University of Houston Athletics
Game Notes: #HTownTakeover at Temple
9/26/2017 12:00:00 AM | Football
GAME NOTES - HOUSTON | GAME NOTES - TEMPLE
| THE GAME AT A GLANCE | |
|---|---|
| Date | Saturday, Sept. 30 |
| Time | 11 am CT |
| Location | Philadelphia, Pa. |
| Venue | Lincoln Financial |
| Capacity | 65,596 |
| Surface | Natural Grass |
| TV | ESPNU |
| Radio | KPRC 950 AM |
| Live Stats | |
HITS ON HOUSTON |
« Houston (2-1, 0-0 The American) hits the road to open American Athletic Conference play at 11 a.m. CT Saturday when it faces Temple (2-2, 0-1 The American) in Philadelphia. Saturday's game airs on ESPNU and on KPRC 950 AM with radio pregame coverage starting at 10 a.m.
« Both teams enter the game looking for a rebound as the #HTownTakeover is coming off a 27-24 loss to Texas Tech, snapping the nation's active longest home winning streak at 16 games. Temple is coming off a 43-7 Thursday night loss at USF.
« Houston will look to extend its lead atop The American's all-time win list. Since the league's inception, Houston leads all members with 23 wins over conference opponents. Houston's first win in the league came in the inaugural American Conference game, a 22-13 win over Temple in Philadelphia on Sept. 7, 2013.
« Houston enters the game among FBS schools in the state of Texas since the start of the 2014 season with 32 wins in that span. TCU leads with 33 wins while Baylor's 28 wins are third and Texas A&M is fourth with 27 wins. Texas Tech is fifth with 19 wins.
« The game will feature Houston's No. 18 scoring defense (15.3 points per game) against Temple's No. 114 scoring offense (17.0 points per game).
« It will also feature the nation's most accurate quarterback as Houston's Kyle Allen leads the nation in completion percentage at 76.9 percent. « Allen's top target, Linell Bonner, is sixth nationally with an average of 8.7 receptions per game. The number leads The American as the senior is second in the league with an average of 85.7 receiving yards per game.
« Houston leads the nation with an average of 38.6 yards per kick return. John Leday leads the way with three returns for 152 yards.
« Houston sophomore defensive tackle Ed Oliver entered 2017 after one of the most explosive seasons by a true freshman in college football. The Houston native earned first-team All-America honors and was named The American's Rookie of the Year after totaling 23 tackles for loss, second nationally. He totaled 47 solo tackles, second best among all linemen nationally while leading all linemen with nine pass breakups.
« Oliver started the season with a bang, with 11 tackles at Arizona and is third nationally among defensive linemen nationally with an average of 7.3 tackles per game. In just his 16th game vs. Texas Tech, Oliver added a tackle for loss to give him 26.5 for his career. Oliver is second nationally with two forced fumbles this season. The sophomore leads all players nationally with a career average of 1.63 tackles for loss per game.
« Houston linebacker Matthew Adams is No. 6 nationally and leads The American with an average of 11.3 tackles per game.
« UH ranks 10th nationally and the best in Texas with nine seasons with at least eight wins since 2006. LSU, Boise State and Oklahoma lead the way with 11 such seasons since 2016 while six teams, including The American's Navy, are tied with 10 such seasons.
« The Texas Tech loss also snapped the longest winning streak by a non-autonomous 5 team against autonomous 5 opponents with seven consecutive wins over the last four seasons. Houston picked up wins over Arizona, Oklahoma, Florida State, Vanderbilt, Louisville (2x) and Pitt during the streak.
« With its win over No. 3 Louisville last year, Houston has a program-record six straight wins over top-25 opponents, a number that's second nationally among active streaks against ranked opponents. It also marked Houston's fourth straight win over an AP Top 10 team (three of which have come in the last three seasons), which leads the nation.
« Houston and Alabama were the only two teams to claim double-digit wins over two top-10 teams in 2016.
« Houston is one of just four programs nationally with at least 13 wins on two different occasions over the last six years, joining Alabama, Clemson and Florida State in accomplishing the feat.
