and 9.0 tackles for loss. Linebacker Anthony Brown paces the Tigers with 28 tackles while Bobby McCain owns two of the Tigers' three interceptions.
» Houston and Memphis have met 21 times with UH owning a 12-9 series lead including a 5-4 mark in Houston. The Cougars have won the last three meetings by a combined score of 134-51.
| | TIES WITH MEMPHIS |
» Memphis QBs coach Brad Cornelsen spent the 2008 season as quarterbacks coach at Oklahoma State where he worked with UH Offensive Coordinator Doug Meacham and UH offensive line coach Glen Elarbee.
» Memphis has 16 players from the state of Texas on its roster.
| | LAST TIME OUT |
» After returning a blocked field goal for a touchdown in the third quarter, UH entered the fourth with a 31-28 lead before exploding for 28 points in the final stanza while its defense forced five UTSA turnovers.
» The Houston defense forced multiple turnovers for the 12th straight game as William Jackson, Trevon Stewart, Zach McMillian and B.J. Singleton all picked off UTSA passes. Efrem Oliphant recovered a fumble to go along with his game high 11 tackles.
» Offensively, the Houston play calling was balanced as the Cougars had 32 rushing attempts for 150 yards and 39 passing attempts resulting in 341 yards through the air.
» Offensively the Cougars were led by WR Deontay Greenberry who recorded his third straight 100-yard receiving game, finishing with 149 yards on nine receptions including one touchdown. Xavier Maxwell converted two of three receptions into touchdowns as Ryan Jackson added a receiving score as well.
» At quarterback, freshman John O'Korn started his second straight game and finished with career highs in yards (312), touchdowns (4), completions (24) and rushing yards (31). Classmate Greg Ward Jr. also saw action at QB and rushed for his first career TD as he finished the day with two completions for 29 yards and four carries for 11 yards.
| | MOVING TO THE AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE |
» One of four new programs in The American Athletic Conference, Houston will host Cincinnati, Memphis, SMU and USF while traveling to UCF, Louisville, Rutgers and Temple. Non-conference action will see UH face off against Southern, Rice, UTSA and BYU. Houston has never played three of the teams - BYU, Rutgers and UTSA.
» Entering its 23rd season as a football-playing entity, The American Athletic Conference holds its BCS automatic qualifier status for the 2013 season.
| | #PaintHoustonRed |
» Houston held its official groundbreaking for the Houston Football Stadium on the previous footprint of Robertson Stadium on Feb. 8, 2013. The 40,000-seat stadium is set to open August of 2014.
» With its on-campus home being constructed, the Cougars will #PaintHoustonRed as they play four of their 2013 games at Reliant Stadium, home of the NFL's Houston Texans, one at BBVA Compass Stadium, home of the MLS' Houston Dynamo and one at Rice Stadium.
» Houston is 3-4 all time at Reliant Stadium with its first win in the stadium coming last season when it defeated crosstown rival Rice, 35-14.
» The Cougars are 55-36-3 all time at Rice Stadium, home of the Nov. 23 meeting with Cincinnati, and have never played at BBVA Compass Stadium, the site of their Oct. 12 game vs. Memphis.
