POSTGAME NOTES: Houston 35, Memphis 34
11/14/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
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BY THE NUMBERS
1
Tom Herman becomes first head coaches in Houston history to started his career, 10-0
2
Houston's 2015 team is only the second in school history to start a season 10-0
11
Houston won its 11th straight game, the program's longest streak since starting the 2011 team started 12-0
16
Greg Ward Jr. has 16 wins as the Cougars starting quarterback
16
Houston's national ranking in the latest Associated Press poll
20
Third largest comeback in Houston Football history
24
Houston's national ranking in the College Football Playoff rankings
25
Cougar Defense has allowed only 25 points in the third quarter all season
48
Houston's Defense put pressure on Memphis' Jake Elliott who missed a late 48-yard field goal to seal the win for Houston
100
Houston's defense has recorded 100 turnovers dating back to 2013
127
Junior wide receiver recorded his third 100-yard game with 127 receiving yards
236
Sophomore quarterback Kyle Postma threw for a career high 236 yards
42,159
Saturday's attendance inside TDECU Stadium, a new stadium record
GAME NOTES
• Houston improved to 414-351-15 all-time.
• With Saturday's win, Head Coach Tom Herman became the only head coach in Houston history to win the first 10 games of his career.
• With the win Saturday, Tom Herman became just the fifth coach in NCAA history, and the third in the modern era, to open a career with wins in each of its first 10 games. Herman joins Boise State's Chris Petersen (2006), Miami's Larry Coker (2001), Penn's George Woodruff (1892) and Yale's Walter Camp (1888) in winning the first 10 games of his career.
• The Cougars moved to 10-0 for just the second time in program history and the first time since the 2011 team started 12-0.
• Houston's record is 6-8 when playing on ESPN2.
• Houston won the toss and deferred to the second half. Senior running back Kenneth Farrow, offensive tackle Alex Cooper, safety Adrian McDonald and linebacker Elandon Roberts were captains.
• Houston set a TDECU Stadium and on campus attendance record with sellout crowd of 42,159.
• Houston's come-from-behind win over Memphis marked the third biggest comeback win in program history and the biggest comeback win at home. The biggest comeback was a 27-point deficit at Louisiana Tech (Sept. 17, 2011) and the 2015 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl when the Cougars cameback from a 24-point deficit to defeat Pittsburgh (Jan. 2, 2015).
• The top three comeback wins ended in a 35-34 victory.
• The last two 20-point, fourth-quarter comeback wins in FBS have been by the Cougars (vs. Pittsburgh in the Armed Forces Bowl, Jan. 2; vs. Memphis, Nov. 14).
IN THE RANKINGS
• This marks the fifth consecutive week in which the Cougars were ranked in both the Associated Press and Amway Coaches' polls.
• Houston is 102-36-3 when ranked in the Associated Press poll.
• The Cougars are 5-0 when ranked No. 16 in the Associated Press poll.
• The Cougars are 97-30-2 in regular-season games when ranked in the Associated Press poll.
• The Cougars are 59-11-1 at home when ranked in the Associated Press poll.
• Saturday's game is the first time that Houston has played as the 16th-ranked team in the Associated Press poll since a 95-21 win over SMU on Oct. 21, 1989.
• Houston has won its last five games and 12 of its last 13 games when ranked in the Associated Press poll. The Cougars only loss in that stretch was a 49-28 setback to No. 24/23/24 Southern Miss on Dec. 3, 2011, in the Conference USA Championship Game at Robertson Stadium.
HOUSTON vs. RANKED OPPONENTS
• Houston is 32-95-5 when playing ranked opponents.
• Saturday's game is the first time that Houston has faced a ranked opponent since a 33-25 loss at No. 25/rv BYU on Sept. 11, 2014 in Provo, Utah, and the first time Houston has faced a ranked opponent at home since a 49-28 loss to No. 24/23/24 Southern Miss in the Conference USA Championship Game at Robertson Stadium on Dec. 3, 2011.
• The Cougars are 2-2 when facing the 25th-ranked team in the Associated Press poll.
• Saturday's game marked the first time Houston faced the Associated Press' 25th-ranked team since a 33-25 loss at No. 25/rv BYU on Sept. 11, 2014, in Provo, Utah, and is the first time Houston has faced the Associated Press' 25th-ranked team at home since a 70-30 win over No. 25/24/23 Tulsa on Nov. 15, 2008, inside Robertson Stadium.
• The Cougars are 6-8 against lower-ranked opponents.
• The Cougars are 10-10-2 against ranked opponents during the regular season.
• The Cougars are 7-4-1 against ranked opponents at home.
• Houston is 14-14-3 in games in which both teams are ranked. In its last game with both teams ranked, No. 20/17/19 Houston closed out the 2011 season with a 30-14 win over No. 24/23/22 Penn State at the TicketCity Bowl on Jan. 2, 2012, at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.
OFFENSE
• The Cougars have now scored in 195 consecutive games. Houston has not been shut out since a 48-0 loss to Texas on Sept. 23, 2000.
• Houston's first scoring drive of seven plays and 75 yards, lasting 1:15, and its third drive (six plays, 75 yards) was the 23rd and 24th scoring drives under two minutes this season.