« The 2017 senior class enters the game with 32 wins, which currently ranks 12th on the Houston history for wins by a class. One win would move the class into 10th and three wins would move it into fifth. The 2017 senior class needs six more wins to tie the 2016 senior class for most wins in program history.
ABOUT THE 2017 COUGARS |
« While Houston lost just 11 players with starting experience from 2016, those 11 accounted for 262 career starts, an average of 23.8 career starts per player. By comparison, the 29 returning players with starting experience combined for 250 career starts entering 2017, an average of 8.6 career starts per player.
« Since 2014, Houston is second among state of Texas FBS schools with 32 wins. TCU leads with 33 wins while the Cougars are four wins ahead of Baylor, five ahead of Texas A&M and 13 games ahead of Texas Tech in that span.
« Houston also leads the state of Texas among FBS schools with nine seasons of at least eight wins since 2006. TCU is second with eight seasons while Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech are tied for third with seven each.
« After three years of competition, the 2017 senior class is the 12th-most winningest class in Houston football history with 32 wins since starting in 2014. The class is only two wins away from moving into the top five and six wins away from the record of 38 established by the 2016 senior class.
« Houston started 5-0 in back-to-back seasons in 2015 and 2016 for the first time in program history. The Cougars are looking for at least eight wins to give them a fifth straight season of such, which would be a first in program history.
« Over 2015-16, Houston had 22 wins, the fourth-best total in the nation over the span behind the 28 wins of Alabama and Clemson, and 23 of Ohio State.
« Houston's 22 wins over 2015-16 mark the best two-season total in program history, topping the 21 wins from 2014-15.
« No. 3 Oklahoma became the highest-ranked foe to fall to Houston since the Cougars defeated No. 3 Texas, 29-15, on Nov. 10, 1984. OU would be the first No. 3 team to fall to Houston in 2016, as the Cougars would defeat No. 3 Louisville, 36-10, on Nov. 17, sacking eventual Heisman winner Lamar Jackson 11 times.
« With its 36-10 win over No. 3 Louisville last season, Houston has won six straight against AP top-25 teams, second nationally, and a nation's best four straight against AP top-10 teams.
ABOUT TEMPLE |
« In its first season under head coach Geoff Collins, Temple enters Saturday's game at 2-2 and 0-1 in The American. The Owls opened the year with a 49-16 loss at Notre Dame before back-to-back home wins over Villanova (16-13) and UMass (29-21). Temple fell last Thursday to USF, 43-7, in Tampa.
« Temple is led offensively by sophomore quarterback Logan Marchi who has thrown for 767 yards and five touchdowns against no interceptions on 61-of-106 passing through four games. Junior running back Ryquell Armstead leads the Owls on the ground with 180 yards on 59 attempts while junior Ventell Bryant leads in receptions with 13 for 153 yards. Sophomore Isaiah Wright leads in receiving yards with 194 yards on 10 receptions including one touchdown.
« Defensively, the Owls are led by junior safety Delvon Randall who has 35 tackles and one sack. Freshman defensive end Quincy Roche leads Temple with four sacks while senior cornerback Mike Jones has the Owls' lone interception of the year.
« Saturday's matchup is the sixth meeting between the two schools with Houston claiming the first five showdowns. The last meeting was in the 2015 American Championship, a 24-13 win at TDECU Stadium in Houston. The two schools squared off in the first American Conference game in 2013 in Philadelphia, a 22-13 Houston win.
« Houston defensive coordinator Mark D'Onofrio is no stranger to the Temple program. The North Bergern, N.J., native spent five seasons with the program (2006-10) as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator under Al Golden. He was joined on the staff his final three seasons by current Temple tight ends coach Ed Foley.
« Collins and Houston offensive coordinator Brian Johnson spent one season together, 2014, at Mississippi State where Collins served as the Bulldogs' defensive coordinator and Johnson the quarterbacks coach.
DEGREES IN HAND |
« Nine Houston student-athletes entered the season having already earned an undergraduate degree. Linell Bonner, Reggie Chevis (Texas A&M), Nomluis Fruge, D'Juan Hines, Ellis Jefferson (Arizona State), Deon Mix (Auburn), Kyle Postma, Byron Simpson and Nick Thurman have all completed degree requirements prior to this season.
