University of Houston
North Texas
Game Primer: Houston at North Texas
9/27/2019 9:10:00 AM | Football
GAME 5
Houston at North Texas
Sept. 28 | 7 p.m. CT |Â Apogee Stadium | Denton, Texas
Broadcast: Facebook through CBS Sports Network
Radio: KPRC 950-AM
TuneIn: https://bit.ly/2lz8Pp6
Game Notes: UH | North Texas |Â The American
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
« Houston concludes its non-conference slate as it travels to Denton, Texas, to face North Texas on Saturday night inside Apogee Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. CT and the game will be broadcasted on Facebook by the CBS Sports Network with Dave Ryan (pxp), Corey Chavous (analyst) and Sheehan Stanwich Burch (sideline) on the call. Radio coverage on KPRC 950-AM begins at 6 p.m. CT.
To watch Saturday's game, click here.Â
« Saturday's game will mark the 15th meeting between Houston and North Texas, with the series tied 7-7. The Cougars have won the last four meetings.
« Houston ranks third in The American and 17th nationally, averaging 255.0 yards per game rushing. The Cougars set a season high with 304 yards on the ground.
« Sophomore quarterback Clayton Tune will make his third career start for the Cougars. Last season as a true freshman, Tune appeared in five games (made two starts) and finished with 795 yards and eight touchdowns. Tune's older brother, Nathan, lettered at North Texas from 2007-10.
« Junior receiver Marquez Stevenson ranks second in The American with three touchdown receptions. The junior leads the Cougars in receptions (17) and receiving yards (234) through four games.
« The UH offense returns 91.2 percent of its 2018 rushing yards, 99.8 percent of its passing yards, 82.3 percent of its receiving yards and 85.3 percent of its scoring. The Cougars have plenty of experience on that side of the ball with three players owning at least 19 career starts: offensive lineman Josh Jones (40 career starts), offensive lineman Braylon Jones (34) and offensive lineman Jarrid Williams (20).
« The Cougar defense has recorded at least one takeaway in 21 straight games, the longest active streak in the country. Since 2013, Houston has recorded 103 interceptions, the most of any team in the country. Only two other teams have recorded at least 100 interceptions since 2013 is Ohio State (102) and Louisiana Tech (100).
« Junior defensive lineman David Anenih ranks second in The American with 4.5 sacks this year. Anenih has logged back-to-back games with at least two sacks heading into Saturday night's contest and matched his career high with seven tackles at Tulane.
« Houston opened the season with four games in 18 days, the only team in the country to begin the season in that fashion. The Cougars now enter a stretch where they will play just one game in the next 22 days. After Saturday's matchup at North Texas, Houston returns to action on Oct. 12 inside TDECU Stadium as it takes on Cincinnati.
« North Texas moved to 2-2 after defeating UTSA, 45-3, in its Conference USA opener inside Apogee Stadium. Quarterback Mason Fine threw for 195 yards and two touchdowns, while running back Tre Siggers scored twice and finished with 143 rushing yards in the win over the Roadrunners.
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
« The Air Raid reunion continues for Houston head coach Dana Holgorsen as he faces another former colleague. North Texas head coach Seth Littrell served as the running backs coach at Texas Tech from 2005-08, spending three seasons with Holgorsen as assistants in Lubbock. Littrell has guided North Texas to back-to-back nine-win seasons and three consecutive bowl appearances.
« Houston played in the inaugural game against North Texas at Apogee Stadium in 2011. Justin Johnson (Houston's running backs coach) picked up two touchdown receptions in the 48-23 victory over the Mean Green. Case Keenum tossed five touchdown passes and finished with 458 yards through the air.
« Junior nickel back Grant Stuard continues to lead the Cougars and is second in The American with 33 total tackles this year. Stuard led the team in tackling in its first two games after moving back to defense prior to the start of the 2019 season. Stuard split time a year ago at safety and also saw action at running back for Houston in 2018.
« Houston has scored at least 30 points in 15 out of its last 17 games dating back to the beginning of the 2018 season. The Cougars have also scored in 240 consecutive games dating back to Sept. 30, 2000.