• Saturday night's game marked the eighth different starting offensive line this season: LT Marcus Oliver, LG Mason Denley, C Will Noble, RG Kameron Eloph and RT Alex Cooper.
• Sophomore quarterback Kyle Postma connected with Linell Bonner on a 30-yard touchdown pass with less than a minute remaining in the first half. The throw marked the second connection between the two for a Cougar touchdown this season... The first came on a 6-yard pass from Postma to Bonner at UCF (Oct. 24).
• Saturday night's 35-34 win over Memphis was the 14th straight game with atleast 30 points.
DEFENSE
• With two turnovers in Saturday's game (1 Fumble, 1 Interception), Houston's defense has forced 100 turnovers dating back to the 2013 season. Freshman defensive end Nick Thurman picked up his second career fumble recovery during Memphis' first drive of the fourth quarter while senior linebacker Elandon Roberts snagged his first career interception during the fourth quarter.
• Houston defense has recorded multiple turnovers in nine of the last 10 games, and 36 of its last 44 games.
• The Cougars have allowed only 25 points in the third quarter all season, outscoring its opponents 120-25.
• Saturday night's game marked the first time in 12 games the Cougar Defense allowed a 100-yard rusher by an opponent. Sophomore running back Doroland Dorceus rushed for 116 yards on 26 carries for Memphis.
Greg Ward Jr.
• Junior quarterback Greg Ward, Jr. improved to 16-2 as Houston's starting quarterback. Ward ties Jason McKinley (1997-2000) for sixth place in Houston history with 16 wins. Up next in the Houston records book is D.C. Nobles (1972-73), who posted 17 wins as Houston's starter.
• Ward has won his last 11 starts overall and his last seven home starts. Ward is 8-1 as the Cougars' starting quarterback at home with only a 31-24 loss to Tulane in the annual Homecoming game on Nov. 8, 2014, on his record.
• Ward leads the Cougars with a .889 (16-2) winning percentage as starting quarterback. He passed Gary Mullins who posted a .833 (25-5) percentage. They are the only quarterbacks in school history with 10+ starts and a winning percentage over .800.
• Ward went 5-for-11 with 60 passing yards before leaving the game after an injury in the second quarter.
• Ward has totaled 4,496 career passing yards for the 10th most in school history. He is 17 yards shy of passing Gerald Landry (1983-86) who threw for 4,512 yards in his career.
• With his 41 yards of total offense, Ward jumps David Piland (2010-13) for seventh in school history with 6,054 of total career offense. Up next on the list is Chuck Clements (1993-96) with 6,893 yards of total offense in his career.
Kenneth Farrow
• With a 46 rushing yards, senior running back Kenneth Farrow ranks sixth in Houston career history with 2,920 rushing yards. Up next on the list is Joffrey Reynolds (1999-2002) who rushed for 2,947 in his career.
• Farrow's 7-yard rushing touchdown to open the second half and another 10-yard score on the ground marked his 11th and 12th this season. He now has 34 rushing TDs in his career ranking second in Houston history. The career rushing TD leader is Bryce Beall (2008-11) who scored 39 rushing TDs.
• With his 12 rushing TDs this season, Farrow becomes the second Cougar in UH history to score 12+ TDs on the ground in two seasons. He joins Bryce Beall (13, 2008; 12, 2011) in accomplishing that feat.
• With his two rushing TDs Saturday night, Farrow has now scored a touchdown in four consecutive games. The game also marked his fourth of the season with multiple rushing TDs in a single game.
Kyle Postma
• Sophomore quarterback Kyle Postma entered the game with 1:21 left in the half. He posted a career night throwing 21-for-33 with 236 passing yards and 49 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown.
• Postma connected with Linell Bonner on a 30-yard touchdown pass with less than a minute remaining in the first half. The throw was the longest TD pass of Postma's career and his second TD pass of the year. His first came on a 6-yard pass to Bonner at UCF on Oct. 24.
• Postma's 7-yard rushing touchdown was the first of his career.
Elandon Roberts
• Senior linebacker Elandon Roberts led the Cougars with a career high 18 tackles, a sack and an interception. He set a previous high of 15 tackles against SMU earlier this season (Oct. 8).
• Roberts picked off Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch during the fourth quarter to mark his first career interception.
Demarcus Ayers
• Junior wide receiver Demarcus Ayers had a career high 13 receptions for a career-high 127 yards marking his third career 100-yard game. His previous two 100-yard games came in the 2015 season opener vs. Tennessee Tech (Sept. 5) and vs. Texas State (Sept. 26).
Logan Piper
• Senior punter Logan Piper tied his career best of seven punts in a game. Piper last kicked seven punts in the 28-24 win over Memphis last season (Oct. 11, 2014).
Linell Bonner
• Sophomore wide receiver Linell Bonner caught a 30-yard pass from Kyle Postma to put Houston on the board late in the first half, marking his third touchdown of the season and of his career.
Nick Thurman
• Freshman defensive end Nick Thurman recovered his second fumble of the season and his career. His first fumble recovery came in the 34-0 win over Vanderbilt (Oct. 31).
Javin Webb
• Sophomore running back Javin Webb scored late in the fourth quarter recording his third of the season and fourth of his career.