« Houston ranks 17th nationally with nine players having earned degrees prior to the start of the season.
TOP 25 RANKINGS |
« Houston entered 2016 at No. 15 in the AP poll, its highest ranking since checking in at No. 12 in the 1991 AP preseason poll.
« Following its win over Oklahoma, Houston moved up to No. 6, its highest AP ranking since No. 3 on Nov. 10, 1990. It also marked the first time to be in the top 10 in the month of September since Sept. 8, 1980.
« Houston spent 16 straight weeks in the AP Top 25 over 2015-16, the fourth-longest in program history and the longest since a record streak of 42 weeks from 1988-91.
« Houston also spent five weeks in the AP top 10 in 2016, the third-longest stint in UH history and the longest since 15 straight weeks in 1979-80.
ON THE OFFENSIVE |
« Since 2006, only Oregon and Oklahoma have racked up more yards than Houston who has 72,545 yards in that time.
Rank Team Total Yards (06-present)
1. Oregon 75,715
2. Oklahoma 72,566
3. Houston 72,545
4. Texas Tech 72,412
5. Nevada 65,716
« Houston has scored in 215 straight games dating back to Sept. 30, 2000.
« Five of Houston's 14 scoring drives this season have lasted less than two minutes with two lasting less than one minute, the quickest only 29 seconds with a two-play, 19-yard drive vs. Texas Tech.
« Houston has four scoring drives of four plays or less including the aforementioned two-play drive.
« With a balanced attack, Houston was one of just 15 schools nationally in 2016 to average over 145 yards per game rushing (147.1) and over 295 yards passing per game (296.3).
« The Cougars were also one of 19 teams nationally with at least 29 rushing touchdowns and 24 passing touchdowns.
« Houston was 17th nationally with 225 plays of 10+ yards.
« The versatility of the offense was evident as seven different players had rushing touchdowns last season for Houston while eight different players had receiving touchdowns and two different players had passing touchdowns.
« Against Louisville, Houston scored 16 points above the Cardinals' defensive scoring average and scored the most on UL since the Cardinals gave up 42 points to No. 5 Clemson earlier in the season.
« Houston totaled 624 yards against Memphis, its fifth game over 600 yards of total offense since the start of the 2015 season. Houston now has 75 games with 600+ yards in program history.
« Since 2015, Houston has 11 games with 500+ yards of total offense and has scored more than 40 points 12 times and more than 50 points five times.
A NEW LOOK UNDER CENTER |
« With the graduation of Greg Ward Jr., the Houston program lost its second-most winningest quarterback in program history with 27 career wins.
« Ward closed his career among the program's top five for career passing yards, passing touchdowns, completions and total offense. He finished 10th in program history for career rushing yards and set the career rushing record by a QB with 2,375 yards.
« Taking over for Ward is junior Kyle Allen, who sat out 2016 under NCAA transfer rules after transferring from Texas A&M. The nation's No. 1 quarterback in the 2014 recruiting class, Allen ran Houston's scout team during his season off.
« With the Aggies, Allen started 14 games over two seasons while seeing action in 20 games total. His sophomore season saw Allen lead Texas A&M in passing and total offense, completing 160-of-283 passes for 2,210 yards and 17 touchdowns against seven interceptions while also adding 102 yards on the ground.
« Allen threw for 1,322 yards and 16 touchdowns as a freshman against seven interceptions on 118-of-192 passing and closed the year with MVP honors in a Liberty Bowl win over West Virginia, throwing for 294 yards and four TDs while adding 33 yards rushing.
« Allen opened his Houston career with 225 yards and one TD against two interceptions on 25-of-32 passing at Arizona.
« After setting the Houston single-game completion percentage record against Rice, completing 31-of-33 passes for 93.9 percent, Allen leads the nation in completion percentage with a rate of 76.9 percent, on 80-of-104 passing.