| THE AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE STANDINGS | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMERICAN | OVERALL | |||||||
| TEAM | W | L | Pct. | W | L | Pct. | LAST WEEK | THIS WEEK |
| Houston | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 4 | 0 | 1.000 | - | Memphis |
| Louisville | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 5 | 0 | 1.000 | W, at Temple, 30-7 | Rutgers |
| UCF | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 4 | 1 | .800 | W, at Memphis, 24-17 | - |
| Rutgers | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 4 | 1 | .800 | W, at SMU, 55-52 (3 OT) | at Louisville |
| USF | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 1 | 4 | .200 | W, Cincinnati, 26-20 | at Conneticut |
| Conneticut | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 4 | .000 | - | USF |
| Cincinnati | 0 | 1 | .000 | 3 | 2 | .600 | L, at USF, 26-20 | Temple |
| SMU | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1 | 3 | .250 | L, Rutgers, 55-52 (3 OT) | - |
| Memphis | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1 | 4 | .200 | L, UCF, 24-17 | Houston |
| Temple | 0 | 2 | .000 | 0 | 4 | .000 | L, Louisville, 30-7 | at Cincinnati |
| 2013 NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conference | Overall | |||||||
| TEAM | W | L | Pct. | W | L | Pct. | LAST WEEK | THIS WEEK |
| Southern (SWAC) | 2 | 1 | .667 | 2 | 3 | .400 | - | Alabama A&M |
| Rice (C-USA) | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 3 | 2 | .600 | W, at Tulsa, 30-27 (OT) | at UTSA |
| UTSA (C-USA) | 1 | 1 | .500 | 2 | 4 | .333 | L, at Marshall, 34-10 | Rice |
| BYU (Independent) | - | - | - | 3 | 2 | .600 | W, at Utah State, 31-14 | Georgia Tech |
| | DEGREES IN HAND |
» Bates earned his degree in health while Oragwu completed course work for a sociology degree.
» On the business side of things, Bamfo and Cloud received degrees in consumer sciences and marketing while Forsch earned a business degree.
» Three additional Cougars complete their degree requirements this December: Aaron Johnson, Austin Lunsford and David Piland.
| Conference | Years | Record | First Year/Finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lone Star | 1946-48 | 12-20 | 4-6/5th |
| Gulf Coast | 1949 | 5-4-1 | 5-4-1/3rd |
| Missouri Valley | 1951-59 | 49-37-3 | 6-5/4th |
| Southwest | 1976-95 | 115-108-4 | 10-2/1st |
| Conference USA | 1996-2012 | 104-103 | 7-5/1st |
| American | 2013- | 4-0 | 1-0/? |
| | BEGINNER'S LUCK? |
» Houston has won the last three conferences in its first year in the new league and has a combined conference record of 33-22-1 the six combined seasons as a league newcomer.
| | ABOUT THE 2013 COUGARS |
» The 12 opponents on the 2013 schedule combined for a record of 85-65 (.567), eight finished .500 or better, six won at least eight games including three with at least 10 wins and seven played in bowl games.
» The program welcomed an incoming class of 29 that is comprised of 19 high school student-athletes, eight junior college transfers and two four-year transfers.
» Five of the 26 newcomers enrolled in the program in January for spring workouts - DE Trevor Harris, WR D'Juan Hines, LB Elandon Roberts, LB Caleb Tucker and DB Turon Walker.
» Houston's roster sports 47 players who were not with the program in 2012 and 15 who redshirted last season in their first year on campus.
| | YOUTH IS SERVED |
» All together, the Houston offensive and defensive two-deep shows five true freshmen, four redshirt freshmen, 14 sophomores, 16 juniors and the seven seniors.
» Eight true freshmen have seen action this season: WR Demarcus Ayers, DE Tyus Bowser, K Ty Cummings, TE/DE Chauntez Jackson, WR John Leday, FB Tyler McCloskey, QB John O'Korn and QB Greg Ward Jr. with O'Korn receiving the only starts among the group.
» Nine true freshmen played in 2012 for Houston including 30 starts.
» Three of Houston's top nine receivers in 2012 were true freshmen while three of the top four rushers were sophomores or freshmen.
» Trevon Stewart led all freshmen nationally with 126 tackles in 2012 en route to being named an FWAA Freshman All-American.
» Stewart and receivers Deontay Greenberry and Larry McDuffey were named to the Conference USA All-Freshman team last season. Greenberry led the league's freshmen with 47 receptions for 569 yards while McDuffey led all first-year players in the league with four receiving touchdowns.
| | LOOKING BACK AT 2012 |
» Safety Trevon Stewart earned FWAA Freshman All-America honors while 13 total Cougars earned All-Conference USA honors.
» Nine true freshmen played on the year and accounted for 27 starts.
