University of Houston
Temple
Game Notes: Houston vs. Temple
11/6/2018 7:52:00 AM | Football
GAME NOTES HOME | HOUSTON GAME NOTES | TEMPLE GAME NOTES
| THE GAME AT A GLANCE | |
|---|---|
| Date | Saturday, Nov. 10 |
| Time | 6 p.m. CT |
| Location | Houston |
| Venue | TDECU Stadium |
| Capacity | 40,000 |
| Surface | Synthetic Turf |
| TV | CBS Sports Network |
| Radio | KPRC 950 AM |
| Live Stats | UHCougars.com |
HITS ON HOUSTON
« Houston (7-2, 4-1 The American) returns home for the 2018 edition of Homecoming and the Sam Hairston Salute to Service Game on Saturday at 6 p.m. CST vs. Temple (5-4, 4-1 The American). Saturday's game will air on CBS Sports Network and KPRC 950 AM with radio pregame coverage starting at 5 p.m.
« Houston enters the game following a 45-31 loss at SMU, while Temple is coming off a 52-40 road loss at UCF.
« Houston is bowl eligible for the sixth straight season, the best streak in program history.
« One of the nation's top offenses, Houston ranks fourth nationally in total offense with 548.2 yards per game while ranking fifth nationally in scoring offense with 47.7 points per game. It has three games this season over 600 yards of total offense.
« Houston opened up the season with a program-record eight straight games of 40+ points. Houston opened the season with at least 40 points in its first three games for the first time in program history.
« Houston and Oklahoma are the only schools to rank in the top 20 for both passing offense (No. 13 | 315.9) and rushing offense (No. 18 | 232.3).
« The Houston offense ranks fifth nationally with 67 plays of at least 20+ yards and 12 plays of 50+ yards.
« No other player in the nation has been responsible for more points than Houston quarterback D'Eriq King. The junior leads the nation with 254 points responsible for, ranking fourth nationally with 30 passing touchdowns and seventh nationally with 12 rushing touchdowns.
« With two passing touchdowns and a rushing score at SMU, the Maxwell Award semifinalist now has at least two passing scores and a rush score in every game this season. It marks the longest such streak by any FBS player in the last 20 years.
« He became only the 13th player in FBS history to throw for 400+ and rush for 100+ vs. USF, finishing with 419 yards passing and 132 yards rushing.
« King has four games this season with at least 300 passing yards and three with at least 400. He leads The American and is 12th nationally with 2,578 passing yards while throwing down field, ranking eighth nationally with 9.08 yards per attempt. King leads The American and is sixth nationally with 338.3 yards of total offense per game. He also leads The American and ranks fourth nationally in passing efficiency with a rating of 171.0.
« Ed Oliver is in his final season at Houston, having declared for the 2019 NFL Draft last March. The first underclassman to ever win the Outland Trophy, Oliver also earned consensus All-America honors and was named The American's Defensive Player of the Year in 2017.
« Playing tackle in a three-man front, Oliver totaled 39.5 tackles for loss in his first two seasons, the most ever by a defensive tackle through their sophomore season. Oliver more than doubled up the previous best, 19 from Pitt's Aaron Donald in 2010-11.
« Despite missing two games and constant double and triple teams, Oliver leads all defensive lineman nationally with an average of 7.29 tackles per game.
« The Bednarik Award semifinalist leads all active players nationally with a career average of 1.64 tackles for loss per game.
« This season Oliver has totaled 13.5 tackles for loss, which ranks 15th nationally. He is third nationally with an average of 1.93 tackles for loss per game.
« Sophomore receiver Marquez Stevenson has proved to be electrifying with six plays of at least 50 yards, which ranks third nationally and 12 plays of at least 30 yards, which ranks fourth. After hauling in a TD receptions at SMU, Stevenson is tied for The American lead and ranks eighth nationally with nine on the year
« Stevenson enters Saturday riding a three-game streak of 100-yard receiving games after 104 yards on three receptions at SMU.
« Junior Keith Corbin has a TD reception in seven of the last eight games. With eight TD receptions, he is third in The American and 13th nationally.
« The Houston offensive line is 11th nationally with only nine sacks allowed.
« After earning National Player of the Week honors with 21 tackles at Navy, Austin Robinson leads The American with 88 tackles.
« Since 2013, Houston leads the nation with 163 takeaways. Louisiana Tech is second in that span with 147.
« Houston leads FBS schools in Texas with 52 wins since the start of the 2013 season. TCU is second with 49 wins in that span. Texas A&M and Baylor are tied for third with 45 wins while Texas is fifth with 37.
