POSTGAME NOTES: Houston 49, SMU 28
10/8/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
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BY THE NUMBERS
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Houston improved to 2-0 in American Athletic Conference play
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Tom Herman remains second head coach in Houston history who have started their UH careers 5-0
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Junior linebacker Steven Taylor tied his career-high of three sacks for the second straight game
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Senior linebacker Elandon Roberts recorded his fourth-straight double-digit tackle game
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Junior quarterback Greg Ward Jr. set a career high with four rushing TDs
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The Houston offense has now scored touchdowns on all five of its opening drives in 2015
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The win marks Houston's first five-game winning streak since opening the 2013 season 5-0
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With his career-high three rushing scores vs. SMU, Kenneth Farrow moves into a tie for fifth on the all-time Houston rushing touchdowns list
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The Cougars seven rushing TDs tonight is the most since 2007
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Greg Ward Jr. now holds the single season record for rushing TDs by a quarterback, ties LSU's Leonard Fournette for nation's leading
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Greg Ward Jr. now has 11 wins as the Cougars starting quarterback
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Junior quarterback Greg Ward Jr., has been responsible for a touchdown in 13 straight games for Houston
25,204
Attendance of the Houston-SMU game was 25,204 inside TDECU Stadium
GAME NOTES
• Houston improves to 409-351-15 all-time.
• With Thursday's win, Head Coach Tom Herman still remains only the second head coach in Houston history to win the first five games of his career. He joined John Jenkins (8-0 in 1990) as the only Houston head coaches to accomplish that feat.
• Houston won the toss and deferred to the second half. Senior running back Kenneth Farrow, tackle Alex Cooper, defensive back Adrian McDonald and linebacker Elandon Roberts were all named captains for the game.
• Houston improves to 11-15 when playing on Thursdays. The Cougars are now 49-33-1 in non-Saturday games.
• Houston is now 4-8 when playing on ESPN2.
SERIES vs. SMU
• Houston now leads SMU 20-10-1 in the all-time series and moves to 10-5-1 in the city of Houston. Thursday night's game marked the first against SMU inside TDECU Stadium.
• The Cougars have defeated SMU in nine of the last 10 meetings between the two teams.
UP NEXT for HOUSTON
• The Cougars continue American Athletic Conference play next week as they face Tulane on the road next Friday. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. CT on ESPNU and KPRC 950 AM in Houston.
OFFENSE
• With 49 points, the Cougars have now scored in 190 consecutive games. Houston has not been shut out since a 48-0 loss to Texas on Sept. 23, 2000.
• The Cougars have scored touchdowns on their opening drives in all five games this season. Houston opened the 2015 season with an 8-play, 56-yard touchdown drive that was capped by Ryan Jackson's 1-yard run. The Cougars opened the Louisville game with a 6-play, 51-yard drive that was capped by Greg Ward Jr.'s 29-yard touchdown pass to Steven Dunbar. Houston opened the Texas State game with a 5-play, 85-yard drive that was capped by Ward Jr's 35-yard touchdown pass to Chance Allen, marking Allen's first career touchdown at Houston. The Tulsa game began with a 9-play, 75-yard drive over 2:26 and ended in a Greg Ward Jr. 3-yard rush for the score. Houston opened the SMU game with a 4-play, 75-yard drive that ended with Ward Jr. 1-yard rushing TD.
• The Houston offense now has 10 scoring drives of two minutes or less.
• Junior quarterback Greg Ward Jr. clinched the single season record for most rushing touchdowns (11) in a single season for a quarterback. He passes Case Keenum who rushed for nine TDs in 2007.
• Thursday night's game marked the first time the Cougar offense had multiple players (Ward Jr. and Farrow) with three rushing scores since running backs Bryce Beall and Michael Hayes combined for six rushing TDs against UTEP on Sept. 10, 2010.
• The Cougars seven rushing touchdowns is the most since Nov. 24, 2007 when Houston had seven scores on the ground against Texas Southern. The team record dates back to 1979 when the Cougars posted nine rushing touchdowns against Rice.
DEFENSE
• With three turnovers forced (3 fumbles), the Cougars have forced multiple turnovers in 32 of their last 39 games.
• Houston defenses have forced 85 turnovers over the last two seasons.
Greg Ward Jr.
• Junior quarterback Greg Ward Jr. opened the scoring for Houston with a 1-yard touchdown run on the opening drive for Houston. The junior now has been responsible for a touchdown in 13-straight games for Houston dating back to the Memphis game on Nov. 11, 2014.
• Ward Jr., finished the game 16-18 for 243 yards passing. Ward now has 3,621 yards for his career moving him into 12th on the all-time Houston passing yards list passing David Dacus (1987-88) who had 3,446 yards. Next on the list is John O'Korn (2013-14) with 4,068 yards.
• Ward Jr. rushed for 82 yards on 14 carries and a career-high four touchdowns.
• Ward Jr. now has 11 rushing TDs on the season and claims the single season record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback. He passes Case Keenum who held the previous record of nine in 2007.
• Ward Jr.'s 11 touchdowns this season ties LSU's Leonard Fournette for the nation-leading rushing touchdowns.
• Ward Jr. sets a new career high four rushing TDs in a game, becoming the sixth Cougar in school history to accomplish the feat. He joins Kenneth Farrow, Bryce Beall, Anthony Alridge and Joffrey Reynolds for second all-time.
Kenneth Farrow
• Senior running back Kenneth Farrow finished the game with 40 yards on 11 carries and a season best three rushing touchdowns. Thursday night's game marked the second straight game with 2+ rushing TDs. With 27 career rushing touchdowns, he moved into a tie for fifth all time with Chuck Witherspoon (1987-90).
• Farrow now has 2,442 in his career moving him into eighth all-time on the Houston rushing yard list passing Alois Blackwell (1975-77).
• Farrow scored the Cougars second touchdown of the game with a 2-yard carry in the second quarter marking his 26th career rushing TD. Farrow moves into sixth all time for career rushing TDs.
Steven Taylor
• Junior linebacker Steven Taylor registered eight total tackles and ties his career high three sacks for the second straight game.Taylor now has eight sacks this season and 15th of his career.
• Taylor forced a fumble with 2:54 left in the first half to mark his fourth career forced fumble.
Elandon Roberts
• Senior linebacker Elandon Roberts collected a new career-high 15 tackles, marking his fourth-straight game of double digit tackles.
Tyus Bowser
• Junior linebacker Tyus Bowser recorded his first career fumble recovery during the first drive of the second quarter. Bowser also sacked SMU's Matt Davis for his fourth sack of the season, 11.5 of his career.
Ty Cummings
• Junior kicker Ty Cummings kicked his first extra point of the season and second of his career. His first extra point came against UNLV on Sept. 20, 2014.
• Cummings' five extra points Thursday night is a new career high for the junior.
Adrian McDonald
• Senior strong safety Adrian McDonald snagged his seventh career fumble recovery late in the second quarter and is now tied for second all time with Jerry Drones (1966-69) & Wade Phillips (1965-68).
William Jackson III
• Senior cornerback William Jackson had two pass break ups against the SMU offense. He has now recorded five pass break ups in the last two games.
Jerard Carter
• Redshirt freshman Jerard Carter recovered SMU's third fumble of the game with 44 seconds left in the first half, marking his second fumble recovery of the season and his career.
Kaliq Kokuma
• Redshirt freshman Kaliq Kokuma entered the game for his first collegiate appearance. He finishes with three carries for six yards.