» With 45 points in its win over UTEP, Houston eclipsed the 35-point mark for the fifth straight game, a feat that had only been accomplished two other times in program history - by the 2011 team (12 straight games to open the season) and the 1989 team (six straight games to end the season).
» The 2012 senior class closed out its career in a tie for seventh for the most wins, 33, by a single class in a four-year period at the University of Houston.
» Injuries hit the Houston program especially hard last season as members of the team's two deep missed a combined 58 games this season due to injuries. Eight players suffered season-ending injuries and the team's most valuable player, Charles Sims, was forced to miss three full games and the second half of three others.
| School | C-USA Record | Overall Record |
|---|---|---|
| Tulsa | 48-17 | 72-34 |
| Houston | 45-19 | 65-39 |
| East Carolina | 44-20 | 57-46 |
| UCF | 43-22 | 60-44 |
| Southern Miss | 36-28 | 57-45 |
| | END OF CONFERENCE USA ERA |
» Houston never finished worse than third in the West Division of Conference USA after finishing in the top three in 2012.
» C-USA title game participants in 2011, 2009 and 2006, Houston and Tulsa (2012, 2008, 2007, 2005) established a grip on the C-USA West crown. Only SMU (2010) advanced from the west to the C-USA title game in the game's eight-year existence.
» Houston ended its C-USA stint with the second-best league record since 2005 when the conference split into two divisions. Over the last eight years since the divisional split, Houston accumulated a league record of 45-19 and an overall record of 65-39.
| | ON THE OFFENSIVE |
» The Houston offense has scored in all 16 quarters this season, hitting double digits in a quarter eight times.
» Entering Saturday, Houston has a streak of nine consecutive quarters with a touchdown.
| Rank | Team | Total Yards (06-present) | Season Average (06-12) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | HOUSTON | 50,462 | 6,902 |
| 2. | Oregon | 48,129 | 6,387 |
| 3. | Oklahoma | 46,978 | 6,386 |
| 4. | Nevada | 46,921 | 6,334 |
| 5. | Boise State | 44,404 | 5,992 |
| | QUICK STRIKE POTENTIAL |
» Houston has returned to its ways this season as 13 of its 28 scoring drives this season have lasted under two minutes including six in under one minute. Its quickest lasted just eight seconds as the Cougars covered 15 yards on one play, a Justin Hicks' 15-yard touchdown run at UTSA.
» Nine drives have lasted five plays or less.
| Expolsive Plays (20 yards or longer) | ||||
| Team | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Oklahoma State | 75 | 94 | 92 | 261 |
| 2. Houston | 65 | 109 | 80 | 254 |
| 3. Oregon | 82 | 88 | 80 | 250 |
| 4.. Baylor | 69 | 93 | 86 | 248 |
| 5. Northern Illinois | 77 | 79 | 73 | 229 |
| | EXPLOSIVE PLAYS |
» After recording 12 plays of 20 yards or longer in the first two games of the season, the Cougars have exploded for 24 plays of 20 yards over the last two games, including seven touchdowns.
» Deontay Greenberry owns the team lead with nine explosive plays including two touchdowns - all receptions. Daniel Spencer has seven explosive plays, six receiving and one rushing, while freshman Demarcus Ayers has five kick returns of 20 yards or more.
» For a full breakdown of Houston's explosive plays this season, jump to page 19 of the notes.
| | OFFENSIVE COACHING CHANGES |
» Entering his second season at Houston, Travis Bush was elevated to co-offensive coordinator and assistant head coach and shifted back to leading the program's running backs after taking over as offensive play caller and quarterbacks coach during the 2012 season.
» Glen Elarbee joined the program on Jan. 14 as its offensive line coach after spending 2012 at Middle Tennessee State where his unit ranked second nationally with just seven sacks allowed on 344 pass attempts. The first-year Houston coach spent two seasons coaching alongside Meacham at Oklahoma State.