« Last week in the NFL, Houston was one of five programs with two starting quarterbacks. The Cougars joined Louisville, NC State, Oklahoma and Washington State with multiple starting quarterbacks in the league during Week 3. Kyle Allen (2016-17) led the Carolina Panthers to a 38-20 win over the Arizona Cardinals, throwing for 261 yards and four touchdowns on 19-of-26 passing.
SCOUTING NORTH TEXAS
« North Texas is 2-2 this season after defeating UTSA, 45-3, last Saturday inside Apogee Stadium.
« North Texas is under the direction of fourth-year head coach Seth Littrell, who is 25-19 with the Mean Green. Under Littrell, North Texas has won at least nine games in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1977-78 and appeared in three straight bowl games. Littrell's Air Raid ties began during his playing career at Oklahoma, where he helped the Sooners to the 2000 national title, and during a four-year stint at Texas Tech as running backs coach. Littrell took over as head coach North Texas after spending two seasons at North Carolina as the assistant head coach for offense.
« Offensively, North Texas ranks second in C-USA in scoring offense (35.0) and total offense (450.3) this season. The Mean Green are led by senior quarterback Mason Fine, who has thrown for nine touchdowns and completed 61.8 percent of his passes. Fine leads all active FBS quarterbacks with 10,357 career passing yards and has averaged 252.6 yards per game through the air during his career.
« Sophomore running back Tre Siggers is 15th nationally with 395 rushing yards this season, while logging three rushing touchdowns. Siggers leads C-USA and ranks 10th in the nation averaging 7.90 yards per carry.
« North Texas ranks sixth in C-USA and 70th nationally in total defense, allowing 383.0 yards per game. The Mean Green are fourth in the C-USA and 75th in the country in scoring defense (26.5). Sophomore linebacker KD Davis leads the way with 10.3 tackles per game for the Mean Green on defense.
LAST TIME AGAINST NORTH TEXAS
« In the last meeting between the two teams in 2012, running back Charles Sims ran for a career-best 210 yards, and quarterback David Piland added 321 yards and two touchdowns through the air to lead Houston to a 44-21 rout of North Texas at Robertson Stadium.
« Sims surpassed the 200-yard barrier for the second time in his career on 20 carries with a rushing and receiving touchdown. He became only the seventh player in school history with multiple 200-yard rushing games during his outstanding career.
« Redshirt freshman Kenneth Farrow also notched a career best with 85 yards on only eight touches (10.6 yards per carry). Piland finished 31-of-41 with 321 passing yards, while Dewayne Peace logged nine catches for 83 yards and a touchdown. Houston tallied 302 yards on the ground, while throwing for 321 to finish with 623 yards of total offense against the Mean Green.
LAST TIME IN DENTON
« Case Keenum threw for 458 yards with five touchdowns, three in a nine-minute span of the third quarter when the Cougars broke away in a 48-23 victory to spoil North Texas' first game in Apogee Stadium.
« Keenum emerged strong after halftime, throwing TD passes of 32 and 17 yards to Justin Johnson on the Cougars' first two drives of the second half, then hit Patrick Edwards for a 46-yard score on the next one to stretch the lead to 41-17. Keenum finished 23-of-36 passing. Edwards led the way with eight catches for 187 yards, while Johnson finished with four receptions for 87 yards.
« The Cougars tallied 690 yards of total offense, while the Houston defense limited North Texas to 290 total yards.
GAME 4 RECAP: NORTH TEXAS
« University of Houston senior quarterback D'Eriq King set a Football Bowl Subdivision record with rushing and passing touchdowns in his 15th consecutive game, but it would not be enough as Tulane claimed a 38-31 win over the Cougars inside Yulman Stadium.
« King threw for 229 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 16-of-33 passing and added another 116 rushing yards and touchdown on the ground. With his scores, he topped Florida quarterback Tim Tebow's previous record.
« The Cougars wasted little time in putting their mark on the scoreboard. Receiving the opening kickoff on a touchback, King rolled to his right and hit Marquez Stevenson for a 75-yard touchdown strike on the Cougars' first play from scrimmage.
