POSTGAME NOTES: Houston 38, Florida State 24
12/31/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
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BY THE NUMBERS
1
Tom Herman is the first coach in NCAA history to own a grill
3
Trevon Stewart had a career high three turnovers in the 38-24 win over Florida State
5
First game Houston defense has forced five turnovers this season
10
Steven Taylor leads the American Athletic Conference with 10.0 sacks this season
10
Trevon Stewart recorded his 10th career fumble recovery, extending his school record
13
First 13-win season since 2011 for Houston Football
14
Houston's national ranking in the latest Associated Press poll
16
The Cougars held FSU to just 16 total rushing yards
19
Greg Ward Jr. has 19 wins as the Cougars' starting quarterback
18
Houston's national ranking in the latest College Football Playoff poll
21
Greg Ward extended his school record of single-season rushing TDs
23
William Jackson III extended his single-season record with 23 pass breakups
38
Cougars have forced multiple turnovers in 38 of the last 48 games
38
Most points scored on Florida State since Sept. 27, 2014 vs. NC State
99
Cougars' 99 plays today marks the most this season
108
Cougar Defense has recorded 108 turnovers since the 2013 season
71,007
Thursday's attendance inside the Georgia Dome
GAME NOTES
• Houston defeated Florida State, 38-24, to improve to 417-352-15 all-time.
• With the win, Houston improved to 13-1 on the year and 8-1 in American Athletic Conference play.
• Houston is now 13-1 marking the second 13-win season in program history (2011)
• 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. Former Cougar QB and Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware was the honorary captain for the Cougars.
• Junior quarterback Greg Ward Jr. was named the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Offensive MVP while senior cornerback William Jackson III was named the Defensive MVP.
HOUSTON IN BOWLS
• Houston is 11-12-1 in bowl games during its history. Houston has won three of its last four bowl games.
• This marks the third straight season and the seventh in the last nine years in which Houston has competed in a bowl game.
• This marks the first time that Houston has competed in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.
• This marks the first time that Houston has faced Florida State in a bowl game.
SERIES vs. FLORIDA STATE
• Houston is 13-2-2 all-time in the series against Florida State. Houston has won eight of the last nine meetings against Florida State with only a 23-22 Florida State win inside the Houston Astrodome on Nov. 22, 1975, preventing a longer Houston winning streak.
• Thursday's game mark the first time since the Cougars enjoyed a 27-21 win on Sept. 30, 1978, in Tallahassee, Fla., that the Cougars have faced the Seminoles.
vs. RANKED TEAMS
• Thursday's game is the fourth time this season that Houston has faced a ranked opponent. Houston has posted a 4-0 record against ranked teams in 2015. Cougars are now 2-0 against ACC teams this year.
• The four wins ties a single-season record for wins over ranked teams. Houston's 1978 and 1976 teams each posted four wins against nationally ranked opponents. The 2015 Cougars are first team in school history with four wins and no losses in a single season against ranked opponents.
• This was the first time that Houston has faced a Top-10 opponent since taking a 45-35 win at No. 5/6 Oklahoma State on Sept. 12, 2009.
• Thursday's game is the first time that Houston has faced a ranked opponent in a bowl game since taking a 30-14 win over No. 24/23/22 Penn State on Jan. 2, 2012, in the TicketCity Bowl inside the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.
• Thursday's game is first time that Houston has faced a Top-10 opponent in a bowl game since 45-28 loss to No. 8 Boston College on Jan. 1, 1985, in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.
• Houston is 3-4-1 all-time when facing the No. 9 team in the Associated Press.
• Thursday's game is the first time Houston has faced the No. 9 (AP) team since a 42-14 loss to North Carolina on Oct. 26, 1996, inside the Houston Astrodome.
• Houston had previously not defeated the No. 9 (AP) team since a 20-9 win over Arkansas on Oct. 28, 1978, inside the Houston Astrodome.
• Houston is 16-14-3 all-time when ranked and facing a ranked opponent.
• Houston is 10-6-3 when playing a higher ranked opponent.
• Houston is 5-3-1 when ranked and playing a ranked opponent in a bowl game.
COACH TOM HERMAN
• Houston Head Coach Tom Herman is the fourth coach in school history to lead the Cougars to a bowl game in his first full season at Houston. He joined Bill Yeoman (1962 Tangerine), Art Briles (2003 Sheraton Hawai'i) and Kevin Sumlin (2008 Bell Helicopter Armed Forces).