» Brandon Middleton and Jamie Christian both return in 2012 with Middleton coaching outside receivers and Christian taking on the inside receivers including the return of the tight end position.
| | PASSING VS. RUSHING |
» Known for years as one of the nation's top passing teams, this season those who follow the Houston program have seen a shift of sorts. While the Cougars are still running their usual spread offense, they actually have 167 rushing attempts on the season to 161 passing attempts.
» After rushing 50 times and attempting 38 passes against Southern, Houston was completely balanced against Temple with 48 rushing attempts and passing attempts. The balance returned against Rice with 37 rushing attempts vs. 36 passing attempts. Passing held an edge of 39-32 over rushing in Houston's win at UTSA.
» The last time Houston had more rushing attempts than passing attempts in a season was 2007 when Houston had 599 rushing attempts for 2,911 yards and 437 passing attempts for 3,614 yards.
» With Houston offensive coordinator Doug Meacham on its staff, Oklahoma State trailed just Houston in passing yards over the 2010-12 seasons and were second nationally in scoring and total offense during that time.
| | OPENING UP A CAN OF O'KORN |
» In his first road start, O'Korn responded admirably as he led UH to a 59-28 win at UTSA with career highs in completions (24), attempts (36), yards (312) and touchdowns (4). O'Korn also added a career-high 31 yards on the ground in the win.
» O'Korn played in the first two games of the season - entering on the games' fourth series by design. Against Southern he finished with 107 yards and three touchdowns on 11-of-15 passing while recording 233 yards on 23-of-31 passing at Temple.
» O'Korn leads all true freshmen nationally with 10 passing touchdowns, a number that ranks third in The American Athletic Conference, and in passing efficiency at 158.6, also ranking third in the league. He is second among all true freshmen with a completion percentage of 63.5 percent.
» O'Korn knows a thing or two about winning as he led St. Thomas Aquinas to the Florida Class 7A State Title en route to earning Florida 7A Offensive Player of the Year honors. He finished the year with 2,552 passing yards and 22 touchdowns against just four interceptions while rushing 95 times for 576 yards and 15 touchdowns.
» A second true freshman, Greg Ward Jr., has provided a relief for O'Korn over the last two games, throwing for 77 yards on 5-of-6 passing while rushing for 91 yards on 13 attempts including his first career TD, a six-yard run at UTSA.
» One of the top quarterbacks in the state of Texas, Ward threw for 4,202 yards and 39 touchdowns against five interceptions as a senior at John Tyler High School. A dual threat, Ward also added 861 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground.
» The win over Rice marked just the second time in Houston history that two true freshmen QBs played in the same game. The first came in 2010 when Piland and Terrance Broadway (now at Louisiana) each played against Mississippi State and Memphis.
| | NO SIGN OF SOPHOMORE SLUMPS |
» Carrying on the youthful theme for Houston, there has been no sign of sophomore slumps for three of the team's offensive threats in WR Deontay Greenberry and RBs Ryan Jackson and Kenneth Farrow.
» Through four games, Jackson has already surpassed his 2012 rushing total of 252 yards by 132 yards. The sophomore from Angleton, Texas, has 384 yards and four touchdowns on 64 carries after totaling 252 yards and three TDs on 59 carries in 2012.
» Jackson rushed for over 100 yards in Houston's first two games, part of a three-game streak of 100-yard rushing games dating back to last season's finale.
» Jackson has scored in each of Houston's four games this season with four rushing touchdowns and two receiving touchdowns and ranks fourth in The American with an average of nine points per game.
» Sophomore walk-on RB Justin Hicks tallied his first career touchdown against Southern as he plunged in from one-yard out and has 94 yards on 18 carries this season including a second TD, a 15-yard run at UTSA.
» If the first four games are any indication, both Farrow and Jackson should easily surpass their 2012 rushing totals with Jackson having already accomplished the feat with 10 more carries, 132 yards and one touchdown more than he totaled in the entire 2012 season.
