GAMENOTES: Houston 52, ECU 27
11/4/2017 12:00:00 AM | Football
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BY THE NUMBERS1-0 1 1 1 2 2 2 3-2 3-2 4 5 5 6 6-3 6-3 6-4 7 7 8 8 12 21-5 21 22 36-31-5 39 40 41 44 50 52 75 142-111-5 143 147 171 330 377-324-14 432-359-15 1987 29,810 |
GAME NOTES
• Houston improved to 6-3 in 2017.
• Houston improved to 432-359-15 all-time.
• ECU won the toss and elected to defer. Houston chose to receive and defended the west end zone. Junior safety Garrett Davis, senior linebacker Matthews Adams, senior running back Dillon Birden and senior wide receiver Steven Dunbar were captains.
• Attendance was 29,810.
HEAD COACH Major Applewhite
• Applewhite improved to 6-4 during his Houston career.
• Applewhite improved to 6-3 in the regular season during his career.
• Applewhite improved to 6-3 in games played on Saturdays.
• Applewhite improved to 3-2 at TDECU Stadium during his career.
• Applewhite improved to 3-2 in day games.
• Applewhite improved to 1-0 against ECU during his career.
ECU SERIES HISTORY
• Houston is 6-7 all-time in the series and 3-4 when playing ECU in Houston.
• Saturday's game marked the first meeting between the two teams since a 48-28 loss in Greenville, N.C., on Nov. 3, 2012.
BY MONTHS
• Houston improved to 142-111-5 in games played during the month of November.
BY DAYS
• Houston improved to 377-324-14 all-time in games played on Saturdays.
TDECU STADIUM HISTORY
• Houston is 21-5 all-time in games played at TDECU Stadium.
HOMECOMING
• Houston is 36-31-5 all-time on Homecoming.
• The Cougars have won their last three Homecoming games.
• Saturday's game marked the fourth time Houston hosted ECU on Homecoming.
• The Cougars are 2-2 all-time against ECU on Homecoming.
BOWL BOUND
• With its sixth win of the season, Houston becomes bowl eligible for a fifth straight season. The streak ties Navy, who currently has five wins, for the longest streak in The American.
D'Eriq King
• Saturday's game marked sophomore D'Eriq King's first career start at quarterback.
• King recorded a two-yard rushing touchdown in the opening drive of the game at the 10:48 mark of the first quarter. The rushing touchdown was his fourth of the season and overall career.
• King found Steven Dunbar for a 41-yard completion.
• King found sophomore wide receiver Courtney Lark for a five-yard touchdown pass at the 1:20 mark of the first quarter.
• On Houston's first play from scrimmage in the second half, King found Dunbar for a 75-yard touchdown pass, a career long at the 8:52 mark in the third quarter.
• King found Bonner for a 62-yard touchdown pass at the 6:09 mark of the third quarter.
• King finished 15-for-21 passing for 330 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He recorded career highs in touchdowns, yards, completions and attempts.
• King recorded a rushing and passing touchdown for the second straight week.
• With 330 yards, Kings recorded the first 300-yard passing game in a debut since Crawford Jones finished with 316 yards in a 44-41 loss at Marshall on Nov. 17, 2012.
• In his first career start, King became the fourth quarterback to throw for at least three touchdowns, joining Crawford Jones (5 at Marshall - Nov. 17, 2012;), David Klinger (5 vs. UNLV - Sept. 8, 1990) and John O'Korn (3 vs. Rice - Sept. 21, 2013).
SCORING
• With sophomore quarterback D'Eriq King's two-yard rushing touchdown on the opening drive of the game, Houston has now scored in 221 consecutive games dating back to a 48-0 loss at No. 15 Texas on Sept. 23, 2000. Major Applewhite split repetitions at quarterback for the Longhorns in the game.
OFFENSE
• With a one-play, 22-yard scoring drive that spanned seven seconds midway through the first quarter, Houston recorded its quickest scoring drive in both plays and time on the season.
• Houston scored 21 points in the first quarter, a season high. The previous high was 17 against Rice on Sept. 16, 2017, inside TDECU Stadium.
• Houston recorded its second game of the season in which three different Cougars recorded a scored a rushing touchdown. The previous occurrence was against Rice on Sept. 16, 2017, inside TDECU Stadium when Mulbah Car, Duke Catalon and Dillon Birden all found the end zone.
• With a 75-yard touchdown pass from D'Eriq King to Steven Dunbar, Houston recorded its longest offensive play of the season.
• Linell Bonner and Steven Dubar became the first receivers to have 100-yard receiving games in 2017. The duo also acheived the feat at Navy on Oct. 8, 2016.
• With their performances, Dubar and Bonner became the 12th and 13th player's in program history to eclipse 2,000 career receiving yards.
• Houston had three touchdown drives under one minutes in the game. The Cougars have nine total in 2017.
• For the 13th time since 2015, Houston recorded at least 40 points in a game.
• For the sixth time since 2015, Houston recorded at least 50 points in a game.
• With 52 points scored, Houston tied for its second most points scored in a conference game since joining The American since a 52-31 victory against No. 16/15 Navy on Nov. 27, 2015 inside TDECU Stadium.
• With King's 330 yards passing, Houston had three quarterbacks with a 300-yard passing game in the same season since Andre Ware, David Dacus and Ed Powers did so in 1987.
DEFENSE
• With three turnovers forced, Houston now has 143 since 2013, the most among FBS schools. All three turnovers led to scoring drives for the Cougar offense.
• Houston has forced multiple turnovers in 49 of its last 69 games.
• The Houston defense shutout ECU in the first quarter. The Cougars have held their opponent to seven or less points in 23 of 36 quarters.