« UH ranks 13th 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 12 such seasons since 2006 while three teams, Georgia, USC and Wisconsin, are tied with 11 such seasons.
« With its win over No. 3 Louisville in 2016, Houston picked up its fourth straight win over an AP Top 10 team (three of which have come in the last four seasons), which leads the nation among active streaks.
« Houston is one of just four programs nationally with at least 13 wins on two different occasions over the last seven years, joining Alabama, Clemson and Florida State in accomplishing the feat.
« Houston is riding a streak of five straight bowl appearances, the 21st longest active streak in the nation, and second in The American behind the six of Navy.
ABOUT THE COUGARS
« Twenty-three full or part-time starters return. The 2017 leaders in passing, total offense, field goals, scoring, punting, tackles for loss, sacks, interceptions, pass breakups and fumble recoveries return. The program welcomed an incoming signing class of 23 that is comprised of 20 freshmen, two junior college transfers and one graduate transfer in linebacker Darrion Owens from Miami.
« In addition to the 2018 signing class, Houston has also welcomed five other transfers ahead of the fall, all of which are eligible for the 2018 season. Four of the five are graduate transfers - QB Quinten Dormady (Tennessee), WR Raelon Singleton (Utah), CB Nick Watkins (Notre Dame) and RB Terence Williams (Baylor) - while Deontay Anderson joined the program from Ole Miss and was ruled eligible immediately with three years of eligibility remaining.
« Seven members of the 2018 signing class enrolled early and took part of spring action - junior TE Bo Alexander, freshman DL Tahj Brown, senior LB Darrion Owens, sophomore DB Gleson Sprewell, freshman QB Clayton Tune, freshman DB Garrison Vaughn and freshman WR Julon Williams.
« Houston's roster sports 54 upperclassmen and 51 underclassmen. Fourteen players redshirted last season.
« New depth and faces are emerging in 2018 as Houston lost 18 players who accounted for 290 games of starting experience, an average of 16.1 career starts per player. By comparison, the 23 returning players with starting experience combined for 272 career starts, an average of 11.8 career starts per player entering the year.
« Houston is one of three schools nationally, joining New Mexico State and TCU, replacing its top rusher (Duke Catalon), receiver (Steven Dunbar) and tackler (D'Juan Hines) from 2018.
« Since 2013, Houston leads the state of Texas among FBS schools with 52 wins. The Cougars are three wins ahead of TCU, seven ahead Texas A&M and Baylor, and 15 games ahead of Texas in that span.
« Houston and TCU are tied for the lead among state of Texas FBS schools with nine seasons of at least eight wins since 2006. Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech are tied for third with seven each in that span.
« Houston enters the week second on The American's all-time win list in conference games with 32 wins. Since the league's inception, UCF leads with 33 wins while Temple is third with 28 wins.
« After three-plus years of competition, the 2018 senior class is the third-most winningest class in Houston football history with 36 wins since 2015. The class is only one win away from moving into the top two and two wins away from the record of 38 established by the 2016 senior class.
« Houston is bowl eligible for a program-best sixth straight season. Prior to the current streak, the longest in program history was five from 2005-09.
« Houston entered 2018 riding a streak of five straight bowl appearances, the 21st longest active streak in the nation and second longest in The American behind the six of Navy.
ABOUT TEMPLE
« In its second season under head coach Geoff Collins, Temple enters Saturday at 5-4 and 4-1 in The American. After opening the season with losses to Villanova (19-17) and Buffalo (36-29), Temple picked up wins over Maryland (35-14), Tulsa (31-17), ECU (49-6), Navy (24-17) and Cincinnati (24-17) while dropping games to Boston College (45-35) and UCF (52-40).
« Temple is led offensively by senior running back Ryquell Armstead who has run for 768 yards and six touchdowns on 149 attempts in seven games played. Sophomore quarterback Anthony Russo has thrown for 1,854 yards and 13 touchdowns against 12 interceptions on 139-of-243 passing. Senior receiver Ventell Bryant leads Temple with 35 receptions for 504 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore Branden Mack leads with five touchdowns on 34 receptions for 381 yards.
« Defensively, the Owls are led by junior linebacker Shaun Bradley who has 58 tackles including three for a loss to go along with two interceptions. Senior cornerback Rock Ya-Sin is tied with Bradley with a team-best two interceptions, while senior defensive tackle Michael Dogbe leads Temple with eight tackles for loss and six sacks.
« Saturday's matchup is the seventh meeting between the two schools with Houston winning the first six meetings including all four meetings as members of The American. It is the third matchup at TDECU Stadium between the two schools with Houston claiming a regular-season win in 2014 (31-10) and a win in The American Championship in 2015 (24-13).