« He started the Rice game completing his first 13 attempts and finished the night with 309 yards, his first 300-yard passing game with Houston, and the fourth of his career.
« Backup Kyle Postma has seen action in 21 career games with two starts. His first three games of action came at receiver in 2015 when he caught six passes for 145 yards and a touchdown before being moved back to QB due to injuries suffered by others. Passing wise, he has thrown for 808 yards and four touchdowns against three interceptions on 83-of-132 passing.
« Postma came off the bench with 7:26 left in the fourth against Texas Tech and lead Houston to back-to-back touchdowns on a 10-play, 73-yard drive capped by a 9-yard Postma rushing TD on 4th-and-1, and a 8-play, 76-yard drive finished by Postma hitting Bonner on a 4-yard score. He finished 8-of-13 passing with 100 yards while leading Houston with 52 yards rushing on four attempts.
HANDY TOOLS TO HAVE |
« The wide receiver position provides Houston with talented leaders mixed with a group of promising underclassmen. The two leaders in Steven Dunbar (30) and Linell Bonner (14) have combined for 44 career starts and 68 career games played while a quartet of sophomores will look to expand on true freshman seasons that saw each play an expanded role late in the year.
« Bonner led all returning receivers in The American and was second nationally with 98 receptions in 2016. He looks to follow up on a season that saw the former walk-on total 1,118 yards and three touchdowns.
« The former walk on opened the year with nine receptions for 59 yards and a score at Arizona, before upping his total by one with 10 receptions for 132 yards vs. Rice. He recorded his 11th career game with 7+ receptions against Texas Tech, finishing with seven receptions for 66 yards and a score.
« With 149 career receptions, Bonner now ranks 15th on Houston's career receptions chart and needs just 12 more to move into the top 10.
« Bonner now has 1,692 career receiving yards on the Houston career receiving yards chart. He needs 70 more to move into the top 15 and 627 yards to move into the top 10.
« Houston's No. 2 pass catcher in terms of touchdowns in 2016 with five, Dunbar totaled 53 receptions for 692 yards and looks to expand his role with the graduation of Chance Allen who had 56 receptions for 815 yards and six scores.
« Dunbar has led Houston in receiving yards in two games this season with 72 off six receptions at Arizona and 83 off six receptions vs. Texas Tech.
« The senior ranks 24th on the Houston career receptions chart and needs 15 to move into the top 20, sitting at 122 receptions for 1,572 yards. Dunbar needs 30 yards to move into the top 25 for career receiving yards and 120 to move into the top 20.
« The two were joined by a sizeable addition in Arizona State graduate transfer Ellis Jefferson. The Denton, Texas, native saw action in 38 games over three seasons at Arizona State but was lost for 3-4 weeks after suffering injuries vs. Arizona.
« Senior John Leday stepped up vs. Rice, recording career highs in receptions (7) and yards (60) while pulling in his first touchdown since the 2013 season opener.
« The trio of Keith Corbin, Courtney Lark and Terry Mark combined for 20 games played as true freshmen in 2016. Corbin led the quartet with six receptions for 68 yards while both Lark and Mark had three each, going for 26 yards and eight yards, respectively.
BACK TO THE BACKS |
« Houston returned every scholarship running back from the 2016 team led by junior Duke Catalon who totaled 528 yards rushing and four touchdowns on 145 attempts. He also added 44 receptions for 281 yards and three scores.
« Senior Dillon Birden, who picked up his sixth career start at Arizona, teams with Catalon after running for 289 yards and six scores on 62 attempts in 2016 while pulling in seven receptions for 54 yards and a touchdown.
« The two combined for 161 rushing yards at Arizona with Birden rushing 14 times for 83 yards and Catalon 18 times for 78 yards. Birden accounted for the lone rushing TD of the night, a 3-yard dive.
« Sophomores Mulbah Car (49-206), Kevrin Justice (34-149), Josh Burrell (12-51) were next on the rushing chart in 2016.
« Car led Houston in rushing vs. Rice, his first action of the year, totaling 59 yards on 11 attempts with a touchdown.