» As is the case with Farrow and Jackson, Greenberry's season is off to a great start and he too will be expected to surpass his 2012 numbers with ease. After starting 11 games on the outside in 2012, Greenberry has moved to the inside and as the numbers show, the move has paid off. He set career highs with 14 receptions for 165 yards at Temple as the game opened Greenberry's current three-game streak of 100-yard receiving games, in fact Greenberry has three straight games of at least 146 receiving yards.
| | TAKE IT AWAY, DON'T GIVE IT AWAY |
» Through four games, Houston has committed just three turnovers: two fumbles and an interception. The three turnovers lost ranks second nationally behind just Louisville (2).
» On the other side of the ball, the Houston defense has forced 14 turnovers, six fumbles and eight interceptions, to rank 10th nationally and lead every team nationally who has played just four games by three turnovers.
» Seven different players have interceptions for the Houston defense with Zach McMillian recording two picks.
» The Cougar defensive line has collected three interceptions as end Tyus Bowser and tackles Tomme Mark and B.J. Singleton all have one interception each.
» Five Cougars have fumble recoveries led by Trevon Stewart with two recoveries while six have forced fumbles led by the two from Thomas Bates.
» The Houston defense has forced multiple turnovers in all four games this season - Southern (4), Temple (3) and Rice (2) - and has forced multiple turnovers in 12 straight games dating back to 2012.
| | A WHOLE CAST OF CHARACTERS |
» The 10 returning players who recorded a catch in 2012 combined for a total of 191 receptions for 2,410 yards and 17 touchdowns.
| Receptions | Yards | TDs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What Returns | 191 (56.7%) | 2,410 (61.2%) | 17 (63.0%) |
| What Was Lost | 146 | 1,531 | 10 |
» The 2012 season saw 19 different Houston players record a reception including eight players with at least 20 receptions and four with at least 37. At least seven different players had a reception in 11 of 12 games.
» In the season's first four games, 12 UH players have recorded a reception with five players - Deontay Greenberry (3), Daniel Spencer (3), Xavier Maxwell (2), Ryan Jackson (2) and John Leday (1) - pulling in touchdowns.
| Opponent | # with a reception | # with receiving TDs | 100-yard receivers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern | 8 | 3 | 1 - Spencer |
| Temple | 6 | 0 | 1 - Greenberry |
| Rice | 7 | 3 | 1 - Greenberry |
| UTSA | 7 | 3 | 1 - Greemberry |
» Houston has had 100-yard receivers in each of its four games this season as Daniel Spencer (102 vs. Southern) and Deontay Greenberry (165 at Temple, 146 vs. Rice, 149 at UTSA) have each accomplished the feat so far.
» Both Greenberry (14-165) and Xavier Maxwell (8-75) set career highs for receptions and receiving yards at Temple.
| | THE LINE ON THE LINE |
» The unit took a hit in the season opener as OT Ralph Oragwu suffered a knee injury and has missed the last three games. The senior was starting his first career game at left tackle after starting 10 games at right tackle in 2012. Rowdy Harper, who owns 30 career starts including 12 at left tackle in 2012, moved back to LT over to replace Oragwu after starting the year at LG.
» The offensive line group consists of seven players with a combined 112 games of starting experience - Harper (30), LG Ty Cloud (26), RG/C Kevin Forsch (23), C Bryce Redman (12), Oragwu (11), G/T DeAnthony Sims (6) and T Zach Johnson (4).
» The group of starters sports an average height of 6-3 with an average weight of 311 pounds.
» The line currently ranks second in The American Athletic Conference and 18th nationally with four sacks given up.
» The front line unit is led by new coach Glen Elarbee who coached a Middle Tennessee State offensive line in 2012 that finished second nationally with just seven sacks given up.
| | CHANGES TO THE DEFENSIVE STAFF |
» Also new to the Houston defensive staff is linebackers coach Vernon Hargreaves. 28-year coaching veteran has been part of a coaching staff that has played in a bowl in 12 of his last 15 seasons including back-to-back BCS National Championship appearances at Miami.
