Oct. 13, 2008
Oct. 13 C-USA Football Notebook 
IRVING, Texas - Tulsa improved to 6-0 with a 37-31 victory at SMU on Saturday. David Johnson passed for 293 yards and three TDs for the Golden Hurricane, while Bo Levi Mitchell tossed four scoring strikes for the Mustangs. Trevor Vittatoe passes for 296 yards and three touchdowns to lead UTEP to its third straight win, 24-21 over Tulane at the Sun Bowl on Saturday. The loss overshadowed a 255-yard rushing game by Green Wave RB Andre Anderson.
HURRICANE STILL GOLDEN
Tulsa QB David Johnson threw for 281 yards and three touchdowns, RB A.J. Whitmore had the go-ahead score and the Golden Hurricane improved to 6-0 for the first time since 1942 with a 37-31 victory over SMU on Saturday night.
Tulsa trailed 31-24 heading into the fourth quarter before scoring twice in just over a minute to take the lead for good.
Johnson hit WR Trae Johnson who hauled in a 33-yard TD pass on fourth-and-21 to tie the game at 31 with 9:53 remaining. Then TU DB DeAundre Brown intercepted Bo Levi Mitchell on the first play of the ensuing drive to give the Golden Hurricane the ball at the Mustangs’ 26.
Whitmore scored on an 8-yard run three plays later to put Tulsa on top 37-31 with 8:40 left.
GREAT START
Tulsa’s 37-31 win over SMU on Saturday made the Golden Hurricane just the third Conference USA team to open a season at 6-0. Only the undefeated 1998 Tulane team (12-0) and the 2003 TCU team (10-0 before losing at Southern Miss on Nov. 20, 2003) have started a season better than 6-0 since the league’s inaugural season in 1996.
BEST STARTS IN C-USA HISTORY
12-0 Tulane, 1998
10-0 TCU, 2003
6-0 Tulsa, 2008
5-0 Southern Miss, 2004
5-0 East Carolina, 1999
RECENT RESULTS
Saturday, October 11
Virginia 35, East Carolina 20
Miami (Fla.) 20, UCF 14
Tulsa 37, SMU 31
(15) Boise State 24, Southern Miss 7
UTEP 24, Tulane 21
Friday, October 10
Louisville 35, Memphis 28
Thursday, October 9
Houston 45, UAB 20
LAST WEEK’S STARS
Here’s a look at some of the top performers in Conference USA games from Oct. 9-11:
Rushing Attempts
29 Andre Anderson, TLN (255 yds.)
25 Joe Webb, UAB (72 yds.)
21 Tarrion Adams, TLS (121 yds.)
20 Donald Buckram, UTEP (107 yds.)
Rushing Yards
255 Andre Anderson, TLN (29 att.)
121 Tarrion Adams, TLS (21 att.)
107 Donald Buckram, UTEP (20 att.)
107 Bryce Beall, HOU (12 att.)
Rushing Touchdowns
2 Andre Anderson, TLN
1 Five players tied
Passing Completions
33 Arkelon Hall, MEM (55 att.)
24 Case Keenum, HOU (36 att.)
24 Joe Webb, UAB (40 att.)
21 Trevor Vittatoe, UTEP (32 att.)
Passing Yards
360 Case Keenum, HOU (24-of-36)
350 Arkelon Hall, MEM (33-of-55)
318 Bo Levi Mitchell, SMU (19-of-34)
296 Trevor Vittatoe, UTEP (21-of-32)
281 David Johnson, TLS (17-of-30)
234 Joe Webb, UAB (24-of-40)
Passing Touchdowns
4 Bo Levi Mitchell, SMU
3 David Johnson, TLS
3 Trevor Vittatoe, UTEP
Receptions
8 Cole Beasley, SMU
8 Frantrell Forrest, UAB
7 Tyron Carrier, HOU
Receiving Yards
132 Emmanuel Sanders, SMU (6 rec.)
128 Dwayne Harris, ECU (6 rec.)
108 Tyron Carrier, HOU (7 rec.)
105 Slick Shelley, TLS (6 rec.)
Receiving Touchdowns
2 Slick Shelley, TLS
1 Seven players tied
All-Purpose
285 Andre Anderson, TLN (255 rush, 30 rcv.)
261 Dwayne Harris, HOU (20 rush, 128 rcv., 113 kr.)
186 Bryce Beall, HOU (107 rush, 70 rcv., 9 kr.)
162 Joe Burnett, UCF (52 pr., 110 kr.)
146 Patrick Edwards, HOU (93 rcv., 53 kr.)
136 Jessie Henderson, SMU (136 kr.)
132 Emmanuel Sanders, SMU (132 rcv.)
123 Tarrion Adams, TLS (121 rush, 2 rcv.)
122 Donald Buckram, UTEP (107 rush, 15 rcv.)
121 Frantrell Forrest, UAB (84 rcv., 37 kr.)
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSE
CASE KEENUM - Houston
QB, So., Abilene, Texas (Wylie)
For the seventh straight game, Keenum passed for over 300 yards, but more importantly, he led the Cougars to a school-record 17-point comeback in a 45-20 win over UAB. Trailing 20-3 at the half, Keenum directed the Cougars on five second-half touchdown drives while completing 24-of-36 passes for 360 yards and two touchdowns. He also tacked on a one-yard rushing score late in the fourth quarter. Keenum’s 300-yard efforts in seven consecutive games matches the streak David Klingler posted in the 1990 campaign.
DEFENSE
PHILLIP HUNT - Houston
DE, Sr., Forth Worth, Texas (Dunbar)
Hunt put on a show for the home crowd, racking up a career-high-tying three sacks and eight tackles in the Cougars’ 45-20 come-from-behind victory over UAB. With the Blazers up 20-3 at the half, Hunt and his defensive teammates shut out UAB after halftime, holding the Blazers to just 75 yards of total offense in the second half. Hunt and the rest of the defense limited the Blazers to 2-of-16 on third-down conversions and forced three interceptions.
SPECIAL TEAMS
SWAYZE WATERS - UAB
PK/P, Sr., Jackson, Miss. (Jackson Prep)
Waters had an outstanding game at Houston Thursday as he hit both of his field goal attempts, including one from 50 yards. Waters averaged 50.6 yards on eight punts, including a career-long 67-yarder against the Cougars. The senior’s net punting average vs. UH was 51.8 as the Cougars returned three punts for -9 yards. He had five kickoffs and Houston returned those for just an 18.0 yard average. Waters has taken over the league lead in punting average at 44.9 yards and now ranks 10th nationally.
OFFENSE
S2 Patrick Pinkney, QB, East Carolina
S8 James Casey, WR, Rice
S15 Patrick Pinkney, QB, East Catolina
S22 Darius Passmore, WR, Marshall
David Johnson, QB, Tulsa
S29 Chase Clement, QB, Rice
Jarett Dillard, WR, Rice
O6 Trevor Vittatoe, QB, UTEP
O13 Case Keenum, QB, Houston
DEFENSIVE
S2 Andrew Sendejo, FS, Rice
S8 Van Eskridge, DB, East Carolina
S15 C.J. Wilson, DL, East Carolina
S22 Charles Davis, DB, Tulsa
S29 Clinton McDonald, DL, Memphis
O6 Un’Tavious Scott, DE, Tulsa
O13 Phillip Hunt, DE, Houstonv
SPECIAL TEAMS
S2 T.J. Lee, WR, East Carolina
S8 Joe Burnett, DB, UCF
S15 Quinten Cotton, LB, East Carolina
S22 Wesley Scourten, WR, Houston
S29 Jose Martinez, PK, UTEP
O6 Vinny Zaccario, PK, Memphis
O13 Swayze Waters, PK/P, UAB
SCORES of SCORES
Conference USA teams have notched an impressive 20 non-offensive scores so far in 2008, including 10 interceptions that have been returned for TDs. The league also has three fumble recoveries for scores, three kickoff return TDs, a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown, a punt return TD and the rare blocked PAT that was returned for two points.
