University of Houston Athletics
Taylor Named Walter Camp Defensive Player of the Week
11/20/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
HOUSTON -- Houston linebacker Steven Taylor has been named the Walter Camp Football Foundation Defensive Player of the Week the organization announced Sunday.
Taylor had a game-high 14 tackles, a season best and just two off his career high, while also racking up 2.5 sacks for a loss of 15 yards and one forced fumble in Houston's 36-10 win over No. 3 Louisville.
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In addition to his stat line, he helped lead a UH defense that held Louisville to 39.6 points below its scoring average, 169 yards below its rushing average, 102 yards below its passing average and 271 yards below its total offense average while totaling 11 sacks.
Taylor is the second Houston defensive player to earn Walter Camp national honors this season, joining cornerback Brandon Wilson (Sept. 4). Taylor is also Houston's seventh honoree since the award began in 2004. Houston is one of three teams with two different winners on the defensive side this season, joining Alabama and Washington in accomplishing the feat.
With its win Thursday night, Houston became the only program this season to defeat two top-5 teams after defeating then-No. 3 Oklahoma (currently No. 7), 33-23, in its season opener. Entering last week, seven teams had played multiple top-5 teams resulting in a combined record of 4-11 in the games including No. 5 Wisconsin at 1-2.
With its double-digit wins over OU and Louisville, Houston and Alabama are the only two teams nationally with two wins by double digits over top-10 opponents.
Thursday's win was Houston's sixth straight win over an AP Top 25 team (all coming in the last two season), a streak that ranks second behind only Alabama. It also marked its fourth straight win over an AP Top 10 team (three of which have come in the last 12 games), also second behind Alabama (7).
In Thursday's win, Houston held Louisville to 39.6 points below its scoring average, 169 yards below its rushing average, 102 yards below its passing average and 271 yards below its total offense average while totaling 11 sacks. Louisville's 312 yards of total offense was its lowest of the season, with the next closest at 469 yards vs. Duke.
Houston scored 16 points above Louisville's defensive scoring average and scored the most on UL since on the Cardinals' defense gave up 42 to No. 5 Clemson.
In its other top-5 win over Oklahoma, Houston held the Sooners to its lowest offensive output of the year in total offense (393 yards) and points (23).
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