» In his second season at Houston, Ricky Logo took over the entire defensive line while Zac Spavital, the longest tenured assistant coach, handles the secondary for the sixth season.
| | WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES |
» After four games, UH's defensive numbers look drastically different from what they looked like after four games in 2012...
| Opponents Totals | Total Def. | Scoring Def. | Rushing Def. | Passing Eff. | W/L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 (first 4 games) | 407.0 (73rd) | 20.0 (28th) | 126.5 (33rd) | 124.1 (52nd) | 4-0 |
| 2012 (first 4 games) | 488.0 (111th) | 34.3 (101st) | 202.3 (100th) | 139.6 (87th) | 1-3 |
» In holding its first three opponents to a combined 52 points, Houston had its best three-game start to the season in regards to scoring defense since 1999 when the Cougars held its first three opponents to a combined 40 points en route to starting 2-1.
» This season also marks the first since 1989 that UH has not allowed more than 26 points to any of its first three opponents.
» The back-to-back 13 point totals to open in the season is also the lowest combined point total from Houston opposition since the `89 team held UNLV (0) and Arizona State (7) to a combined seven points to open the season.
| CAREER DOUBLE DIGIT TACKLE EFFORTS | |
|---|---|
| 1. Derrick Mathews | 11 |
| 2. Trevon Stewart | 6 |
| 3. Kent Brooks | 4 |
| Efrem Oliphant | 4 |
| 5. Zach McMillian | 2 |
| Adrian McDonald | 2 |
| 7. Colton Valencia | 1 |
| Steven Taylor | 1 |
| | TACKLING MACHINES |
» So far this season four Cougars have 10 or more tackles in a game: Derrick Mathews (13 at Temple), Steven Taylor (11 vs. Rice), Adrian McDonald (10 vs. Rice) and Efrem Oliphant (11 at UTSA).
» Derrick Mathews led the way with eight double-digit tackle efforts in 2012. Mathews had a game-high 13 stops at Temple to record his 11th career double-digit tackle game.
» The junior middle linebacker is currently 26th nationally with an average of 9.8 tackles per game.
» In his first year on the collegiate level, Trevon Stewart led all freshmen nationally with 126 tackles and was second to Marshall's Dominick LeGrande (132) as the nation's top defensive back in tackles.
» Stewart was second behind Mathews with his six games with at least 10 tackles including a Houston season-high 21 stops against East Carolina. The 21-tackle total marked the seventh-best tackle game in Houston history.
» Mathews and Stewart finished tied for second on the team with 126 tackles each, just two behind the 128 of team leader, 2012 senior Phillip Steward.
| | SECONDARY STARTERS |
» The group has also made a name for itself in the takeaway department, recording nine of the team's 14 turnovers.
» Behind linebacker Derrick Mathews' 30 starts, senior cornerback Zach McMillian has the most starts of all defensive players with 29 career starts. The No. 2 corner on the 2012 team until D.J. Hayden went down with a season-ending injury, McMillian stepped up into the lead role and finished the season with interceptions in four of the last five games including all three games that Hayden missed. McMillian shares The American Athletic Conference's lead with two interceptions in the season's first four games.
» Also affected by Hayden's injury was senior corner Thomas Bates who started the final three games of the season at the No. 2 corner. In those three games Bates collected 26 tackles after only totaling nine tackles in the first nine games of the season. Bates also led the team in passes broken up, with 10 including five in the three games he started. Known as a hard hitter, Bates leads the team with two forced fumbles through four games.
» At free safety, Trevon Stewart returns after starting the final 10 games of 2012 at the position en route to earning FWAA Freshman All-America honors. The Patterson, La., native also broke up seven passes. Stewart has already gotten his hand on the ball in 2013 as he has recorded a fumble recovery in each of Houston's first two wins before making his first interception of the year at UTSA.