• With a win against Florida State, Herman becomes the third coach in school history to lead the Cougars to a bowl victory in his first season at Houston. He joins Yeoman (1962 Tangerine, W, 49-21, vs. Miami (Ohio) and Kevin Sumlin (2008 Bell Helicopter Armed Forces, W, 34-28, vs. Air Force)
• Herman is the second coach in school history to lead the Cougars to 10+ wins during his first season at Houston. He joined John Jenkins (1990, 10-1).
OFFENSE
• The Cougars have now scored in 199 consecutive games. Houston has not been shut out since a 48-0 loss to Texas on Sept. 23, 2000.
• Greg Ward Jr. led the Cougars on an 11-play, 64-yard drive that ended with a 7-yard rushing TD by the junior quarterback.
• Junior wide receiver Demarcus Ayers connected with junior wide receiver Chance Allen on a 20-yard touchdown pass to cap a 7-play, 75 yard drive to put the Cougars ahead 14-3 in the second quarter.
• Ward scored again on a 6-yard rushing TD to take a 21-3 lead heading into halftime.
• Houston's 38 offensive points were the most scored against FSU this season.
DEFENSE
• Houston's defense held Florida state to just three points in the first half, the lowest score by the Seminoles this season in the first half. This is the second straight game the Cougar's held an opponent to a field goal in the first half.
• With five turnovers in Saturday's game (4 Interceptions, 1 Fumble), Houston's defense has forced 108 turnovers dating back to the 2013 season. The Cougars' defense have recorded 3+ turnovers in seven games this season.
• The Cougars have now forced multiple turnovers in 38 of the last 48 games.
• Houston's defense has allowed only 45 points in the third quarter all season, outscoring its opponents 127-45.
• Thursday's game marked the seventh game this season the Houston defense has recorded atleast three sacks. The last time the Cougars had three sacks was against Navy (Nov. 27).
• Entering the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Florida State had only 10 turnovers on the year. The Cougars forced five in today's game.
• The Cougar defense held Florida State to just 16 rushing yards, their lowest output of the year.
INDIVIDUAL BOWL HISTORY
• Entering Thursday's game, only 74 players in Houston Football history have competed in 3+ bowl games during their careers. DeMarcus Ayers, Tyus Bowser, Alex Cooper, Kenneth Farrow, Nolan Frese, Ryan Jackson, William Jackson, III, Cameron Malveaux, Tomme Mark, Tyler McCloskey, Adrian McDonald, Elandon Roberts, B.J. Singleton, Trevon Stewart, Steven Taylor and Greg Ward Jr. joined that exclusive group with their play in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.
GAMES STARTED HISTORY
• With their starts in Thursday's Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Chance Allen, Demarcus Ayers, Tyus Bowser, Alex Cooper, Tomme Mark, Adrian McDonald, Elandon Roberts, B.J. Singleton and Steven Taylor will tie the Houston single-season record with 14 starts in 2015.
• In Houston history, only Jacolby Ashworth (2011), Sammy Brown (2011), Ty Cloud (2011), Kevin Forsch (2011), Rowdy Harper (2011), Justin Johnson (2011), Case Keenum (2011), Derrick Mathews (2011), Marcus McGraw (2011), Phillip Steward (2011), Chris Thompson (2011), Carl Barnett (2009), C.J. Canvass (2009), Jarve Dean (2009), Case Keenum (2009), Marcus McGraw (2009), Zeke Riser (2009), Jamal Robinson (2009), Nick Saenz (2009), Chris Thompson (2009) and Isaiah Thompson (2009) have started 14 games in a single season.
• Keenum, McGraw and Thompson (2011, 2009) are the only players in school history to start 14 games in multiple seasons.
IN DOMED STADIUMS
• Thursday's game is the 199th game in which Houston has competed in a dome. The Cougars have posted a 128-67-4 all-time record in games played in domes.
• Houston has won its last three games and nine of its last ten inside domed stadiums. Only a 47-46 loss to BYU inside then-Reliant (now NRG) Stadium on Oct. 19, 2013, prevents a longer Houston winning streak.
• Thursday's game is the first time Houston has competed in a domed stadium since a 34-0 win over SMU inside then-Reliant (now NRG) Stadium in Houston on Nov. 29, 2013.
• Thursday's game is the first time Houston has competed in a domed stadium in a bowl game since a 20-13 loss to TCU inside then-Reliant (now NRG) Stadium in Houston on Nov. 29, 2013.
Greg Ward Jr.
• With Thurday's start, junior quarterback Greg Ward Jr. became the fifth quarterback in Houston history to start multiple bowl games. Ward joined Case Keenum (4), Kevin Kolb (3), Danny Davis (2) and Gary Mullins (2).