« The Cougars jumped out to a 28-7 lead in the first half before Tulane rallied to take a 31-28 lead in the fourth quarter. Houston tied the game at 31-31 with 21 seconds remaining, and the game appeared heading to overtime. However, Tulane's Jalen McCleskey's 53-yard touchdown reception from Justin McMillan with just three seconds remaining gave the Green Wave the win.
ON THE OFFENSIVE
« Since 2006, only Oklahoma and Oregon have racked up more yards than Houston, which has 84,760 in that span. Houston has scored in 240 straight games dating back to Sept. 30, 2000.
Rank Team Total Yards (2006-present)
1. Oklahoma 88,271
2. Oregon 86,011
3. Houston 84,760
4. Texas Tech 84,374
5. Oklahoma State 83,199
« Houston ended 2018 fifth nationally in scoring offense with an average of 43.9 points per game and seventh in total offense with an average of 512.5 yards per game.
« Houston, Oklahoma and Clemson were the only schools to rank in the top 25 for both passing offense (No. 16, 295.5) and rushing offense (No. 24, 217.1) in 2018.
« The offense ranked fifth nationally with 92 plays of at least 20+ yards and 11th with 13 plays of 50+ yards. The versatility of UH's offense was evident as 10 different players had receiving TDs, eight of which return in 2019, and nine different players across three position groups had rushing TDs, of which eight return in 2019.
« Houston opened the season with 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. The eight-game streak set the Houston record for
the longest such streak.
« 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 only the third time in program history (1989 and 2011). It was also the first time since the 2011 team accomplished the feat five times.
« After 18 of Houston's 53 scoring drives in 2017 lasted less than two minutes, the Cougars had 43 scoring drives of less than two minutes in 2018 with 13 lasting less than one minute. Houston had 32 scoring drives of five plays or less.
« Since 2015, Houston has 20 games with 500+ yards of total offense and eight games with 600+ yards. It has scored more than 40 points in 22 of 56 games and more than 50 points on seven different occasions.
NAME THAT TUNE
« Sophomore quarterback Clayton Tune assumes the starting quarterback position for the Cougars heading into this week's game at North Texas. Tune owns two career starts and has made five appearances, all coming during the 2018 season.
« A member of the 2018 signing class, Tune enrolled at Houston in January after closing out his high school career at Hebron High School in Carrollton, Texas, where he finished with 6,686 passing yards and 66 touchdowns through the air and 1,074 rushing yards 20 scores on the ground.
« Rated the No. 19 quarterback in the 2018 class by ESPN, Tune saw action in five games as a true freshman and took over starting quarterback role for the final 2.5 games of the season after D'Eriq King went down with injury vs. Tulane (Nov. 15).
« Tune made his collegiate debut going 12-for-23 passing for 186 yards and two touchdowns, and had five rushes for 25 yards in Houston's win over Texas Southern (Sept. 22).
« He entered late in the fourth quarter and completed 2-of-4 passes for nine yards in Houston's win at ECU (Oct. 13).
« With King's injury, Tune started the second half at quarterback against Tulane and finished 6-for-15 passing for 108 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in the Cougars' 48-17 win in their home finale.
« Making first collegiate start, Tune finished 18-for-43 passing for 256 yards with three touchdowns and one interception at Memphis (Nov. 23). With his start, he became the first freshman quarterback to start for Houston since John O'Korn (2013).
« In the Armed Forces Bowl vs. Army, Tune completed 21-of-32 passes for 230 yards and one touchdown while adding one score on the ground.
LENDING A HAND OR TWO
« Houston returns 82.3 percent of its receiving yards from the 2018 season to go along with 35 of its 45 touchdown receptions.
« Houston is one of six schools nationally, and two in The American, to have a 1,000-yard receiver each of the last four seasons as Demarcus Ayers (2015, 1,222 yards), Linell Bonner (2016, 1,118), Steven Dunbar (2017, 1,070) and Marquez Stevenson (2018, 1,019) each accomplished the feat.
