POSTGAME NOTES: Houston 52, Tennessee Tech 24
9/5/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
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BY THE NUMBERS1 6 9 29 52 82 107 121 627 30,479 |
GAME NOTES
• With Houston's 52-24 victory over Tennessee Tech, the Cougars improved to 405-351-15 all-time.
• The win marks the first in the Tom Herman Era making him the eighth Houston coach to win his first game, and the first since Kevin Sumlin.
• The Cougars improved to 36-32-2 in season opening games and 40-30 in home openers.
• Houston won the toss and elected to defer their decision until the second half. Senior running back Kenneth Farrow was a third-time captain while tackle Alex Cooper, defensive back Adrian McDonald and linebacker Elandon Roberts were all named captains for the first time.
OFFENSE
• Houston found the end zone on its opening drive with a 1-yard run from running back Ryan Jackson. The score capped a drive that went 56 yards on eight plays in 2:39. Houston has now scored in 186 consecutive games.
• Three Houston players caught their first career passes as Cougars. Wide receivers Isaiah Johnson and Chance Allen collected their first receptions, while Kyle Postma took his first catch 29 yards for a touchdown.
• With his 100-yard rushing game, junior quarterback Greg Ward extended Houston's streak of consecutive games with a 100-yard rusher to five. Senior running back Kenneth Farrow had four straight dating back to the Tulsa game on Nov. 22 of last season.
• Houston finished with 627 yards of total offense. That total is the most for a Cougar team since Oct. 26, 2013, when Houston tallied 611 yards in a 49-14 win over Rutgers.
• Houston scored 50+ points for the first time since 2013, when the Cougars defeated UTSA, 59-28, on Sept. 28.
• Houston finished with 272 rushing yards on 44 carries, including six touchdowns. It was the first time Houston has rushed for six touchdown since Sept. 10, 2010, a 54-24 win over UTEP.
Houston scored touchdowns on three straight drives in the second half. Overall, the Cougars scored on eight of their 15 drives.
DEFENSE
• The Cougar defense held the Golden Eagles to -8 yards rushing in the first half on 13 carries.
• Senior defensive back Adrian McDonald intercepted a pass in the fourth quarter to give Houston its first turnover of the season. Coming into the contest, Houston defenses had forced 73 turnovers over the last two seasons.
• Houston held Tennessee Tech to just 29 yards rushing on 33 attempts. It was the first time the Cougars held an opponent to less than 30 rushing yards since Oct. 21, 2006, a 34-17 win over UTEP.
SPECIAL TEAMS
• Kicker Kyle Bullard finished the game 7-for-7 on extra point attempts and 1-for-1 on field goals.
• Houston held Tennessee Tech return specialist Ladarius Vanlier to just three punt return yards on two returns and 84 kick return yards on four attempts.
Ryan Jackson
• Senior running back Ryan Jackson scored the first points of the season for the Cougars on a 1-yard touchdown run in the team's first offensive series. Jackson finished the game with 28 yards on seven carries.
• Jackson has now scored the first touchdown of the season for Houston in each of the last three seasons, and he now has 15 career rushing touchdowns.
Steven Taylor
• Steven Taylor recorded one sack for a loss of 12 yards. The junior now has eight career sacks for a loss of 69 yards.
• Taylor finished the game with three tackles for a loss, giving him 22.5 in his career.
• Taylor finished with seven total tackles, including seven solo efforts.
Demarcus Ayers
• Junior wide receiver Demarcus Ayers set a new career high in receptions and receiving yards on the night with 10 catches for 121 yards. Ayers' previous bests came on Dec. 6, 2014, when he caught 10 passes for 95 yards against Cincinnati.
• Ayers had a 39-yard reception, matching the longest by a Houston player on the evening.
• Ayers also became the 252nd Houston player to record more than 100 yards receiving in a game.
Elandon Roberts
• Senior linebacker Elandon Roberts led UH with nine tackles, matching a career high.
• Roberts had a nine-tackle game for the second straight outing after also making nine tackles in the Armed Forces Bowl win over Pitt on Jan. 2, 2015, and he set a career high with two tackles for loss.
Chance Allen
• Junior wide receiver Chance Allen recorded his first career reception with a 39-yard catch from quarterback Greg Ward late in the first quarter. Allen finished the game with 56 yards on three receptions.
Greg Ward Jr.
• Junior quarterback Greg Ward Jr. found the end zone on the ground for both the Cougars second and third scores of the ballgame. Ward Jr. scored on a 3-yard run with 1:36 remaining in the first quarter, and again on a 41-yard scamper with 11:43 remaining in the second.
• This marks the second career game that Ward has rushed for multiple touchdowns. The junior had three scores on the ground last season in a 35-9 victory at SMU on Nov. 28.
• Ward now has 10 rushing touchdowns in his career and finished the game with a new career high of 107 yards on 13 carries. Ward's first 100-yard rushing game makes him the third active Cougar to eclipse the century mark (Kenneth Farrow 7 games, Ryan Jackson 5 games). Ward became the 307th player in Houston history to rush for 100 yards in a game.
• Ward also added a score through the air when he connected with Kyle Postma on a 29-yard reception that brought the score to 31-10 in the third quarter.
• Ward is the eighth Cougar to top 100 yards rushing and 100 yards passing in a game, and the first to accomplish the feat since Kevin Kolb on Oct. 25, 2003 against TCU.
Kyle Bullard
• Kyle Bullard connected on a 26-yard field goal with 53 seconds remaining in the first half to make the score 24-10. Bullard is now 23-29 on field goals in his career.
Isaiah Johnson
• Isaiah Johnson caught his first career pass on Houston's first drive of the third quarter, a 10-yard reception for a first down. It was his lone catch of the game.
KYLE POSTMA
• Sophomore transfer Kyle Postma caught his first career pass and took the ball 29 yards for his first-career touchdown. Postma is listed as a quarterback on the Houston depth chart.
• Postma finished the game with 82 yards on four catches. Both totals ranked second on the night among Houston players.
Javin Webb
• Javin Webb found the end zone on his first carry of the night, on the first play of the fourth quarter, on a 14-yard rush to make the score 38-10. Webb finished the game with 39 yards on five carries.
• Webb also scored on a 3-yard run with 5:56 left in the game, a touchdown that made the score 52-17 and marked Houston's final trip to the end zone.
• The two-touchdown performance was the first of Webb's Houston career.
Adrian McDonald
• Senior defensive back Adrian McDonald intercepted a Jared Davis pass in the fourth quarter for Houston's first forced turnover of the season. The interception for McDonald marks the 14th of his career moving him into a four-way tie for second on the all-time Houston interception list.
• McDonald returned the interception 11 yards to give him a total of 276 career interception return yards. That moved him 49 yards behind the all-time leader Johnny Jackson (325, 1986-88)
Adam Schulz
• Senior quarterback Adam Schulz made his Houston debut in the fourth quarter and led the Cougars to a touchdown on his first drive. Schulz scored on a 1-yard quarterback keeper to cap a 4-play, 10-yard drive in 32 seconds.
• Schulz finished the game 6-for-10 with 80 passing yards, and he carried the ball twice for 12 yards and the touchdown.
Tyreik Gray
• Freshman running back Tyreik Gray made his collegiate debut with a reception midway through the fourth quarter on an 8-yard pass from quarterback Adam Schultz. Gray finished the game with two receptions for 24 yards.
Tyler McCloskey
• Junior tight end Tyler McCloskey set a career high with two catches and 19 receiving yards.