C-USA is only lacking a safety to have put points on the board in every way possible. East Carolina, Rice, UCF and UTEP account for 15 of the 20 scores, with the Pirates, Owls and Miners each having four, while the Knights have three.
MOVING UP THE CHARTS
Tulsa RB Tarrion Adams rushed for 121 yards on 21 carries against SMU on Saturday and moved into second place on the school’s all-time rushing chart with 2,647 yards. Adams went over 100 rushing yards for the third straight game, which is the first time since Uril Parrish had three straight 100 rushing games in 2004.
HEY, JOE
UAB’s Joe Webb is currently third among the nation’s quarterbacks in rushing yards this season with 588, averaging 84 yards per game on the ground. Webb ranks fifth in rushing yards per game by quarterbacks. Here’s a look at the nation’s QB rushing leaders leaders as of Oct. 11:
MOST RUSHING YARDS BY A QB
708 Michael Desormeaux, Louisiana-Lafayette
623 Julian Edelman, Kent State
588 Joe Webb, UAB
565 Colin Kaepernick, UNLV
445 Juice Williams, Illinois
BALL IN THE HALL
After Rice’s Chase Clement and Jarett Dillard connected for their 40th career touchdown at the beginning of the second quarter of the Owls’ 77-20 win over North Texas, both players knew exactly what happened. That touchdown pass set an NCAA record for career scoring passes involving the same duo. So who got the ball? Well, neither of them. The infamous touchdown ball was tucked away and shipped to the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind. Clement and Dillard scored three touchdowns that night and each kept a ball from one of the other two scores.
OFFENSIVE FIREPOWER
Conference USA is currently ranked second among FBS conferences in total offense, with league teams averaging 406.9 yards per game. Only the Big 12, at 442.0 ypg., is higher. C-USA also trails only the Big 12 in touchdown passes per game, with C-USA teams throwing 2.04 per outing to the Big 12’s 2.42. C-USA has moved up to second among FBS conferences in scoring at 28.6 points per game, trailing only the Big 12 at 37.9 ppg.
PASS HAPPY
Conference USA is the only FBS league that is averaging more passing plays than running plays. C-USA teams average 36.3 pass attempts per game, while averaging 34.3 rushing attempts. C-USA is running more total plays per game (70.6) than any other conference.
THEY CALL HIM SLICK
Tulsa WR Slick Shelley caught six balls for a team-high 105 yards against SMU. The junior added two TD catches. Shelley has now caught a touchdown pass in each of the last four games, after not catching one in Tulsa’s first two contests. In six games, Shelley has caught 18 passes for 337 yards and five touchdowns
SUCH A CHANGE
Tulsa P Michael Such punted twice in the first half against SMU, it marked only the second game this year that he punted more one time in an entire game.
TOUCHDOWN TRAE
Tulsa WR Trae Johnson had a team-high 13 touchdown receptions last year, and came into the SMU game with only one TD reception on the season. None may have been any bigger than the 33-yard TD pass he caught in the corner of the end zone against SMU to tie the game at 31-31 with 9:53 left in the contest. The grab came on a third and 21 for the Hurricane.
HIGH POWERED OFFENSE
Tulsa went over 300 yards rushing for the third straight game against SMU, the most games over 300 yards since 1986 when the Hurricane had three consecutive 300+ rushing games. However, Tulsa failed to score 40 points for the first time this season. TU went over 500 yards for the sixth time this season, and they surpassed 600 yards for the fourth time this year.
MINERS MOVE TO 3-0
UTEP QB Trevor Vittatoe completed 21 of 32 attempts for 296 yards and three touchdowns in the Miners’ 24-21 win over Tulane on Saturday. With the victory, UTEP stands at 3-0 in conference play for the first time since 2000. That team went on to go 7-1 in league play and shared the conference title.
ON A ROLL
For the first time in school history, the Miners have overcome a 0-3 start to square their record at .500. This also marks just the fifth time in school history that UTEP has recovered from a 0-3 start to tally at least three wins.