« Named to The American's First Team, Stevenson has proved to be electrifying with six plays of 50+ yards and 12 plays of at least 30 yards, which ranked sixth and 11th in the nation, respectively. He led The American with five games of at least 100 receiving yards and was fifth in the league with 78.4 receiving yards per game and third with 5.8 receptions per game.
« Keith Corbin was second in The American and 21st nationally with 10 touchdown receptions, while Stevenson was third and 29th with nine. Against Prairie View A&M, Corbin became the 48th UH receiver to surpass the 1,000-yard mark for receiving yards in a career.
« After going without a touchdown reception in his first two seasons, Corbin pulled in 10 in 2018. He had a TD in eight of 12 games. 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.
« Courtney Lark doubled up his career touchdown receiving total entering the season with two scores against Rice. He recorded his first career 100-yard receiving game at Navy with 106 yards, including a career-long 65-yarder.
« The trio is joined by three others with double-digit receptions in 2018, led by converted sophomore quarterback Bryson Smith who finished the year with 30 receptions for 285 yards and four touchdowns. Smith's classmate, Jeremy Singleton had 19 receptions for 285 yards and two touchdowns, while senior Terry Mark had 11 receptions for 99 yards and two scores.
BACK TO THE BACKS
« With 91.2 percent of its 2018 rushing yards returning in 2019, it's no surprise that Houston is returning five of its top six backs.
« Senior Patrick Carr leads the way, starting all 10 games in 2018 and led Houston with 873 yards rushing and five touchdowns on 152 attempts. After missing the first two games of the season, Carr returned to action against Washington State and recorded nine carries for 77 yards. Against Tulane, Carr rushed for 63 yards and crossed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for his Houston career.
« Houston's second-leading running back, senior Mulbah Car suffered an injury versus SMU last year and missed two games, returning at Memphis. He finished the season with 325 yards and two touchdowns on 66 carries during the season. Against Oklahoma, Car ran nine times for 76 yards and scored on a 7-yard run in the third quarter. Junior Chandler Smith, who had 30 carries for 139 yards and two touchdowns saw additional action in 2018 and earned a scholarship during fall camp.
« Junior Kyle Porter also joins the Cougars' backfield rotation for 2019. Porter played in 27 career games with three starts at Texas and recorded 130 carries for 468 yards and five touchdowns. The Katy, Texas, native added 11 catches for 63 yards and one touchdown across his career. Porter set a career high with 120 yards on 19 carries and one touchdown in Houston's 37-17 win over Prairie View A&M. It marked Porter's first-ever 100-yard rushing game.
THE LINE ON THE LINE
« For the fourth straight year, a new offensive line coach has stepped in with options across the front as Brandon Jones will oversee a group that has a combined 82 career starts and 156 career games played from last season, although it will look to replace two day-to-day starters in center Will Noble, a four-year starter, and left guard Mason Denley.
« Senior tackle Josh Jones leads the way with 40 career starts, having stepped into the left tackle role in the 2016 opener and never looking back. Senior Braylon Jones make the move to center after starting every game the last two seasons (25) at right guard and has 34 career starts in total.
« Senior Jarrid Williams is third on the line in terms of starts, having started 20 career games including all 13 games in 2018 at right tackle.
« Junior Keenan Murphy owns two career starts, stepping into the starting lineup at left guard for since graduated Denley last season versus USF. The Crosby, Texas, native saw action in all 13 games on the line in 2018.
« Graduate transfers Justin Murphy (UCLA) and Gio Pancotti (Texas Tech) bring valuable experience up front for the Cougars. Murphy started four games at UCLA in 2018 and has 16 career starts. Pancotti played in three games last year at Texas Tech before transferring to Houston. Murphy and Pancotti were teammates with the Red Raiders in 2016. Murphy has made four starts this season (three at RG, one at RT), while Pancotti has made two starts at left guard.
TURNOVER U
« Since the start of the 2013 season, no program has taken the ball away from opposing offenses more than Houston with 175 turnovers forced in that time with five in 2019, 24 in 2018, 21 in 2017, 18 in 2016, 35 in 2015, 30 in 2014 and 43 in 2013. Houston has an 18-turnover lead on its closest competitor in that stretch.