DEGREES IN HAND
« Twelve Houston student-athletes entered the season having already earned an undergraduate degree. Romello Brooker, Roman Brown, Jerard Carter, Quentin Dormady (Tennessee), Khari Dotson, Isaiah Johnson, Darrion Owens (Miami), Raelon Singleton (Utah), Zach Vaughan, Nick Watkins (Notre Dame), Joeal Williams and Terence Williams (Baylor) have all completed degree requirements prior to this season.
« Houston ranks eighth nationally with 12 players having earned degrees prior to the start of the season.
ON THE OFFENSE
« Since 2006, only Oklahoma and Oregon have racked up more yards than Houston, which has 81,773 in that span.
Rank Team Total Yards (06-present)
1. Oklahoma 83,327
2. Oregon 82,886
3. Houston 81,773
4. Texas Tech 81,519
« Houston has scored in 233 straight games dating back to Sept. 30, 2000.
« Houston ranks fourth nationally in total offense with an average of 548.2 yards per game while ranking fifth nationally with an average of 47.7 points per game.
« Houston and Oklahoma are the only schools in the nation to rank in the top 20 for both passing offense (No. 13 | 315.9) and rushing offense (No. 18 | 232.3).
« The offense ranks fifth nationally with 12 plays of 50+ yards and 67 plays of at least 20+ yards.
« The versatility of the offense is showing as 10 different players have receiving TDs and eight different players across three position groups have rushing TDs.
« The offense opened the season with eight straight games of 40+ points, setting the Houston record for the longest such streak.
« Houston opened the season with at least 40 points in its first three games of a season for the first time in program history and expanded the streak through its first eight games.
« After 18 of Houston's 53 scoring drives in 2017 lasted less than two minutes, the Cougars have 33 scoring drives of less than two minutes this season with 12 lasting less than one minute. Houston has 25 scoring drives of five plays or less this season.
« Against Texas Tech, six of Houston's seven scoring drives lasted less than two minutes, including two less than 32 seconds.
« With 45 points at Rice, 49 at Texas Tech and 49 at Navy, Houston scored 45+ in at least three road games in a season for the third time in program history (2011, 1989) and the first time since the 2011 team accomplished the feat five times.
« Since 2015, Houston has 18 games with 500+ yards of total offense and eight games with 600+ yards. It has scored more than 40 points 20 times and more than 50 points seven times.
« The Houston offense is overseen by offensive coordinator Kendal Briles who arrived in Houston after one season in the same role at FAU, where the Owls were eighth nationally in scoring offense (40.6 points per game) and ninth nationally in total offense (498.4 yards per game). The offense sported a dangerous ground game, finishing the year sixth nationally in rushing offense (285.3 yards per game).
THE KING OF THE END ZONE
« With 42 total touchdowns and a two-point conversion through nine games, D'Eriq King has been responsible for a nation's best 254 points, leading the nation with an average of 28.2 points responsible per game.
« With his 42 touchdowns responsible for, King is already third on The American's single-season chart and is only three touchdowns away from the record of 45 set by UCF's McKenzie Milton in 2017.
« He is fourth nationally and leads The American with 30 passing TDs.
« King is sixth nationally and leads The American with an average of 338.3 yards of total offense per game while leading The American and ranking 12th nationally with 2,578 passing yards.
« The Manvel, Texas, native also ranks fourth nationally and leads The American with a passer rating of 171.0.
« He is fourth nationally among active players with a career passing rating of 166.1.
« Named the Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts, King threw for his third 400-yard game of the season against USF with 419 yards and five touchdowns on 28-of-40 passing. He also added his second 100-yard rushing game of the season with 132 yards and two scores on the ground.
« He was the first UH QB to throw for at least 300 yards and rush for 100 yards in a game since Kevin Kolb in 2003, and was the first player in FBS to throw for 400+ yards, rush for 100+ yards and score seven total touchdowns since Mississippi State's Nick Fitzgerald in 2016.
« He is only the 13th FBS QB with 400+ yards passing and 100+ yards rushing in a game.
« With two passing touchdowns and one rushing score at SMU, King now has at least two passing scores and a rushing score in every game this season. It is the longest such streak by an FBS player in the last 20 years.
« With a rushing touchdown at SMU, King has a rushing TD in every game this season to lead the nation with an active streak of nine games.
« He's one of just three players in the past decade (Marcus Mariota and Geno Smith) to record at least 25 touchdowns and no more than three turnovers in his team's first six games.
« He threw for his second career 400-yard game at Navy, completing 25-of-38 passes for 413 yards and three touchdowns while rushing seven times for 56 yards and a score.