100 MORE ON THE GROUND
UTEP ran for 156 yards against Tulane and has now topped the 100-yard barrier on the ground in five straight games, equaling the longest streak during the Mike Price era. UTEP also achieved the feat last year.
BUCKRAM BUSTS OUT AGAIN
UTEP RB Donald Buckram surpassed his career highs for rushing attempts and rushing yards in the first half against Tulane. He finished the game with 20 carries for 107 yards. Buckram’s previous personal bests were 12 rushes for 59 yards at Southern Miss last week.
Buckram joins James Thomas II as one of two Miners to have a 100-yard rushing game this season. The last time UTEP had two 100-yard rushers in a season was in 2005, when Marcus Thomas had four 100-yard games and Tyler Ebell had one.
COUGAR COMEBACK
Despite trailing UAB by 17 points at halfitme, Houston rallied to score six second half touchdowns to defeat the Blazers at home in a C-USA cross-divisional matchup Thursday, 42-20. The 17-point comeback tied the school record for the largest comeback, equaling the 1990 squad’s effort against Texas A&M. UH sophomore QB Case Keenum finished the game 24-of-36 for 360 yards, his seventh career 300-yard passing game, and two touchdowns.
UH LOVES THE SPOTLIGHT
Houston improved to 8-1 (.889) all-time in games televised by CBS College Sports/CSTV with their win over UAB on Thursday. The Cougars have won their last eight games televised by that network and have not lost a game on CBS College Sports/CSTV since a 35-20 setback against C-USA rival Memphis on Oct. 15, 2005.
70+ FOR BEALL
Houston RB Bryce Beall finished the game against UAB with 107 rushing yards, for the second 100-yard performace of his career. Beall ripped off a career-long 70-yard run late in the third quarter also added a career-long 70-yard reception in the win. Beall finished the contest with 186 all-purpose yards.
CASE IN POINT
Houston QB Case Keenum finished the game against UAB with 360 yards passing for his seventh career 300-yard passing game, it was also his seventh game in a row to throw for over 300 yards. Keenum added two TDs and has now thrown a touchdown pass in nine consecutive games. It was the ninth multi-touchdown game of his young career. He is the first Cougar to accomplish that feat since David Klingler in 1990. Klingler was also the last UH quarterback to reach 300 yards in eight straight games.
LET’S GO STREAKING
Memphis WR Carlos Singleton extended his receiving streak to 28 games with his 14-yard reception early in the first quarter against Louisville. Singleton ranks second all-time at Memphis with the 28-game streak, and is behind teammate Duke Calhoun who extended his streak to 31 games in the first quarter. Singleton finished the game with five receptions for a team-high 83 yards and a score.
HALL OF AN EFFORT
Memphis QB Arkelon Hall rushed for a TD, passed for two TDs and caught a TD reception in the Tigers’ loss to Louisville. He finished the game 33-of-55 for 350 yards and two touchdowns. The last Tiger QB to accomplish this feat was Danny Wimprine versus USF in 2002. Wimprine threw two touchdowns, had a five-yard run for a score and caught a six-yard TD pass from Darron White. Hall also threw for over 300 yards for the third time this season.
OFFENSIVE OUTPUT
The Tiger offense rolled off 481 yards of total offense against Louisville to mark the seventh straight game this season that Memphis has been over 400 yards. The Tigers have also totaled more yards than their opponent in every game this year except for the winat UAB on OCt. 2.
ANDRE THE GIANT
Tulane junior RB Andre Anderson’s career-high 255 yards rushing against UTEP was the fourth-most in a single game by a Tulane runner. It was the 13th 200-yard rushing game in Tulane history. Anderson becomes one of just four players to rush for over 200 yards twice in his Tulane career. Anderson moved into 13th-place on the Tulane single-season rushing chart with 852 yards.
Anderson also recorded his first game with more than two touchdowns, as he had two rushing and one receiving TD. His 28-yard touchdown reception was his first career touchdown catch.
The performance was his fourth consecutive game with 100 or more yards rushing. He is now tied for 10th on Tulane’s all-time list of games with over 100 yards rushing with four, tied with Marvin Lewis (1980-81) and Jovon Jackson (2002-05).