« Houston has forced a turnover in 21 straight games, the longest active streak in the country. The Cougars lead the country with 103 interceptions since 2013.
« UH has forced multiple turnovers in 57 of its last 89 games.
« Houston has been opportunistic with its turnovers, ranking third nationally since 2010 with 45 non-offensive touchdowns including 25 defensive touchdowns over the last seven seasons.
« Houston was sixth nationally and second in The American with four defensive touchdowns in 2018, including a touchdown in each of the final three road games of the season.
FOREMEN
« Switching from a three-man front to a four-man front, Houston will essentially be looking for three new starting defensive linemen in 2019 with junior defensive end Payton Turner the lone returning day-to-day starter from 2018, starting the first 11 games of the season before a season-ending injury.
« The top tackler among returning defensive linemen, Turner finished his sophomore campaign with 42 stops including 4.5 tackles for loss while breaking up four passes and blocking one kick.
« With three-time All-American Ed Oliver limited with injuries in 2018, senior Aymiel Fleming picked up six starts to end the season, finishing the year with 21 tackles including one for loss and a forced fumble.
« Junior Isaiah Chambers will be counted on after suffering a season-ending injury in the fifth game of 2018. Despite only playing in five games, Chambers was second on the Houston team and 14th in The American with 4.5 sacks, part of his 10 tackles and six tackles for loss on the year.
« Oliver's injury also allowed for additional playing time for senior Blake Young who saw action in 10 games including action in each of the final eight. Young has started the first two games for the Cougars at defensive tackle.
« Logan Hall played in all 13 games, starting the Armed Forces Bowl versus Army, and finishing the year with 14 tackles including three for a loss.
« Houston has added bodies to the competition in the spring with junior college transfers Taures Payne and Olivier Charles-Pierre.
SMASHMOUTH FOOTBALL
« Just as the numbers along the line has changed, the same will be true for the linebackers in 2019 switching from four starting linebackers to three, which comes after losing three of four starting linebackers from the 2018 team including NFL Combine invitee Emeke Egbule and a member of The American's All-Conference First Team in Austin Robinson.
« Houston's lone returning starter from the linebackers room is senior Leroy Godfrey who started all 13 games in 2018 after starting six in 2017. Godfrey finished last season with 42 tackles including 5.5 for loss as well as two pass breakups.
« Sophomore Derek Parish made his mark on the Houston defense, picking 1.5 sacks as part of 21 total tackles on the year. Parish recovered a fumble against Oklahoma on Sept. 1 and added four tackles.
« Junior David Anenih is Houston's returning leader in terms of tackles for loss, picking up 6.5 TFLs in 2018 including four sacks as he posted 20 total tackles in 12 games of action. Anenih made his first career start against Prairie View A&M. He leads the team and ranks second in the American with 4.5 sacks this season.
« A second junior linebacker, Elijah Gooden, saw action in all 13 games in 2018, finishing the year with 14 tackles including 1.5 tackles for loss and one sack.
« Two Houston sophomores saw major action in 2018 as true freshmen. Donavan Mutin played in 10 games finishing the year with seven tackles, while Zamar Kirven saw action in nine games with eight tackles. Mutin has made four starts for the Cougars at MIKE linebacker this season, while Kirven started at WILL againts Tulane.
« Senior Jordan Milburn has seen action in 39 career games, including all 13 in 2018, and has 11 career tackles with over half, six, coming in 2018.
« Houston also added another face to the linebackers room in the spring in junior college transfer Terrance Edgeston. Edgeston has started three games for the Cougars at WILL linebacker so far this season.
STRENGTH AND SAFETY
« It is a tale of two positions in the secondary as Houston returns its starting safeties in juniors Deontay Anderson and Gleson Sprewell after losing its top three corners with a combined 41 career starts in a Houston uniform.
« After stepping into the starting lineup in the fourth game of 2018, Sprewell finished third on the Houston team, and leads all returning tacklers, with 81 total stops.