« He opened up 2018 in style vs. Rice with his second career 300-yard passing game and four total TDs, three passing and rushing. He finished the day with 353 yards of total offense - 320 passing and 33 rushing.
« One week later against Arizona, he accounted for six touchdowns - throwing a career-high four passing TDs while rushing for two TDs, his fourth game with two scores on the ground.
« King matched the effort with six touchdowns a week later at Texas Tech, as he had a career day through the air by completing 30-of-51 passes for 431 yards and five touchdowns, all career bests. He also added 47 yards on the ground with a rushing TD.
« With Tulsa taking away the deep passing threat with three safeties, King used his legs, rushing for his second career 100-yard rushing game with 117 yards and two TDs on 10 attempts, including a 61-yard, fourth-quarter score.
« In King's four starts in 2017, Houston averaged 1.4 more yards per play than the previous eight games while also averaging 18.4 more yards passing per game despite averaging 20 less plays per game.
« In his four games as starting QB, King averaged 337.8 yards of total offense per game, a number that would have ranked second in The American behind the league's offensive player of the year, McKenzie Milton, and seventh nationally.
« King took over the quarterback role on the third drive at USF in 2017 and never looked back in the game, rushing for a career-high 83 yards and two touchdowns while completing 12-of-20 passes for 137 yards and one score. He was named The American's Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts.
« King made his first career start at quarterback vs. ECU in 2017 and set a career high with 330 yards and three TDs.
« He had his first career 100-yard rushing game at Tulane, rushing for 141 yards and two touchdowns on 10 attempts. His single-game rushing average of 14.1 yards per attempt ranks eighth in UH history and the highest by a quarterback.
« King added his third game with multiple rushing TDs, all coming in the final four games, with two vs. Navy.
« Backup Quinten Dormady arrived in Houston after 16 games of action with five starts, all in 2017, at Tennessee and adds to a quarterback room that also includes redshirt-freshman Bryson Smith and freshman Clayton Tune.
NEW FACES, NEW PLACES
« Houston has turned to new faces to lead the way with the departure of 2017's starting backs. UH returned 29.1 percent of its rushing yards from 2017 running backs, led by junior Mulbah Car, who finished the year as Houston's second-leading rusher with 388 yards and three TDs on 80 carries.
« He came on strong at the end of 2017, including a career-high 137 yards and one touchdown in an upset win at No. 17 USF. He would later add 72 yards at Tulane as 261 of his 388 yards on the season came in the final five games.
« Houston returned one other back with rushing attempts in 2017 in junior Patrick Carr, who rushed eight times for 26 yards. Junior Kevrin Justice, who rushed 34 times for 149 yards and two touchdowns in 2016, also returned.
« Carr, who played as a true freshman at Colorado in 2015, surpassed his entire Houston career numbers against Rice, rushing eight times for 74 yards including a 37-yard touchdown.
« Carr, who is the only RB with a start this season, rushed for a career-best 91 yards and a TD against on Tulsa on only 13 attempts. He is seventh in The American with eight runs of at least 20 yards.
« Baylor graduate transfer Terence Williams joined the program over the summer and looks to replicate his efforts in 2016 when he rushed for 1,048 yards for the Bears to earn honorable mention All-Big 12 honors in the process.
« In all, Williams played in 29 games with 11 starts at Baylor, leaving the program ranked 13th on the career rushing yards chart with 1,859.
« Against Texas Southern, freshman Kelan Walker led Houston with 105 rushing yards, including a 72-yard TD, while sophomore Chandler Smith had 11 carries for 80 yards and two touchdowns.
LENDING A HAND OR TWO
« Houston is one of nine schools nationally, and two in The American, to have a 1,000-yard receiver each of the last three seasons as Demarcus Ayers (2015 | 1,222 yards), Linell Bonner (2016 | 1,118) and Steven Dunbar (2017 | 1,070) each accomplished the feat.
« The wide receiver room has new leaders with the graduation of two of the top 10 receivers in UH history. Steven Dunbar and Linell Bonner finished their careers with a combined 61 starts and 85 games played. Dunbar ended his career 10th on the Houston career receptions chart with 180 and 10th on the career receiving yards chart with 2,430, while Bonner closed his career eighth on the career receptions chart with 203 and 11th on the career receiving yards chart with 2,324.
« In all, Houston returned only three of eight receivers who caught a pass in 2017, including D'Eriq King who finished the year as the Cougars' third-leading receiver with 29 receptions. Behind King, junior Courtney Lark was second with 13 receptions in 2017, while classmate Keith Corbin had 10 receptions.
« Both Lark, who had four starts in 2017, and Corbin, who had five starts in 2017, along with Marquez Stevenson have stepped up to fill the holes left by the Bonner and Dunbar.
