Postgame Notes: Houston 34, Louisville 31
9/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
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BY THE NUMBERS1 3 4 6 8 12 100 109 236 50,019 |
GAME NOTES
• Houston improves to 406-351-15 all-time.
• With Saturday's win, Head Coach Tom Herman became only the third head coach in Houston history to win the first two games of his career. He joined Bill Yeoman (2-0 in 1962) and John Jenkins (8-0 in 1990) as the only Houston head coaches to accomplish that feat.
• Saturday's attendance was 50,019. That is the largest crowd to watch the Cougars since 57,630 watched Houston play at BYU on Sept. 11, 2014.
• Louisville won the toss and elected to receive. Senior running back Kenneth Farrow was a four-time captain, while tackle Alex Cooper, defensive back Adrian McDonald and linebacker Elandon Roberts were all named captains for the second time.
• Houston improves to 358-318-14 when playing on Saturdays.
• Houston improves to 98-95-3 when playing in the month of September.
SERIES vs. LOUISVILLE
• Houston improves to 8-8 all-time against Louisville. Saturday's game was the first meeting between the teams since a 20-13 Louisville win in Louisville on Nov. 6, 2013.
• With Saturday's win, Houston snapped a three-game losing streak against Louisville. It was Houston's first win against the Cardinals since a 27-20 win inside Robertson Stadium on Nov. 30, 2002.
• Saturday's win was Houston's first in Louisville since a 36-22 victory on Oct. 25, 1997.
UP NEXT for HOUSTON
• The Cougars will enjoy their first bye weekend on Sept. 19 before playing host to Texas State on Sept. 26 inside TDECU Stadium on the UH campus. Game time and broadcasting network will be announced next week.
OFFENSE
• With 34 points, the Cougars have now scored in 187 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 each of the first two games. 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.
• With Kenneth Farrow's 109-yard rushing game, the Cougars have at a 100-yard rusher in each of their last six games. Quarterback Greg Ward Jr., rushed for 101 yards in the 2015 season against Tennessee Tech with Farrow reaching triple digts in each of the final four games of the 2014 season.
• With 34 points, the Cougars have scored 30+ points in each of their last six games dating back to last season. The last time Houston was held below 30 points came in a 31-24 loss to Tulane on Nov. 8, 2014.
DEFENSE
• The Cougars have allowed a combined 9 rushing yards in the first halves of the first two games. Houston held Tennessee Tech to -8 yards on three attempts and limited Louisville to 17 rushing yards on 15 carries on Saturday.
• With four turnovers forced (2 fumbles, 2 interceptions), the Cougars have forced multiple turnovers in 29 of their last 36 games.
• Houston defenses have forced 78 turnovers over the last two seasons.
SPECIAL TEAMS
• With Brandon's Wilson's 100-yard kickoff return late in the third quarter, the Cougars posted their 27th non-offensive touchdown since 2010.
Brandon Wilson
• With his 100-yard kickoff return for touchdown with 2:35 left in the third quarter, junior cornerback Brandon Wilson became the sixth player in school history to record a 100-yard kickoff for a touchdown.
• Wilson joined Tyron Carrier (Rice, Oct. 27, 2011); Devin Mays (at UCF, Nov. 14, 2009); Donnie Avery (East Carolina, Sept. 29, 2007); Ricky Wilson (at Louisville, Nov. 22, 2003); and Ronnie Powledge (Detroit, Nov. 2, 1963) as the only players with 100-yard kickoff returns for touchdown.
• Wilson became the first Cougar with a kickoff return for a touchdown since current teammate Demarcus Ayers accomplished the feat with a 95-yard score against BYU on Oct. 19, 2013.
• Wilson's 100-yard kickoff return was the first kickoff return score of his career. It was the second return of his career for a touchdown after returning a blocked field goal 78 yards at UTA on Sept. 28, 2013.
Greg Ward Jr.
• Junior quarterback Greg Ward Jr., made the 10th start of his collegiate career. He moved into a tie for 15th in Houston career history with eight wins.
• With 236 passing yards vs. Louisville, Ward moved into 16th place in Houston career history in passing yards. Ward finished the game with 2,831 career passing yards. He moved past Danny Davis (2,702, 1976-78) and D.C. Nobles (2,706, 1971-73). Up next in the Houston records book is Lionel Wilson, who threw for 3,049 yards from 1980 to 1983.
• With the 10th start of his career, Ward became eligible to rank among the Cougars' all-time career leaders in winning percentage as a starting quarterback. He ranks second in school history with an .800 (8-2 record) winning percentage as a starter. Gary Mullins holds the school record with a .833 percentage (25-5 record) from 1969 to 1971.
• With three touchdown passes, Ward equaled his career high, first set in the Cougars' 35-34 win against Pittsburgh at the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl on Jan. 2, 2015, in Fort Worth, Texas.