• Ward joins Case Keenum as the only quarterbacks in school history with multiple bowl wins.
• Ward, Jr. improved to 19-2 as Houston's starting quarterback. Ward holds possession of fifth place in school history with 19 wins.
• Ward has won his last 14 starts overall.
• Ward leads the Cougars with a .905 (19-2) winning percentage as starting quarterback.
• Ward led the Cougars as he went 25-for-41 with 238 passing yards and 67 rushing yards.
• On the Cougars' second drive of the game, Ward ran in a 7-yard touchdown rush to put Houston up 7-0. He extended the Cougars lead to 21-3 heading into the half on a 6-yard carry into the endzone. The two scores today marked his 20th and 21st rushing TD of the season.
• Ward extended his single-season rushing touchdown school record with the scores.
• Ward's two rushing TDs Thursday marked his 28th and 29th of his career. He moves into a tie for fourth most career rushing TDs in school history with Charles Sims (2009-12) who had 29.
• With two rushing TDs today, Ward has recorded multiple rushing TDs in back-to-back games and seven this season.
• With his 238 yards on Saturday, Ward has totaled 5,148 career passing yards for the ninth most in school history. Next up on the list is Jimmy Klingler (1991-93) who threw for 5,243 career yards.
• With his 305 yards of total offense, Ward jumps to sixth in school history with 7,005 of total career offense. Up next on the list is Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware (1987-89) with 8,058 yards of total offense in his career.
Trevon Stewart
• Senior safety Trevon Stewart ended the game with four tackles and two interceptions.
• Stewart recovered the fumble forced by Steven Taylor for the fourth of the season and 10th of his career. He extends his school record for career fumble recoveries.
• Stewart picked off FSU twice in back-to-back drives, marking his third and fourth interceptions of the season. With two picks in Thursday's game, the senior marked another career high. He becomes the fourth Cougar in school history to have two interceptions in a bowl game. The last time a Cougar had two INTs in a bowl game was Jan. 1, 2012 when Nick Saenz picked off Penn State twice in the Ticket City Bowl (Dallas, Texas).
• With his 12 career INTs, Stewart moved into a tie with Calvin Eason (80-82) and Paul Shires (66-68) for seventh in school history.
• This marks the first game for Stewart to record three+ turnovers.
William Jackson III
• Senior defensive back William Jackson intercepted FSU quarterback Sean McGuire early in the second quarter and the clincher in the fourth quarter, for his fourth and fifth of the season, and seventh and eighth of his career.
• With two pass breakups against FSU, Jackson has recorded 23 breakups on the season extending his single-season record.
• With 40 career pass breakups, Jackson ranks third all time.
Elandon Roberts
• Senior linebacker Elandon Roberts led the Cougars with 10 tackles, his seventh double-digit tackle game of the season.
Kyle Postma
• Sophomore quarterback Kyle Postma entered the game for serveral snaps and went 2-for-2. He rushed for 37 yards with a game long 29-yard quarterback keeper in the fourth quarter.
Matthew Adams
• Sophomore linebacker Matthew Adams recorded his second sack of the season and fourth of his career. Tyus Bowser
• Junior linebacker Tyus Bowser combined with Jerard Carter to sack Florida State's J.J. Cosentino, he is now at 5.5 sacks on the year.
Steven Taylor
• Junior linebacker Steven Taylor recorded his 10th sack of the season and 17th of his career. He is the American Athletic Conference leader with 10.0 sacks this season.
• Taylor forced his second fumble of the season and fifth of his career as Trevon Stewart recovered the ball.
Demarcus Ayers
• Junior wide receiver Demarcus Ayers connected with junior wide receiver Chance Allen on a 20-yard touchdown pass to cap a 7-play, 75 yard drive to put the Cougars ahead 14-3 in the second quarter.
• That TD pass by Ayers is the second of the season. His first TD pass was a 29-yarder to Linell Bonner vs. Navy (Nov. 27).
Jerard Carter
• Redshirt Freshman lineman Jerard Carter combined with Tyus Bowser to sack Florida State's quarterback for his first half sack of the season.
Chance Allen
• Junior wide receiver Chance Allen caught two touchdown passes - the first a 20-yard touchdown pass from fellow WR Demarcus Ayers, and the second a 17-yard grab from Greg Ward, for his fourth and fifth touchdown catches on the year.
Ty Cummings
• Junior kicker Ty Cummings is now 8-for-8 on the season as he drilled a 39-yard field goal to extend Houston's lead 24-10 in the fourth quarter.
Ryan Jackson
• Senior running back Ryan Jackson clinched the game with a two-yard touchdown run for his sixth-career rushing score.