« Against Navy, UH had three 100-yard receivers in the same game for the eighth time in program history and the first time since Nov. 29, 2008, as Stevenson (141), Lark (106) and Corbin (104) all hit triple digits.
« Stevenson leads The American and is eighth nationally with nine TD receptions while Corbin is third and 14th with eight.
« Stevenson is back on the field after being sidelined for all of 2017 with a preseason injury. He saw action in two games as a true freshman in 2016 before a season-ending injury sidelined the speedy receiver.
« Stevenson has proved to be electrifying with six plays of 50+ yards and 12 plays of at least 30 yards, which rank third and fourth in the nation, respectively.
« He leads The American with five games of at least 100 receiving yards including a current three-game streak after 104 yards and a touchdown on three receptions at SMU.
« He is third in The American with 91.4 receiving yards per game.
« He recorded his third 100-yard receiving game of the season with 141 yards on eight receptions at Navy.
« With his 107-yard game vs. Rice, Stevenson quickly made a mark on the Houston offense. The 107 yards were part of 203 total yards he had in the game, rushing for 60 yards, including a 51-yard TD run on a reverse, and a 36-yard kick return. In all, Stevenson had three plays of 30+ yards.
« After no TD receptions in his first two seasons, Corbin has now pulled in eight receiving TDs this season including his first with an 18-yard grab against Arizona.
« Corbin has a touchdown reception in seven of the last eight games.
« With Stevenson (9) and Corbin (8), the two are the highest TD reception duo in The American with 17.
« Corbin had a career day at Texas Tech, pulling in seven receptions for 103 yards and two touchdowns, both career highs, as he eclipsed the century mark for the first time in his career.
« Lark doubled up his career touchdown receiving total entering the season with two scores against Rice, a 40-yard score and an 18-yard score.
« He recorded his first career 100-yard receiving game at Navy with 106 yards, including a career-long 65-yard touchdown run. Lark now has three consecutive games with touchdowns entering the SMU game.
« Raelon Singleton arrived in Houston over the summer after playing in 34 games over three seasons at Utah with 19 starts. The Crosby, Texas, native was Utah's second-leading receiver as a sophomore and junior. In 2017, he pulled in 36 receptions for 531 yards and four touchdowns while pulling in 27 receptions for 464 yards and four touchdowns in 2016.
« He made his first appearance in a Houston uniform at Texas Tech, pulling in his only reception for an 18-yard touchdown. He added his second touchdown of the season with a 27-yard reception vs. USF.
« Two explosive redshirt-freshmen made their debut vs. Rice - Bryson Smith, who also spends time in the quarterback room, and Jeremy Singleton. The two dynamic youngsters each had a reception against the Owls, a 25-yard catch by Smith and a 5-yard catch by Singleton.
« Jeremy Singleton entered the USF game with 10 career receptions for 82 yards and left the game with his first career 100-yard game, pulling in 125 yards and his first touchdown on five receptions.
« Smith topped his efforts vs. Arizona, pulling in his first TD, a 13-yard reception that was part of four catches for 29 yards.
« Junior Terry Mark, who led Lufkin HS to the 2015 Texas State Championship in soccer as the team's goalkeeper, is putting his hands to use with eight receptions for 40 yards and a touchdown this season after totaling three receptions for eight yards in his first two seasons.
« At tight end, Houston turned to senior Romello Brooker on a full-time basis after he split starts with Alex Leslie in 2017, although Brooker did outpace Leslie in receptions, pulling in seven for 45 yards.
« In the first game alone, Brooker had a third of his 2017 receiving yards with 15 yards off two receptions.
« Brooker exploded vs. Arizona, pulling in two receptions for a career-best 76 yards including a career-long 52-yard TD reception.
« With four TD receptions, he owns The American lead for TD receptions by a tight end.
« The tight end has four receptions of 20+ yards through nine games.
LINE ON THE LINE
« For the third straight year, a new offensive line coach has stepped in with options across the front as Randy Clements oversees a group that has a combined 139 career starts and 211 career games played, although it replaced two 2017 day-to-day starters.
« Senior center Will Noble leads the line in terms of starting experience with 41 career starts, including eight in 2015 en route to earning FWAA Freshman All-America honors.
« At left guard, senior Mason Denley mans the spot with 20 games of starting experience. He missed the USF game with an injury. Keenan Murphy stepped in for his first career start.
« Junior Josh Jones stepped into the starting role at left tackle for the 2016 opener and never looked back, starting 32 games at the position over the last three seasons.
« At right guard, junior Braylon Jones has started the last 21 games including all 12 in 2017.