« Freshman Davion Mitchell joined the program after rushing for 1,598 yards and 31 touchdowns as a senior at Rockdale High School (TX). Mitchell totaled 3,283 rushing yards and 48 touchdowns in his high school career. He made his debut vs. Rice, rushing six times for 23 yards.
PAVING THE WAY |
« The group that returned the most in terms of experience offers new offensive line coach Chris Scelfo a variety of parts to move around the line. Scelfo stepped into a position with eight returners combining for 86 career starts and 133 career games played entering 2017. All eight started at least five games in 2016.
« Center Will Noble leads the line in terms of starting experience with 23 career starts, including eight in 2015 en route to earning FWAA Freshman All-America honors.
« Senior Marcus Oliver leads the team in overall experience with 37 career games played while totaling 18 career starts. Junior Mason Denley also has experience at the guard position, owning 12 career starts, with six in 2016.
« Sophomore Josh Jones stepped into the starting role at left tackle for the 2016 opener and never looked back, starting the last 16 games after redshirting his first season on campus. On the opposite side, Braylon Jones started the final six games of the season at right tackle as a true freshman after stepping in for an injured Na'Ty Rodgers who returns for his senior season after starting the first seven games of 2016.
« Braylon Jones shifted to guard to start the season at Arizona, giving Rodgers the return to right tackle.
« The group did not allow a sack or a quarterback hurry to the Arizona defense while only allowing four total tackles for a loss of 11 yards.
THIRD WARD DEFENSE |
« The Houston defense is one of just 10 nationally to hold opponents to an average of under 25 points scoring per game in each of the last four seasons. Taking it down a point further, UH is one of just seven schools to hold its opponents under 24 points per game in each of the last four seasons, joining Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Ohio State, Stanford and Wisconsin in accomplishing the feat.
« The Houston defense finished 2016 with the No. 4 rushing defense in the nation, allowing an average of 100.2 yards per game. Houston also ranked 13th in total defense (319.6 yards per game), ninth in first down defense (213) and 30th in scoring defense (23.5 points per game). UH led The American in rushing defense and first down defense and was second behind Temple in total defense and scoring defense.
« The defense has started 2017 right where it ended in 2016, as it ranks 18th nationally in scoring defense, allowing only 15.3 points per game.
« Houston ranks 15th nationally in red zone defense, allowing a score on an average of 66.7 percent of attempts, 6-of-9 attempts. The Cougars have allowed only three touchdowns in their opponents' nine trips into the red zone, which ranks eighth nationally.
« The Cougars are ninth nationally with an average of six 3-and-outs forced per game and 10th nationally with 45 percent of their opponents' drives resulting in 3-and-outs.
« The defense held Texas Tech to half its scoring average entering the game, holding the Red Raiders who were averaging 54.0 points per game to 27 points, and just three touchdowns. Although the Cougars gave up 521 yards, 234 yards came off just three plays.
« Houston held Rice to only three points, a field goal with 2:47 remaining in the game. It was Rice's lowest scoring output since falling to No. 4 Nebraska, 48-3, on Sept. 20, 2001.
« Houston held Rice to only three points, a field goal with 2:47 remaining in the game. It was Rice's lowest scoring
« The Houston defense got on the scoreboard at Arizona, forcing a safety as Arizona was forced to recover a fumble in its own end zone.
« UH was third nationally with five defensive touchdowns in 2016, trailing just Alabama (11) and Ohio State (7).
« The Cougars were 17th nationally and second in The American with 39 sacks. Houston had two players in the top four of The American in sacks with Steven Taylor and Tyus Bowser tied for third with 8.5 each.
« Navy snapped Houston's seven-game streak of not allowing an opponent to rush for over 100 yards when it ran for 306 yards. Prior to the streak, the Midshipmen were the last team to rush for over 100 yards. During the streak, Houston held Temple, Florida State, Oklahoma, Lamar, Cincinnati, Texas State and UConn to a combined 324 rushing yards. Houston held seven opponents below the century mark in 2016.
« The Cougars set a program record when they allowed Lamar just 73 total offensive yards, besting a 47-year old record of 74 yards set by the 1969 Houston team against Mississippi State.