MOORE SETS A RECORD
Tulane QB Kevin Moore caught his first career pass against UTEP, a gain of 14 yards, on an option pass from Brian King. Kevin Moore becomes the 18th different player to catch a pass for Tulane this season, which is tied for the most different receivers among all teams in the NCAA FBS.
OH EMMANUEL
SMU WR Emmanuel Sanders had six receptions for 132 yards against Tulsa, marking his ninth career 100-yard receiving game in 2008 to tie Emanuel Tolbert for the SMU career record. It was also Sanders fifth 100-yard game this season, tying the SMU record held by Jerry LeVias with five in 1968.
RECEIVING TANDEM
SMU WRs Aldrick Robinson and Emmanuel Sanders now have 14 receiving TDs on the season (Robinson 8, Sanders 6), which is tied for fourth in a season at SMU The duo now has 1,467 receiving yards combined (Sanders 744, Robinson 723), which is fifth in a season for a duo at SMU.
MANY HAPPY RETURNS
SMU KR Jessie Henderson had seven kickoff returns for 136 yards against Tulsa. He now has 103 kickoff returns, extending his SMU record and is tied for second in C-USA history. Henderson has amassed 2,490 kickoff return yards in his career, extending his SMU record and moving is third in C-USA history. Also against Tulsa, Henderson had his 10th career game with at least 100 yards on kickoff returns and his third this season
MITCHELL MOVES UP LISTS
SMU true freshman QB Bo Levi Mitchell tossed four TD passes against Tulsa and now has 17 on the season, which ties him for fifth on the SMU single-season list. It was his second four TD passing performance and was the 11th time an SMU player has had four or more in a game at SMU. Mitchell also threw for 318 yards, his third 300-yard performance this season.
PASSING TDs FOR PINKNEY
ECU QB Patrick Pinkney completed 12-of-28 passes for 196 yards and one TD against Virginia. His 10-yard TD pass to Brandon Simmons extended his current streak to seven consecutive games with a TD pass dating back to the Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl. Seven of his 12 completions went for 10 or more yards on the day.
CAREER DAY FOR WILLIAMS
East Carolina RB Jonathan Williams established new career-highs in rush attempts (19) and rush yards (95) against Virginia. He scored from one yard out on the Pirates first possession of the second half for his fifth career rushing TD and fourth of the season.
NELSON AND FLETCH IN THIRD
Southern Miss RB Damion Fletcher finished the game with against Boise State with 69 yards rushing. His 17-yard touchdown run was his fifth of the season and 31st of his career, putting him at third place all-time at Southern Miss. TE Shawn Nelson caught three passes for 24 yards. He now has 138 receptions on his career, tying him for third all-time with LeRoy Handy (1999-2002).
FRANTRELL PERSUES RECORD
UAB WR Frantrell Forrest is well on his way to surpassing the season total (49) of receptions he recorded last season despite missing two games due to injury. The sophomore has 33 receptions in his five games played for 419 yards, both team highs.
RETURNS FOR SCORES
Trailing 20-7, UCF’s Joe Burnett put the Knights back into the game with a 91-yard return for a touchdown. Both of UCF’s scores came on returns as as senior Johnell Neal cut Miami’s lead to 10-7 with 7:22 to go in the second quarter after he picked off Robert Marve and raced 62 yards for the score. The Knights posted three interceptions in the game, with senior Sha’reff Rashad registering the other two.
NCAA RECORD FOR DILLARD
With 3:06 to play in the first half against Tulsa on Oct. 4, Rice WR Jarett Dillard caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Chase Clement. The pass reception was Dillard’s 51st touchdown reception, breaking the NCAA record of 50 TD receptions he shared with Troy Edwards of Louisiana Tech. The Clement-Dillard combination raised their NCAA record for touchdown passes by a duo to 42.