« Junior Jarrid Williams also has experience in a starting role, filling in for an injured Josh Jones in two games in 2017, and has locked down the right tackle spot in 2018.
« The line leads The American and is 11th nationally in allowing only nine sacks on the season.
« Houston is second in The American with 45 tackles for loss allowed.
THIRD WARD DEFENSE
« The Houston defense is one of just eight nationally to hold opponents to an average of under 25 points scoring per game in each of the last five seasons (2013-17). Taking it down a point further, UH is one of just six schools to hold its opponents under 24 points per game in each of the last five seasons, joining Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, Stanford and Wisconsin in accomplishing the feat.
« The defense started 2017 right where it ended in 2016, as it ranked second in The American in scoring defense, allowing 23.8 points per game.
« The Houston defense accomplished the feat despite facing five of the nation's top 23 scoring offenses in its 12 games - No. 2 Memphis, No. 5 Arizona, No. 10 USF, No. 12 SMU and No. 23 Texas Tech.
« Houston held four of the five top-23 scoring offenses it faced to well below their average in No. 5 Arizona (Avg. 41.3 points per game | 16 vs. Houston), No. 10 USF (38.3/game | 24 vs. Houston), No. 12 SMU (37.8/game | 22 vs. Houston) and No. 23 Texas Tech (34.3/game | 27 vs. Houston).
TUNROVER U
« Since the start of the 2013 season, no program has taken the ball away from opposing offenses more than Houston with 163 turnovers forced in that time with 16 in 2018, 21 in 2017, 18 in 2016, 35 in 2015, 30 in 2014 and 43 in 2013. Houston has a 15-turnover lead on its closest competitor in that stretch - Louisiana Tech.
« UH has forced multiple turnovers in 54 of its last 81 games.
« Houston has been opportunistic with its turnovers, ranking third nationally since 2010 with 44 non-offensive touchdowns including 18 defensive touchdowns over the last seven seasons.
« Ed Oliver is a liability for opposing offenses with bad ball protection as he ranks eighth on the program's career forced fumbles chart with six. He needs just one more to climb into the top five.
« Oliver forced his sixth against ECU, a fumble that was scooped and scored from six yards out by linebacker Emeke Egbule. For Egbule, it was his second career scoop-and-score, having accomplished the feat vs. Tulsa in 2016.
« Cornerback Nick Watkins had Houston's second defensive touchdown of the season when he returned an interception at Navy 50 yards for a touchdown. He added his second pick of the season defending his own end zone against USF.
« Safety Gleson Sprewell gave Houston its third straight road game with a defensive touchdown when he picked up an SMU fumble and returned it 24 yards for a score.
ED-UCATION
« The American Athletic Conference and the nation were quickly introduced to Houston defensive tackle Ed Oliver as a true freshman in 2016 when he 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. No. 3 Oklahoma, leading all linemen with seven tackles including two sacks. Oliver finished second nationally in 2016 with 23 tackles for loss.
« He did not disappoint in his follow-up season, becoming the first underclassman to ever win the Outland Trophy while also earning consensus All-America honors and The American's Defensive Player of the Year honor.
« Named the nation's top player by several national outlets entering 2018, the Houston native totaled 13 tackles vs. Tulsa, his sixth career double-digit tackle game and second this season. He also had 13 stops vs. Rice including 3.5 tackles for loss, while adding two quarterback hurries.
« Oliver was a complete force in the ECU backfield, racking up a career-high five tackles for loss while tying a career-high with two sacks, one of which forced a fumble that was scooped and scored by linebacker Emeke Egbule.
« He leads all active players nationally with a career average of 1.64 tackles for loss per game.
« Despite facing constant double and triple teams, Oliver leads all defensive tackle nationally with 51 total tackles.
« He ranks third nationally this season with an average of 1.93 tackles for loss per game, totaling 13.5 in seven games.
« With his two tackles for loss at Navy, Oliver recorded his 17th career game with multiple TFLs, and now has 53 career tackles for loss in only 32 games.
« With 53 career tackles for loss, Oliver is third on the UH career TFLs chart and is 13 away from the Houston career record.
« With his sixth career forced fumble at ECU, Oliver is eighth on the UH career chart, four away from the UH career record.
« Oliver's 39.5 tackles for loss through a sophomore season ranks second in NCAA history among all players, and first among all defensive tackles.
« While playing the nose spot in a three-man front, he totaled 73 tackles in 12 games, despite missing three quarters of one game and being limited in the next four with a knee injury in 2017.
« He recorded an average of 6.1 tackles per game which ranked third nationally among all defensive linemen.
« He wasted no time to open 2017, totaling 11 tackles at Arizona, his third career game with 10-plus tackles.