« Houston held Oklahoma, who averaged 43.9 points per game in 2016, to 23 points in its season opener.
« Oklahoma, who averaged 554.8 yards per game in 2016, had 393 total yards against the Houston defense including just 70 on the ground. OU averaged 236.8 yards rushing last season.
« Houston held Cincinnati to its lowest output of total offense at home (307 yards) since Dec. 4, 2010, against Pittsburgh. The 30 total rushing yards on 25 attempts were the Bearcats' fewest since rushing for 15 yards on 32 attempts in their 2010 season opener at Fresno State.
« Against UCF, the Houston defense held the Knights to only 29 total yards in the second half, including negative 55 yards rushing, after allowing 166 total yards and 95 rushing yards in the first half.
« UH held Tulane to 128.1 yards below its rushing average with its lowest rushing output of the year (100 yards).
« Houston held Louisville to 32.5 points below its scoring average, 141.1 yards below its rushing average, 79.5 yards below its passing average and 220.7 yards below its total offense average while totaling 11 sacks.
« Louisville's 10 points were its lowest since scoring only seven vs. North Carolina on Oct. 8, 2011.
TURNOVER U |
« Since the start of the 2013 season, no program has taken the ball away from opposing offenses more than Houston with 132 turnovers forced in that time with 18 in 2016, 35 in 2015, 30 in 2014 and 43 in 2013.
« UH has forced multiple turnovers in 45 of its last 63 games.
« Garrett Davis and Emeke Egbule teamed up for one of Houston's biggest turnovers of 2016 when Davis hit Tulsa quarterback Dane Evans for a fumble-forcing sack that Egbule scooped up and returned 24 yards for the winning touchdown with 1:21 left in Houston's 38-31 win.
« Houston established a 2016 high with four turnovers vs. UCF and recovered three fumbles against Louisville.
« The Cougars were opportunistic when creating turnovers last season, turning 18 turnovers into 87 points, including 28 points directly on the interception returns from Steven Taylor and Howard Wilson at Cincinnati and fumble recoveries from Emeke Egbule vs. Tulsa and Jeremy Winchester vs. Tulane.
« Houston opened the season with multiple turnovers at Arizona as Ed Oliver forced his fourth career fumble that was recovered by Alexander Myres, and Davis ended a late fourth-quarter drive with his first career interception.
« The Cougars made it two-for-two with multiple turnover games vs. Rice, as Matthew Adams and Leroy Godfrey both recovered fumbles and Payton Turner had an interception.
« Houston turned its three turnovers vs. Rice into 17 points as the Houston offense had to travel just a total of 58 yards to pay dirt following the defense's work.
« They followed it up one week later with a touchdown, having to travel just 19 yards, following Terrell Williams' first career interception.
ED-UCATION |
« The American Athletic Conference and the nation were quickly introduced to Houston defensive tackle Ed Oliver last season as the true freshman earned seven First Team All-America honors, FWAA Freshman All-America Honors and was named The American's Rookie of the Year.
« Ranked the nation's No. 2 defensive tackle in the 2016 signing class by ESPN, Oliver did not wait long to make his impression felt for Houston, earning his first career start vs. Oklahoma, leading all linemen with seven tackles including two sacks.
« Oliver finished second nationally in 2016 with 23 tackles for loss and leads all returning defensive linemen nationally.
« Playing out of the tackle spot on a three-man line, he was second nationally among all defensive linemen with 47 solo tackles and 13th among all defensive linemen nationally with 66 total tackles.
« Oliver also led all defensive linemen nationally with nine pass breakups. The number also led all non-defensive backs in The American and was sixth in the league regardless of position.
« Oliver's 66 tackles were second among all freshmen in The American, regardless of position, and led all freshmen defensive linemen nationally. His five sacks led all freshmen in The American. Oliver also led Houston and finished second in The American with three forced fumbles, a number that ranked second nationally among freshmen.
« He wasted no time to open the 2017 season, totaling 11 tackles at Arizona, his third career game with double-digit tackles. Oliver also had 1.5 tackles for loss, his ninth career game with multiple tackles for loss.