Dillard finished the game with seven receptions for 142 yards. It was his fourth straight 100-yard receiving game and 13th of his career. Dillard had six, 100-yard receiving games in 2006 and three all of last year. Dillard extended his streak to 42 straight games with at least two receptions with a pair of catches on the Owls’ second offensive series.
CHASE OWNS THEM ALL
Rice senior QB Chase Clement finished the Tulsa game on Oct. 4 with 321 passing yards and two touchdowns and now owns every Rice career passing record. The only record Clement did not have - passing attempts - was finally set against Tulsa. Clement now has 1,124 attempts for his career, breaking Randy Hertel’s record of 1,121.
300-YARD PASSERS
Nine different Conference USA quarterbacks have topped the 300-yard passing mark in a game this season. Houston’s Case Keenum leads the way with six games of 300 or more, followed by Arkelon Hall of Memphis and David Johnson of Tulsa with three apiece.
100-YARD RECEIVERS
A total of 20 different Conference USA players have topped the 100-yard passing mark in a game this season. SMU’s Emmanuel Sanders leads the way with five games of 100 or more, followed by Rice’s Jarett Dillard with four.
100-YARD RUSHERS
Eleven C-USA players have topped the 100-yard rushing mark in a game this season. Tulane’s Andre Anderson leads the way with four games of 100 or more, followed by Darius Marshall of Marshall, Curtis Steele of Memphis and Tarrion Adams of Tulsa with three.
EAST CAROLINA PIRATES
The Pirates closed out their non-conference schedule with a 35-20 loss at Virginia on Saturday. East Carolina had a pair of first quarter interceptions to set up field goals. The Pirates have at least one interception in four straight games, while forcing two or more turnovers in its last eight outings. Senior QB Patrick Pinkney was 12-of-28 for 196 yards and one touchdown, his seventh straight game with at least one TD pass. Sophomore WR Dwayne Harris recorded his first career 100-yard receiving game, catching six passes for 128 yards. He is the first ECU receiver to top the 100-yard mark since Jamar Bryant on Oct. 27, 2007 vs. UAB. Sophomore RB Jonathan Williams established new career high for rushing attempts (19) and yards (95), while scoring on a one-yard run. Senior DE Zack Slate had five tackles, two tackles for loss and one sack, while junior LB Nick Johnson had three TFLs.
HOUSTON COUGARS
Despite trailing UAB by 17 points at halftime, Houston rallied to score six second half touchdowns to down the Blazers at home in a C-USA cross-divisional matchup Thursday, 42-20. The 17-point comeback tied the school record for the largest comeback, equaling the 1990 squad’s effort against Texas A&M. UH sophomore QB Case Keenum finished the game 24-of-36 for 360 yards, his seventh career 300-yard passing game, and tossed two touchdowns. Keenum found Tyron Carrier for a 14-yard score and Patrick Edwards on a 70-yard score, one of three UH plays to go for 70+ yards in the second half. Freshman RB Bryce Beall rushed 12 times for 108 yards for the Cougars, who had 375 yards of total offense in the second half after getting only 174 in the first half. The 100-yard performance was the second of Beall’s career. Keenum has now thrown a TD pass in nine consecutive games and it was the ninth multi-touchdown game of his career. Carrier finished the game with 108 receiving yards, for the first 100 receiving performance of his young career.
MARSHALL THUNDERING HERD
The Thundering Herd fell to Cincinnati on October 3, 33-10. Freshman QB Mark Cann finished just 17-of-36 for 178 yards and one touchdown, but threw three interceptions. Junior TE Cody Slate led the Herd receiving corps with seven receptions for 96 yards, including a 57-yard scoring play. Senior WR Darius Passmore added seven receptions for 47 yards. Senior RB Chubb Small led Marshall on the ground with seven rushes for 62 yards. Junior K Craig Ratanamorn connected on a career-long 50-yard field goal for Marshall’s first points. Junior LB Mario Harvey had a big day to lead the defense, making nine tackles, recording a pair of sacks and forcing a fumble. The Herd will have 15 days off before returning to action at UAB on October 18.