« The Houston native saved his best for last vs. Navy in 2017, totaling a career-high 14 tackles, his fourth career double-digit tackle game, including a career-best 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks.
« He started off 2017 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.
« On one side of Oliver is senior Jerard Carter, who after missing the first seven games of 2017, made an immediate impact upon his return in the final five. While totaling 5.5 tackles for loss on his own in the five games, Carter also opened up room for others as Oliver had 9.5 of his 16.5 TFLs when Carter returned and Leroy Godfrey had 7.5 of his 8.5 stops behind the line. In all, Houston had 42 of its 80 tackles for loss in the five games Carter was in the lineup.
« The other side of the line features sophomore Payton Turner who had a career-best eight tackles vs. Tulsa.
« TCU transfer Isaiah Chambers wasted no time in getting his collegiate career started, racking up three sacks vs. Rice, the first time a Houston defender had three sacks in a game since current Baltimore Raven Tyus Bowser had three vs. Tulane in 2016. He was lost for the season with an injury vs. Tulsa.
SMASHMOUTH FOOTBALL
« With Houston having a linebacker selected in the NFL Draft for a third consecutive season with Matthew Adams going to the Indianapolis Colts, UH turned to new leadership in 2018.
« Senior Emeke Egbule, who started every game in 2017 at outside linebacker, is Houston's second-leading returning tackler and tops among linebackers with 62 stops in 2017.
« The Houston native made his first career interception at Rice and added a second at ECU.
« He leads The American with three fumble recoveries, two against Tulsa and a third at ECU that was picked up and returned six yards for a Houston touchdown. The score was Egbule's second career fumble return for a touchdown, having done so against Tulsa in 2016.
« Egbule had a career-best 11 stops at Navy for his first career double-digit tackle game.
« With six passes defended, four pass breakups and two interceptions, Egbule leads all linebackers in The American.
« With Adams out vs. Memphis and limited vs. USF last season, senior Austin Robinson stepped in the starting lineup, one of four starts on the year, and responded with seven tackles vs. USF including two tackles for loss.
« Robinson was named the Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week after his performance at Navy resulted in career bests in tackles (21), tackles for loss (4.5) and sacks (2). He 21 stops rank second in The American's history and is the best single-game total in a conference game.
« The game was his third double-digit tackle game of the season after 10 stops vs. both Arizona and Texas Tech this season, and the fourth double-digit tackle game of his career.
« Robinson was all over the field against Tulsa, finishing with eight tackles including three tackles loss and two sacks while forcing one fumble.
« Senior Roman Brown, who had four career tackles entering 2018, promptly totaled 11 tackles in the season-opening win over Rice and added 12 more at Texas Tech.
« Brown recorded his third double-digit tackle game of the year vs. Tulsa, totaling a career-best 13 stops.
« The Philadelphia Eagles fan tied his career high two games later with 13 tackles at Navy.
« He was active in the backfield at ECU, recording a career-high three tackles for loss.
« Houston's two inside linebackers, Robinson and Brown lead UH and rank first and fourth, respectively, in The American in total tackles. Robinson has 88 while Brown has 77.
« Junior linebacker Leroy Godfrey looks to continue his strong finish to 2017 when he pulled in 32 of his 33 tackles and 7.5 of his 8.5 tackles for loss in the final six games of the season, all starts.
« Godfrey had a season-best two tackles for loss against USF.
« Playing as a true freshman in 2017, David Anenih picked up two sacks on passing downs.
« Anenih had a career-best two tackles for loss including his first sack of the season vs. Tulsa.
« He added his second sack which resulted in his first career forced fumble vs. USF while picking up a third at SMU.
« Redshirt-freshman Derek Parish has made his mark on the Houston defense, picking 1.5 sacks.
« Sophomore Elijah Gooden had a career game vs. Tulsa with a career-best four tackles including his first career sack that resulted in a forced fumble.
« Darrion Owens joined the group after three seasons at Miami where the grad transfer saw action in 39 games. Against USF, he saw his first action since being injured at Rice.
PATROLLING THE AIR
« A mix of returners and new faces are in store for the Houston secondary in 2018. Senior safety Garrett Davis led the group with 25 career starts and was second among returners in The American with four interceptions in 2017 but was unfortunately lost with a foot injury suffered at Texas Tech.
« Sophomore transfer Deontay Anderson arrived in Houston in 2018 after one season of action at Ole Miss. Ranked the No. 1 safety in the nation by ESPN in the 2016 recruiting class, he earned Freshman All-SEC honors in 2016.
« Anderson made his mark against Arizona, totaling five tackles including two for a loss. He followed with a career-best nine stops at Texas Tech.