» Adrian McDonald started two games in 2012 at nickel back before starting the season-finale at strong safety. A high school quarterback in his first year on defense, McDonald finished his lone start at strong safety with eight tackles, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. The Lawton, Okla., native also picked off two passes on the season. McDonald has started strong in 2013, with 27 tackles, an interception that helped seal Houston's win at Temple and a fumble recovery vs. Rice.
| | LOOK AT THE LINEBACKERS |
» Mathews' replacement on the weakside is junior Efrem Oliphant, a veteran of 27 career games with seven career starts, including three as a true freshman in 2010 when he was named to the Conference USA All-Freshman team. A junior, Oliphant already has 4.0 tackles for loss, eclipsing the 3.5 TFLs he recorded in his first two seasons of action. Oliphant also has his first career solo sack and forced fumble this season. He is backed by George Bamfo, a veteran of 37 career games who seemed to click in the spring.
» On the strongside, redshirt-freshman Steven Taylor received his first start against Rice and did not disappoint as he finished the game with 11 tackles, a half sack and broke up a pass. A rangy backer, Taylor leads the team with four pass breakups.
| | UP FRONT |
» The only returning defensive lineman that was a regular in the 2012 starting lineup is junior defensive tackle Joey Mbu. With eight starts last season, Mbu had 27 tackles on the year while constantly holding up the point of attack.
» Mbu is paired with sophomore Tomme Mark, who had an interception in Houston's season opener, and the two are part of a rotation that includes junior Jeremiah Farley and redshirt-freshman B.J. Singleton. Mbu leads the d-tackle group with nine tackles. Jeremiah Farley leads the group with a 15-yard sacks, part of his 1.5 tackles for loss.
» After starting at Houston as a defensive back before moving to linebacker, Eric Eiland has now made the move to defensive end as he continues to bulk up without losing his quickness. A former minor league baseball player, Eiland exploded in the season finale of his freshman year with four tackles, a sack, an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
» Eiland has missed the last three games with an injury suffered against Southern and junior college transfer Trevor Harris, a former wide receiver, has replaced him in that span. The junior college transfer has performed admirably with 21 tackles, including three that have gone for a loss, one sack and one forced fumble.
» True freshman Tyus Bowser exploded onto the scene in Houston's win over Rice as the d-end had seven tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, an interception while dropped back in coverage and four quarterback hurries. Bowser, who will join the Houston basketball team at the end of the season, recorded 24 sacks as a high school senior at John Tyler High School in Tyler, Texas.
» Junior defensive end Eric Braswell holds down the starting end spot and will return after missing the UTSA game with an injury suffered vs. Rice. Braswell has 16 career starts while his backup, Cameron Malveaux, has bulked up to 252 pounds on his 6-6 frame.
| START CHART | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | 2013 | Streak | Career |
| Offense | |||
| Harper (OL) | 4 | 30 | 30 |
| Cloud (OL) | - | - | 26 |
| Forsch (OL) | 4 | 5 | 23 |
| Piland (QB) | 2 | - | 20 |
| Greenberry (WR) | 4 | 14 | 15 |
| Redman (OL) | 4 | 10 | 12 |
| Spencer (WR) | 4 | 4 | 11 |
| Oragwu (OL) | 1 | - | 11 |
| Maxwell (WR) | 4 | 9 | 9 |
| McDuffey (WR) | 4 | 8 | 8 |
| Sims (OL) | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| Farrow (RB) | 2 | - | 5 |
| Johnson (OL) | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Ros (WR) | - | - | 3 |
| Jackson (RB) | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| O'Korn (QB) | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Defense | |||
| Mathews (LB) | 4 | 30 | 30 |
| McMillian (CB) | 4 | 20 | 29 |
| Braswell (DL) | 3 | - | 16 |
| Brooks (S) | - | - | 14 |
| Stewart (DB) | 4 | 14 | 14 |
| Mbu (DL) | 4 | 4 | 12 |
| Bates (CB) | 4 | 7 | 10 |
| Valencia (S) | - | - | 10 |
| McDonald (S) | 4 | 6 | 7 |
| Olifphant (LB) | 4 | 4 | 7 |
| Bamfo (LB) | 2 | - | 4 |
| Mark (DT) | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Harris (DE) | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Eiland (DE) | 1 | - | 1 |
| Taylor (LB) | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Bowser (DE) | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| | LEAVE IT TO LEONE |
» With his nine field goals through four games, Leone is third nationally with 2.3 field goals per game. The nine account for 27 of his 45 points on the season as he ranks fourth nationally and leads The American Athletic Conference with an average of 11.3 points per game.