« After picking off his first pass against Tulane, Sprewell doubled it up in the next game, picking off two Memphis passes, one he returned 63 yards for a Houston touchdown, his second defensive touchdown of the year.
« Sprewell had eight stops against USF while breaking up two passes and had six PBUs on the year to go along with his three interceptions.
« He followed at SMU with a career-high nine tackles and his first defensive score, returning a fumble 24 yards for a TD.
« 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 finished just behind Sprewell with the fourth-best tackle total in 2018, finishing the year with 72 stops including four tackles for a loss.
« The transfer made his first turnover in a Houston uniform vs. Tulsa, picking off a 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.
« At corner, Houston lost Alexander Myres (18 games started at Houston), NFL Combine invitee Isaiah Johnson (12) and Nick Watkins (eight games in lone season at Houston) and will now look to retool the position in 2019.
« One name that will be given an opportunity to make an impact right away will be junior college transfer Damarion Williams who earned NJCAA First Team All-America honors in 2018 at Highland Community College where he led the nation with seven interceptions and 17 pass breakups in 10 games.
« Houston has four corners who have seen action for the program led by senior Ka'Darian Smith (29 career games played), junior Javian Smith (20), sophomore Shaun Lewis (15) and junior D.J. Small (10).
« The group of returners was led in 2018 by Ka'Darian Smith who had six tackles while Lewis and Javian Smith each had four.
AMONG THE BEST
« Since 2013, Houston ranks first in the state of Texas with 54 wins with TCU (53) ranking second. The Cougars are four wins ahead of Texas A&M, six ahead of Baylor and 12 games ahead of Texas in that span. Houston leads the state of Texas FBS schools with 10 seasons of at least eight wins since 2006. TCU is second in that span with nine.
« Houston enters 2019 second on The American's all-time win list in conference games with 33 conference wins. Since the league's inception, UCF leads with 37 wins, while Temple is third with 31 wins.
« After three years of competition, the 2019 senior class is the 31st-most winningest class in Houston football history with 25 wins since 2016.
« Houston enters 2019 riding a streak of six straight bowl appearances, the 16th-longest active streak in the nation and the longest in The American. The current six-game streak is a program best, topping the previous from 2005-09.
SPOONMAN
« Junior Dalton Witherspoon took over the starting kicking role in Houston's second game of 2018 vs. Arizona and never looked back, responding with a 35-yard field goal and connecting on all six extra point attempts.
« Witherspoon nailed a career-long 46-yard field goal against Prairie View A&M. The junior finished 3-for-3 against the Panthers, becoming the first UH kicker to make at least three field goals in one game since 2016 (Ty Cummings, Memphis). For his efforts, Witherspoon was named The American's Special Teams Player of the Week, his first weekly honor of his career.
« Witherspoon is also a perfect 87-for-87 on PATs for his career. He ranks seventh in The American in scoring with 33 total points through four games and is 6-of-9 on field goals this season.
« Last year, he had his first career multi-field goal game vs. Tulsa, connecting on kicks from 40 and 33 yards out. After totaling two points versus Army, Witherspoon ranked third among kickers, and sixth among all players, in The American with 93 points last season.
THE PUNT-AH
« Thirty-year old senior punter Dane Roy is back for his fourth and final season in America as Houston's starting punter. A former ice cream salesman, Roy is the third oldest player in FBS football behind Colorado kicker James Stefanou (32) and UCLA punter Wade Lees (31), both natives of Melbourne, Australia.
« Roy picked up the longest punt of his career in the season opener at Oklahoma, recording a 69-yarder that flipped the field in the first quarter. Roy ranks fourth in the conference with 45.8 yards per punt this season, his best career average.
« 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.
« 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.
A HOUSTON WIN WOULD ...
« Improve Houston's program win-loss record to 443-369-15 all-time since 1946.
« Give Houston its 55th win since 2013, the most in Texas in that span.
« Improve Houston's series record to 8-7 over North Texas.
« Give the Cougars their fifth consecutive win over the Mean Green.