« The transfer made his first turnover in a Houston uniform, picking off a Tulsa pass to set up UH's final TD of the night. He also forced a fumble in the game that was recovered by Emeke Egbule.
« Sophomore Gleson Sprewell replaced Davis at Texas Tech and finished the game with a career-high eight tackles and is expected to fill the role moving forward.
« Sprewell had eight stops vs. USF while breaking up two passes and shares the Houston lead with six PBUs.
« He followed at SMU with a career-high nine tackles and his first defensive score, returning a fumble 24 yards for a TD.
« At corner, seniors Alexander Myres and Isaiah Johnson both return after starting 10 and six games, respectively, in 2017.
« Johnson was Houston's leading returner with nine passes defended in 2017 - seven PBUs and two interceptions.
« He had his second career double-digit tackle game with 11 while picking off his first pass of the season at ECU.
« Myres was just behind with seven passes defended in 2017 - six pass breakups and one interception.
« He made his first interception of the season at ECU and is tied for the Houston team lead with six PBUs.
« Notre Dame graduate transfer Nick Watkins, who started 10 games for the Fighting Irish, also joined the group and picked up his first start at Houston against Rice.
« Watkins leads Houston and is 10th in The American with seven passes defended - five pass breakups and two interceptions. He returned his first interception in a Houston uniform for 50 yards and a fourth-quarter score at Navy.
« He added his second in his own end zone vs. USF, snuffing out a Bulls' fourth-quarter drive.
« Playing in a third-down package, senior Joeal Williams made his first career sack against SMU in 2017, an eight-yard loss on a 3rd-and-13 in the third quarter. He totaled 17 tackles on the year.
« He had over a third of his 2017 tackle total vs. Rice, collecting six stops on the day.
« Williams split time with sophomore Grant Stuard at nickel back vs. Rice. Stuard totaled a career-high four tackles including his first career tackle for loss.
THE PUNT-AH
« Twenty-nine year old junior punter Dane Roy is back for his third season in America as Houston's starting punter.
« At 29, Roy is the third oldest player in FBS football behind Colorado kicker James Stefanou (31) and Maryland punter Wade Lees (30), both natives of Melbourne, Australia.
« The Bunyip, Australia, native and former Australian rules football player for Richmond Central led The American in 2017 with 25 punts inside the 20 and with 43.1 percent of his punts inside his opponents 20. Twelve of his 55 punts were inside his opponents' 10-yard line.
« Despite leading the league in punts inside the 20, Roy was fifth in The American with an average of 41.8 yards per punt in 2017.
« Roy dropped two-of-three punts at Rice inside the Owls' 20-yard line, forcing three fair catches on the day.
« Roy is second in The American in punts inside the 20 with 15 after dropping three of his seven punts inside the 20 at SMU.
« 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.
SPOONMAN
« Sophomore Dalton Witherspoon took over the starting kicking role vs. Arizona and responded with a 35-yard field goal and connecting on all six extra point attempts.
« He had his first career multi-field goal game vs. Tulsa, connecting on kicks from 40 and 33 yards out.
« After totaling seven points at SMU, Witherspoon ranks third among kickers in The American with 65 points.
« Witherspoon is back on the field after setting single-season records for longest field goal (58), most field goals in a season (17) and most points by a kicker (92) at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M in 2016.
« Senior Caden Novikoff walked on to the Houston program in the 2017 fall training camp and finished second in The American with a field goal percentage of 80 percent, hitting 12-of-15 field goals on the year.
« Over the final nine regular season games, Novikoff connected on all eight field goal attempts.
« He was 10-of-11 on the year from within 40 yards as his only three misses on the year were from 38 yards, 45 yards and 46 yards. He did successfully connect on two from over 40 yards, hitting a 44-yard field goal vs. ECU and a 45-yard field goal vs. Texas Tech.
RETURNS DEPARTMENT
« The #HTownTakeover ranked third in The American in kickoff returns in 2017 with 32 returns for 721 yards, an average of 22.5 yards per return. The caveat though is the only player on Houston's 2018 roster with a kick return last season is quarterback D'Eriq King, who had one return for six yards vs. Texas Tech.
« The competition for the kick return role carried over into fall camp after a number of players saw reps during spring practice. Marquez Stevenson and Jeremy Singleton now own the starting duties with Stevenson returning four kicks for 77 yards this season.
« No player on the 2018 Houston roster had a punt return in 2017, however, redshirt-freshman Bryson Smith took over duties vs. Rice and has 10 returns for 77 yards this season.
« Houston enters its 10th game third in The American in punt returns with an average of 10.8 yards per return and in punt return defense, allowing only 5.8 yards per return.