MEMPHIS TIGERS
The Tigers stepped out of conference play to renew its long-standing rivalry with Louisville, falling to the Cardinals 35-28 on Friday night. Memphis had 27 first downs to U of L’s 13 and outgained the Cards 481 yards to 299, but were hurt by Louisville’s three non-offensive touchdowns. Junior QB Arkelon Hall established new career highs for completions, attempts and yards, completing 33-of-50 passes for 350 yards, along with two passing touchdowns, one rushing score and one scoring reception. His 33 completions went to 11 different receivers, led by senior WR Carlton Robinzine with six receptions and senior WR Carlos Singleton with five catches for 83 yards and a touchdown. Senior WR Earnest Williams had a season-high five catches while grabbing his sixth touchdown reception of the season. Junior RB Curtis Steele had his streak of three straight 100-yard games snapped, but he did run for 80 yards on 16 carries. Junior DB Alton Starr registered a career-high 14 tackles, while sophomore Jeremy Longstreet added 13.
RICE OWLS
The Owls fell at Tulsa on October 4, 63-28, evening their overall record at 3-3 while suffering their first C-USA loss of the season. Senior WR Jarett Dillard caught a 25-yard touchdown in the second quarter to break the NCAA’s all-time record. He now has 51 career scoring receptions, breaking the record set by Troy Edwards of Louisiana Tech in 1998. Dillard finished the night with seven receptions for 142 yards, his fourth straight 100-yard game. Junior TE James Casey had nine receptions for 120 yards and a touchdown, his third 100-yard game of the season. Senior QB Chase Clement topped the 300-yard passing mark for the second time this season, completing 22-of-42 passes for 321 yards and two TDs. Junior WR Toren Dixon caught a career-high seven passes for 69 yards. Senior LB Brian Raines returned to action after missing three games with an injury and posted seven tackles. After entering the game a +9 in turnover margin on the season, the Owls lost the ball four times.
SMU MUSTANGS
The Mustangs fell to Tulsa on Saturday night, 37-31. True freshman QB Bo Levi Mitchell had his third 300-yard passing game of the season, completing 19-of-34 passes for 318 yards and a career-high-tying four TD passes. He now has 17 touchdown passes in seven games, the fifth-highest single-season total in SMU history. Junior WR Emmanuel Sanders recorded his school-record-tying fifth 100-yard receiving game of the season, catching six passes for 132 yards and a touchdown. He now has 11 career 100-yard receiving games, which ties the SMU career record. Sanders’ 77-yard TD catch was the longest of his career and moved him to within one of tying the school record for touchdown receptions (25 held by Emanuel Tolbert from 1976-79). Sophomore WR Aldrick Robinson caught a touchdown for the third straight game and the sixth time in seven games. Senior P Thomas Morstead had a 56-yard punt and has had at least one 50-yard punt in 14 straight games.
SOUTHERN MISS GOLDEN EAGLES
The Golden Eagles fell to No. 15 Boise State on Saturday in Hattiesburg, 24-7. The loss was the third straight at home for Southern Miss, the first time that has happened since 1977. A week after his career-best 260 yard rushing game, junior RB Damion Fletcher was held to 69 yards on 14 carries. His 17-yard touchdown run was the 31st of his career, moving him into third place on the Golden Eagles all-time chart. Freshman QB Austin Davis had his five game streak of passing for 200 yards or more snapped, completing 15-of-34 passes for 160 yards. Senior TE Shawn Nelson caught three passes for 24 yards, moving into third place on USM’s all-time reception list with 138. Junior DB Andre Watson recorded his first career interception in the third quarter. Junior LB Gerald McRath had eight tackles, two TFL’s and his first fumble recovery of the season.
TULANE GREEN WAVE
Junior RB Andre Anderson rushed for a career-high 255 yards and two touchdowns, the fourth- most yards in a game in Tulane’s history, but UTEP downed Tulane, 24-21 Saturday night. Anderson racked up 255 yards on 29 carries, the second 200-yard rushing game of his career. Only Matt Forte has ever rushed for more yards in a single game. He also added a 28-yard touchdown reception, finishing with four catches. Sophomore QB Kevin Moore caught his first career pass, a gain of 14 yards, on the option pass from senior WR Brian King, setting up first and goal at the 10. It was King’s first career pass attempt and completion. Moore becomes the 18th different player to catch a pass for Tulane this season, which is tied for the most different receivers among all teams in the NCAA (with Troy). Junior S Corey Sonnier led the defense with a career-high 13 tackles to go along with two pass breakups.
TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE
The Golden Hurricane improved to 6-0 for the first time since 1942 with a 37-31 win at SMU, its first win over the Mustangs in Dallas since 1991. Senior RB Tarrion Adams went over the 100-yard mark for the third straight game. He is the first TU player to have three straight 100-yard games since Uril Parrish in 2004. Adams also moved into second place on the school’s all-time rushing chart with 2,647 yards. As a team, the Golden Hurricane ran for more than 300 yards for the third straight game (321), the first time they have done that since 1986. Junior WR Slick Shelley had six catches for 105 yards, including a pair of scoring receptions. Senior QB David Johnson was 17-of-30 for 281 yards and three TDs. Tulsa rolled up 602 yards of total offense, the fourth time in six games this season that it has topped the 600-yard mark. When sophomore P Michael Such punted twice in the first half against SMU, it marked only the second game this year that he punted more one time in an entire game.
UAB BLAZERS
The Blazers led 20-3 at halftime, but fell at Houston on Thursday night, 45-20. The Blazers generated 277 yards of total offense (247 by QB Joe Webb) and 20 first downs in the first half, while scoring a season-high for points in a quarter with 17 in the second. Webb ran 25 times for 72 yards to move into third place on C-USA’s single-season rushing chart for quarterbacks with 588 yards. He needs 112 to set the record. Webb was 24-of-40 passing for 234 yards with one touchdown through the air and one on the ground. Sophomore WR Rodell Carter recorded a career-best four catches, totaling 74 yards. He also had a reception of 38 yards late in the second quarter, his longest reception as a Blazer. Sophomore WR Frantrell Forrest returned to action for the Blazers after missing the last two games due to injury. Forrest, UAB’s leading receiver this season, finished the game with eight catches for 84 yards. Senior PK Swayze Waters opened the game’s scoring with a 50-yard field goal, his fourth career field goal of 50 yards or longer. He also had a career-long 67-yard punt in the fourth quarter that pinned UH at the one-yard line.
UCF KNIGHTS
The Knights played in-state rival Miami for the first time on Saturday, falling 20-14. Senior Joe Burnett had a 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, his second kickoff return for a touchdown this season. Senior DB Sha’reff Rashad had a pair of interceptions, the 11th and 12th of his career, while senior DB Johnell Neal returned his 11th career INT 62 yards for UCF’s first touchdown. Sophomore LB Lawrence Young led all players with 11 total tackles. Fellow sophomore DT Bruce Miller recorded three sacks for a loss of 23 yards. UCF’s defense contained the Hurricanes, holding Miami to 128 rushing yards, 88 passing yards and 12 first downs.
UTEP MINERS
Sophomore QB Trevor Vittatoe threw a 68-yard touchdown pass to junior WR Jeff Moturi with 4:22 remaining in the fourth quarter to send UTEP to a 24-21 victory over Tulane on Saturday night in the Sun Bowl. The win was the third straight for the Miners and marks the first time in school history that it has evened its record at .500 after starting 0-3. Vittatoe completed passes to 10 different receivers and finished the game 21-of-32 for 296 yards with three TD passes. Junior FB Landon Goodwell scored a touchdown on his first collegiate catch to open the game’s scoring and redshirt freshman RB Donald Palmer grabbed his first career TD pass. Sophomore RB Donald Buckram surpassed his career highs for rushing attempts and rushing yards in the first half, finishing the game with 20 carries for 107 yards. Buckram’s previous personal bests were 12 rushes for 59 yards at Southern Miss last week. Buckram joins James Thomas II as one of two Miners to have a 100-yard rushing game this season. The last time UTEP had two 100-yard rushers in a season was in 2005.
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