« Oliver added his 26.5 career tackle for loss vs. Texas Tech, and is third nationally among defensive linemen with an average of 7.3 tackles per game.
« He has started off the season with forced fumbles in the first two games, and now has five in his career, ranking 13th in Houston history. His next forced fumble would move him into eighth and he is five away from tying the Houston career record.
« He leads all active players nationally with a career average of 1.63 tackles for loss per game and ranks second nationally with an average of 0.31 forced fumbles per game.
« Nick Thurman was second among UH linemen in 2016 with 26 tackles and two sacks, part of his 5.5 tackles for loss. He's totaled 64 tackles and 12.5 tackles for loss in 34 career games played. He picked up his first sack of the season vs. Texas Tech.
« Texas A&M graduate transfer Reggie Chevis stepped into the starting lineup at Arizona for an injured Jerard Carter. He had a career-high four tackles vs. Texas Tech.
« True freshman Payton Turner had an impressive debut vs. Rice, snagging an interception on his first career play to stop an Owls' first-quarter drive. On Rice's next drive, Turner picked up his first career sack to force a three-and-out and a Rice punt.
NO FLY ZONE |
« While Houston returned its two starting safeties in Garrett Davis and Khalil Williams, the Cougars looked to replace two players with starting cornerback experience in Brandon and Howard Wilson. The two combined for 44 starts and 78 career games played. Jeremy Winchester with 10 career starts and 27 games played at the position returned in 2017.
« A senior, Khalil Williams staked claim to one of Houston's defensive back spots after starting all 13 games in 2016 and owns 19 career starts. The secondary's leading returning tackler with 69 stops in 2016, Williams is being used in the nickel back role held by Brandon Wilson in 2016.
« Williams has started off the 2017 season with two tackles for loss in each of the first three games and ranks fourth nationally with an average of two tackles for loss per game.
« Davis, who owns 15 starts, totaled 65 tackles including seven for a loss last season. He made a big difference in the season-opening win, making his first career interception to snuff out an Arizona drive at his own 32-yard line with 3:49 left in the game.
« Davis also totaled 11 tackles, his second career game with double-digit stops.
« Senior Terrell Williams, who owns eight starts in two seasons, is also patrolling the Houston secondary this season, breaking up three passes through three games with his first career interception vs. Texas Tech.
« Senior Alexander Myres and junior Isaiah Johnson both made their first career starts at cornerback at Arizona with Myres recovering a fumble and making one tackle and Johnson making three tackles. Johnson made the jump to defense after two seasons at receiver while Myres, a walk-on, was rewarded with a scholarship prior to the start of the season.
« Against Texas Tech, Winchester made his 11th career start in place of an injured Myres and finished with six tackles and one pass breakup while Johnson had a career-high eight tackles and one breakup.
SMASHMOUTH FOOTBALL |
« For the second straight season, Houston is replacing leaders at the linebacker position with the graduation of sack masters Tyus Bowser and Steven Taylor.
« Senior Matthew Adams, who led the team in tackles with 82 stops last year, returns to lead the way. The smashmouth middle linebacker also forced two fumbles and had two sacks in 2016.
« Adams has led Houston in tackles in back-to-back games with 11 tackles against Rice and a career-high 15 stops vs. Texas Tech, his eighth career game with at least 10 tackles.
« Adams leads The American with an average of 11.3 tackles per game, a number that ranks sixth nationally.
« Fellow senior D'Juan Hines returned to the group after starting seven games in 2016, finishing with 44 stops.
« Hines posted a career-high 13 stops vs. Texas Tech while forcing his first career forced fumble.
« The two combined to make 17 stops at Arizona with Hines leading the way with nine tackles.
« Junior Emeke Egbule stepped in with five starts last season and had one of five Houston defensive touchdowns after scooping and scoring the game-winning touchdown against Tulsa on a 24-yard fumble return. He recorded his second career sack at Arizona.
« Following a common linebacker theme, Egbule recorded a career-high eight tackles against Texas Tech.