» With 16 punts through four games, Leone carries an average of 38.8 yards per punt. Nine of Leone's 16 punts have landed inside the opponent's 20-yard line including three inside the 10 and two kicks over 50 yards.
» Leone was named The American Athletic Conference's Special Teams Player of the Week in week 1 after his first career game handling all three specialist positions. Leone averaged 47 yards on his four punts, three of which were placed inside Southern's 20-yard line, and registered his first career points as he finished the game with two field goals and six extra points. Leone also had eight kickoffs with an average of 64 yards
per kick with three resulting in touchbacks.
» Leone followed his first performance as a kicker with a five field goal effort at Temple. He became just the third kicker in Houston history to hit at least five field goals in a game including a career-long 40-yard field goal.
» Leone currently ranks second in UH history with an average of 43.1 yards per punt on his career.
» Leone placed 18 of his punts in 2012 inside opponents' 20-yard line including nine inside the 10-yard line. Twenty of Leone's 60 punts exceeded 50 yards including four over 60 yards and a career-long 77-yard punt vs. Louisiana Tech. Just 21 of Leone's punts were returned with opponents calling for 24 fair catches with just six touchbacks on the year.
» Leone also handles kickoff duties for the Cougars with 11 of his 28 kicks resulting in a touchback.
» Sophomore Dylan Seibert backs Leone at punter after transferring to Houston from Oklahoma at the start of fall camp. The Tulsa, Okla., native did not see any game action at OU but has quickly impressed in the Houston camp. Seibert also grabbed starting holder duties in the fall.
» Freshman kicker Ty Cummings joined Houston in August. Cummings has five kickoffs this season with one touchback.
» Sophomore Nolan Frese owns deep snapping duty. Frese was ranked by Chris Sailer Kicking as the No. 1 long snapper in the state of Texas in 2010 and the No. 7 long snapper in the nation.
| | WE'VE GOT YOU COVERED |
» Nine of Leone's 16 punts have been fair caught by opponents.
» Houston's kick coverage group has held its opponents to an average return of 19.4 yards per return, ranking 38th nationally and fourth in The American. FB Luke Stice leads the group with six tackles on kickoffs. Richie Leone (11) and Ty Cummings (1) have a combined 12 touchbacks on Houston's 34 kickoffs.
| | RETURN DEPARTMENT |
» At kick returner, Houston has two new faces manning the position as true freshman Demarcus Ayers and junior transfer Markeith Ambles handle the duties.
» Ayers is the only player to return multiple kicks this season (8) and is third in The American Athletic Conference with an average return of 22.3 yards per return with a long return of 39 yards.
» Ambles also took his first kick return of the season back at UTSA, and quickly established himself as a threat with a 39-yard return.
Players Mentioned
WR
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OL
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WR
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LB
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DB
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DE
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DL
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RB
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K
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DE
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DL
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RB
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OL
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LS
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WR
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OL
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DE
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DB
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RB
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WR
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DE
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RB
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DB
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WR
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OL
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WR
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P/K
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OL
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DE
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DL
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LB
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WR
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FB
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DB
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WR
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QB
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LB
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OL
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WR
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QB
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OL
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LB
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P
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RB
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OL
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DT
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WR
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LB
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DB
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FB
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WR
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DB
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QB
/ FootballPress Conference: Head Coach Willie Fritz Speaks to Media on the 2026 Transfer Portal Class
Wednesday, February 04
Postgame Press Conference: Football vs. LSU (Texas Bowl)
Sunday, December 28
Highlights: Houston 38, LSU 35 (Texas Bowl)
Sunday, December 28
Press Conference: Head Coach Willie Fritz Previews Texas Bowl vs. LSU
Monday, December 22