• Houston limited ECU to just three rushing yards on nine attempts in the first half.
• Senior defensive back Brandon McDowell intercepted ECU quarterback Gardner Minshew and returned the pass for 74-yard touchdown at the 12:26 mark of the fourth quarter. The score was the first by the Houston defense since Jeremy Winchester returned a fumble for a touchdown against Tulane on Nov. 12, 2016, inside TDECU Stadium.
• Houston has had 22 scoring plays on defense in the last five seasons.
• Houston forced one three and out.
BIG PLAYS
• Houston recorded eight plays of 20 yards or more against ECU.
Steven Dunbar
• With his first catch of the game, senior wide receiver Steven Dunbar tied Kimble Anders (155; 1985-89) for 14th all-time on the Houston career receptions chart. He finished with six catches, passing Charles Sims (158; 2009-12) and Freddie Gilbert (158; 1991-92) to move up to 12th all time with 160 on the career receptions list.
• With 171 yards receiving, Dunbar passed Marcus Grant (1,927; 1989-91) and James Cleveland (2,014; 2009-10) to move up to 12th all-time on the Houston receiving yards chart with 2,055.
• Dunbar and quarterback D'Eriq King connected for a career-long 75-yard touchdown pass at the 8:52 mark in the third quarter, Houston's first play from scrimmage in the half. The score was Dunbar's second receiving touchdown of the season and 10th overall of his career.
• With a career-high 171 yards, Dunbar recorded his fifth 100-plus yard receiving game of his career and his second in 2017. His previous career high was 150 against Tulsa on Nov. 22, 2014, inside TDECU Stadium.
• His 171 receiving yards rank tied with Kevin Johnson (Texas Tech - Nov. 19, 1983), Jason Phillips (at Texas - Nov. 5, 1988) and Orlando Iglesias (at Minnesota - Sept. 27, 1997) for 39th all-time at Houston for a single game.
• Dunbar's 100-yard receiving game is the 312th in program history.
• Dunbar hauled in receptions of 32, 41 and 75 (touchdown) yards.
Terrell Williams
• Senior safety Terrell Williams intercepted ECU quarterback Thomas Sirk midway through the first quarter and returned it 11 yards to give the Houston offense the ball at the Pirate 22-yard line. The interception was his fourth of the season and overall career.
• He entered tied for fourth in the conference in total interceptions.
• He entered Saturday, tied for fifth in The American in passes defended at 1.0.
Duke Catalon
• Junior running back Duke Catalon gave Houston a 14-0 lead with a 22-yard touchdown run at the 7:09 mark in the first quarter. The score was his eighth of the season and 12th overall of his career.
Courtney Lark
• Sophomore wide receiver Courtney Lark recorded a five-yard touchdown reception from D'Eriq King at the 1:20 mark of the first quarter. The score was his second of the season and his overall career.
• Lark has had a receiving touchdown in each of Houston's last two games.
Mulbah Car
• Sophomore running back Mulbah Car recorded a one-yard rushing touchdown at the 7:19 mark of the second quarter. The rushing touchdown was his third of the season and fifth overall of his career.
Linell Bonner
• Senior wide receiver Linell Bonner hauled in a 39-yard reception in the second quarter.
• Bonner recorded a 62-yard touchdown reception from quarterback D'Eriq King at the 6:09 mark of the third quarter. The score was his fourth receiving touchdown of the season and 12th of his overall career.
• With 147 yards, Bonner recorded his seventh 100-plus yard receiving game of his career and his third of the season.
• With seven 100-yard receiving games, Bonner is tied for 13th all-time at Houston.
• With 147 yards receiving, Bonner passed James Cleveland (2,014; 2009-10) for 11th all-time on the Houston receiving yards chart with 2,087.
Leroy Godfrey
• Sophomore linebacker Leroy Godfrey sacked ECU quarterback Gardner Minshew for a eight-yard loss at the end of the second quarter. The sack was Godfrey second of the season and his overall career.
• Godfrey finished with eight tackles, a career high. His previous high was six tackles at USF on Oct. 28, 2017.
Emeke Egbule
• Junior linebacker Emeke Egbule recovered a fumble on a botched handoff in the third quarter. The fumble recovery is Egbule's first of the season and second of the season.
• Egbule finished with six tackles.
Caden Novikoff
• Junior kicker Caden Novikoff recorded a 44-yard field goal at the 1:22 mark of the third quarter, one yard off his career high of 45 yards established against Texas Tech on Sept. 23, 2017, inside TDECU Stadium.
• Novikoff has converted on his last six attempts.
Austin Robinson
• Senior linebacker Austin Robinson finished with 12 tackles, a new career high and his first double-digit tackle performance.
Brandon McDowell
• Senior defensive back Brandon McDowell intercepted ECU quarterback Gardner Minshew and returned the pass for 74-yard touchdown at the 12:26 mark of the fourth quarter. The score is his first of the season.
Kyle Allen
• Junior quarterback Kyle Allen saw repetitions in the fourth quarter.
Dane Roy
• Sophomore punter Dane Roy finished with three punts for 138 yards.
Duke Catalon
• Junior running back Duke Catalon finished with nine carries for 77 yards.
Ed Oliver
• With one tackle for loss, sophomore defensive tackle Ed Oliver recorded has 33 tackles for loss in only 22 games. He entered Saturday's game leading the nation with 1.50 tackles for loss per game.
D'Juan Hines
• Senior linebacker D'Juan Hines finished with seven tackles. He entered Saturday's game ranked 12th nationally and second in The American with 9.9 tackles per game.