• With his 29-yard touchdown pass at the 11:21 mark of the first quarter (his second passing attempt of the game), Ward threw his 78th straight pass without an interception, setting a personal best. His previous high was 77 pass attempts without an interception from the first quarter at Memphis (Oct. 11, 2014) to the first quarter at Tulane (Nov. 8, 2014).
• Ward's interception late in the third quarter snapped a streak of 101 consecutive pass attempts without an interception. Ward set a personal best with his second pass attempt of the first quarter and extended that record until his lone interception of the game. It was Ward's first interception since the second quarter at Cincinnati on Dec. 6, 2014.
• With three touchdown passes, Ward recorded the fifth game of his career with multi-touchdown passes. It was his first multi-TD game of the season.
• With 236 passing yards, Ward recorded the seventh 200-yard passing game of his career. He posted five 200-yard passing yard games in 2014 and has thrown for 200+ yards in each of the first two games in 2015.
Kenneth Farrow
• With 109 rushing yards, senior running back Kenneth Farrow recorded the eighth 100-yard rushing game of his career and his first of the season.
• With eight 100-yard rushing games, Farrow moved into a tie for 12th with Anthony Evans (2001-05) in Houston career history.
• With 109 rushing yards, senior running back Kenneth Farrow moved into 12th place in Houston career history. Farrow finished the game with 2,175 career rushing yards. He moved past Jackie Battle (2,120, 2002-06) and Terald Clark (2,144, 1978-80). Up next in the Houston records book is Anthony Evans (2,295, 2001-05).
Steven Dunbar
• Sophomore wide receiver Steven Dunbar made the most of his first reception of the 2015 season. With his first catch this season, Dunbar gave the Cougars a 7-0 lead on a 29-yard touchdown catch with 11:21 left in the first quarter. It also was the first touchdown catch of his career.
Chance Allen
• With his 40-yard reception midway through the fourth quarter, junior wide receiver Chance Allen set a career long catch. It topped his previous best of 39 yards set against Tennesse Tech on Sept. 5, 2015)
Linell Bonner
• Sophomore wide receiver Linell Bonner enjoyed the first touchdown reception of his career with a 22-yard catch from quarterback Greg Ward, Jr., with 9:24 left in the fourth quarter.
• With 35 receiving yards, Bonner set a career high in receiving yards. His total topped his previous high of 18 yards, set against Tennessee Tech on Sept. 5, 2015.
Isaiah Johnson
• Redshirt freshman wide receiver Isaiah Johnson posted career highs with three receptions for 19 yards. His totals topped his previous best of one reception for 10 yards, set against Tennessee Tech on Sept. 5, 2015.
Adrian McDonald
• Senior strong safety Adrian McDonald recorded his team-leading second interception of the season at the 4:54 mark of the first quarter. McDonald now has 15 interceptions during his career.
• With 15 interceptions, McDonald moved into sole possession of second place in Houston career history. Up next in the Houston records book is Cornelius Price, who picked off 16 passes from 1988 to 1989. McDonald broke out of a tie with Johnny Jackson (1986-88), Anthony Francis (1975-77) and Gus Hollomon (1965-67).
Trevon Stewart
• Senior free safety Trevon Stewart recorded the seventh fumble recovery of his career and his first of the season at the 7:13 mark of the third quarter.
• With his third-quarter fumble recovery, Stewart moved into a tie for seventh with Steve Bradham (1977-80) with seven career fumble recoveries. Up next in the Houston records book are former linebacker and current Director of Player Development Marcus McGraw (2008-11) and former safety Will Gulley (2002-06), who each recorded eight during their careers.
• With his third-quarter interception, Stewart posted the ninth pickoff of his career and his first of the season.
Tyus Bowser
• With his sack late in the first half, junior outside linebacker Tyus Bowser now has 9.5 sacks during his career.
• Bowser has recorded a sack in each of the first two games to open the 2015 season and has now recorded a sack in each of the last four games dating back to 2014. Bowser posted a 4-yard sack at Cincinnati (Dec. 6, 2014) and recorded a 2-yard sack against Pittsburgh during the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas (Jan. 2, 2015).
Jerard Carter
• Redshirt freshman defensive end Jerard Carter recorded the first fumble recovery of his career at the 8:08 mark of the second quarter.
Elandon Roberts
• With 12 tackles, senior linebacker Elandon Roberts posted a career high. He topped his previous high of nine stops, done twice and most recently against Tennessee Tech (Sept. 5, 2015).
Kyle Bullard
• With two field goals, senior kicker Kyle Bullard booted the 24th and 25th field goals of his career. He moved past Mike Clark (1999-00) into eighth place in Houston career history with 25 field goals. Up next in the Houston records book is Sebastian Villarreal who booted 31 field goals from 1995 to 1997.
• With two field goals, Bullard recorded the seventh multi-field goal game of his career.
• Bullard is now 25-43 on field goals during his career.