« Others looking to compete at the position include seniors Ralph Harvey Jr., Nomluis Fruge, Cameron Doubenmier and Austin Robinson along with sophomores Leroy Godfrey and Jordan Milburn.
« Godfrey recovered his first career fumble vs. Rice while also making his first career solo tackle for loss.
« Much needed depth has been added with the addition of freshmen David Anenih, Elijah Gooden, Derek Parish and Amaud Willis-Dalton.
THE PUNT-AH |
« Sophomore punter Dane Roy returned after his first season in America as a 27-year old true freshman in 2016.
« The Bunyip, Australia native and former Australian rules football player for Richmond Central placed 20 of his 59 punts in 2016 inside his opponent's 20-yard line with only four touchbacks. His high-hanging punts helped Houston rank seventh nationally in punt return defense, allowing just 2.6 yards per return while forcing 26 fair catches.
« Roy ranked third among returning punters in The American Conference after averaging 40.6 yards per punt in 2016.
« He picked up where he left off at Arizona, helping to hold the Wildcats to just two return yards while placing two punts inside the 20-yard line with an average of 43.3 yards on his six punts.
« Roy dropped all three of his punts vs. Rice inside the Owls' 20-yard line, with one inside the 10-yard line, forcing two fair catches and holding Rice without a punt return. He earned The American's Special Teams Player of the Week honor for his efforts.
« The sophomore continued to show his precision vs. Texas Tech, dropping three of his four punts inside the Red Raiders' 10-yard line and a fourth inside the 20 with just one touchback. His punts resulted in three fair catches and only two returns for a total of one yard.
« Roy is tied for The American's lead with nine punts inside the 20-yard line and leads the league with 56.3 percent of his punts landing inside the opponents 20-yard line.
« Prior to arriving in Houston, Roy won the longest kick competition at the AFL grand final in Melbourne, Australia, after booting a torpedo 73 meters, which equates to 79 yards. Roy, who stands 6-7, also has a personal-best hang time of 5.4 seconds.
THE RETURNS DEPARTMENT |
« Houston turned to a new face to spark its kick return with the graduation of Brandon Wilson who finished his career ninth on the UH career charts with 1,121 kickoff return yards and second with two kickoff returns for touchdowns in his career.
« The early returns look good for Houston, as the #HTownTakeover leads the nation in kickoff returns with an average of 38.6 yards per return.
« On the other side, the kick return defense ranks 25th nationally with an average of 17.3 yards per return while the punt return defense is 17th nationally with an average of 1.0 yard per return.
« Houston is the only team in the nation to rank in the top 25 in both kickoff returns and kickoff return defense.
« Senior John Leday wasted no time in a new role, taking his first career kickoff return 81 yards to the Arizona 16-yard line, setting up the Houston offense for a short touchdown drive. Leday also added a 24-yard return later in the game.
« Leday took his one return vs. Texas Tech back 47 yards and ranks fourth nationally with at least two kickoff returns of 40+ yards.
« Texas State graduate transfer walk-on Brandon McDowell took over the punt returning duties for Houston, making one return for six yards at Arizona.
« McDowell also saw action at kick returner vs. Rice, returning one kick for 35 yards.
KICKING IT |
« Yet another new name in the Houston special teams, junior Caden Novikoff walked on to the Houston program in training camp and grabbed the kicking reigns.
« The San Antonio native connected on one of two field goal attempts at Arizona, connected on a 25-yard attempt while leaving a 38-yard attempt just left. Novikoff also connected on his two extra point attempts and drilled three of his four kickoffs for touchbacks.
« He remained perfect on his extra points vs. Rice, hitting all five, while connecting on a 31-yard field goal.
« Novikoff connected on a career-long 45-yard field goal vs. Texas Tech while converting all three extra point attempts.
SNAP IT TO ME |
« Unfortunately Houston lost its starting long snapper in senior Byron Simpson in late May due to a non-football related medical condition. The Cat Spring, Texas, native started all 13 games at the position in 2016.
« The Cougars turned to Simpson's backup in 2016, junior Nick Wildberger. The San Antonio, Texas, native redshirted in 2016 and made his debut at Arizona, totaling 10 long snaps.
