Sept. 22, 2008

Sept. 22 C-USA Football Notebook

IRVING, Texas - Tulsa QB David Johnson threw for 469 yards and six touchdowns as Tulsa christened its newly remodeled H.A. Chapman Stadium with a 56-14 victory over New Mexico Saturday.

Johnson, who entered the game as the nation’s leader in pass efficiency, completed 24 of 39 passes in the contest.

Receivers Slick Shelley and Damaris Johnson each had two touchdown catches and exceeded 100 yards receiving. Tulsa finished with 606 yards total offense against a defense that had been allowing just 305 per game.

Tulsa’s defense chipped in as well, as Roy Roberts returned an interception 41 yards for a score as TU limited the Lobos to 316 yards of offense.

It was the second consecutive week of six scoring tosses for Johnson, a senior who backed up record-setting Paul Smith for three seasons. Johnson directed Tulsa to touchdowns on five of its six first-half possessions.

Johnson has thrown for 15 touchdown passes in the first three games of the season compared to Tulsa single-season record holder Paul Smith’s 10 touchdown passes at the same time last season.

With the win, Tulsa starts a season 3-0 for the first time since 1978 when the team opened 4-0 and finished 9-2.

RECENT RESULTS
Saturday, September 20
N.C. State 30, (15) East Carolina 24 (OT)
Boston College 34, UCF 7
Tulane 24, Louisiana-Monroe 10
Colorado State 28, Houston 25
Marshall 34, Southern Miss 27
UAB 45, Alabama State 10
(7) Texas 52, Rice 10
Tulsa 56, New Mexico 14
Memphis 31, Nicholls State 10
TCU 48, SMU 7
New Mexico State 34, UTEP 33

UPCOMING GAMES
Thursday, September 25
SMU at Tulane (CBS C) 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, September 27
Arkansas State at Memphis 1:00 p.m.
Houston at (23) East Carolina (CBS C) 2:30 p.m.
Marshall at West Virginia (ESPN Regional) 2:30 p.m.
North Texas at Rice (TXA 21) 4:00 p.m.
Central Arkansas at Tulsa 6:00 p.m.
UAB at South Carolina 6:00 p.m.
UCF at UTEP (CBS C) 7:00 p.m.

LAST WEEK’S STARS
Here’s a look at some of the top performers in Conference USA games from Sept. 20:

Rushing Attempts
38 Andre Anderson, TLN (157 yds.)
30 Darius Marshall, MAR (112 yds.)
21 Damion Fletcher, USM (82 yds.)

Rushing Yards
157 Andre Anderson, TLN (38 att.)
142 James Thomas II, UTEP (19 att.)
121 Joe Webb, UAB (14 att.)
112 Darius Marshall, MAR (30 att.)

Rushing Touchdowns
2 James Thomas II, UTEP
1 Six players tied

Passing Completions
37 Case Keenum, HOU (54 att.)
27 Austin Davis, USM (49 att.)
25 Chase Clement, Rice (37 att.)
24 David Johnson, TLS (39 att.)

Passing Yards
469 David Johnson, TLS (24-of-39)
380 Case Keenum, HOU (37-of-54)
308 Austin Davis, USM (27-of-49)
272 Kevin Moore, TLN (19-of-32)
254 Chase Clement, Rice (25-of-37)

Passing Touchdowns
6 David Johnson, TLS
3 Case Keenum, HOU
2 Joe Webb, UAB
2 Mark Cann, MAR

Receptions
10 Dwayne Harris, ECU (88 yds.)
9 Jarett Dillard, Rice (158 yds.)
9 Darius Passmore, MAR (139 yds.)
8 Mark Hafner, HOU (73 yds.)
8 James Casey, Rice (51 yds.)

Receiving Yards
158 Jarett Dillard, Rice (9 rec.)
139 Darius Passmore, MAR (9 rec.)
129 Slick Shelley, TLS (6 rec.)
109 Damaris Johnson, TLS (5 rec.)

Receiving Touchdowns
3 Damaris Johnson, TLS
2 Slick Shelley, TLS
2 Jeffery Anderson, UAB

All-Purpose
215 Darius Passmore, MAR (76 rush, 139 rcv.)
177 Andre Anderson, TLN (157 rush, 20 rcv.)
177 Joe Burnett, UCF (2 pr., 175 kr.)
158 Jarett Dillard, Rice (158 rcv.)
157 Damaris Johnson, TLS (8 rush, 109 rcv., 40 kr.)
156 Patrick Edwards, HOU (62 rcv., 94 kr.)

PLAYERS OF THE WREEK
CO-OFFENSE
DAVID JOHNSON - TULSA
QB, Sr., Portland, Ore. (Southridge)
Johnson had his second consecutive game with more than 400 yards and six touchdowns, as he completed 24-of-39 passes for 469 yards and six TDs in a 56-14 win over New Mexico. He is the first player in C-USA history to throw for six TDs in a game twice in one season. Johnson leads the nation in three offensive categories –– passing efficiency at 223.9, points responsible for at 32.0 and passing yards per game at 406.3 ypg. He now has completed 72 percent of his passes for 1,219 yards and 15 TDs in three games on the year.

CO-OFFENSE
DARIUS PASSMORE - MARSHALL
WR, Sr., Florida City, Fla. (College of the Sequoias)
Passmore led the Thundering Herd with a career-high 215 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns in a 34-27 win at Southern Miss. He hauled in nine passes for a career-high 139 receiving yards, including a 27-yard scoring strike in the first quarter to answer a Golden Eagle touchdown on the previous possession. Passmore later lifted Marshall to a 27-13 lead when he took a reverse 80 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter.

DEFENSE
CHARLES DAVIS - TULSA
DB, Jr., Ft. Worth, Texas (North Crowley)
Davis blocked the first punt of the game which led to Tulsa’s first TD in the win over New Mexico. He intercepted his first of two passes as New Mexico was driving in the second quarter, picking off the pass at the Tulsa 23-yard line. The interception led to Tulsa’s next score to make it 28-0. His second INT came on New Mexico’s first possession of the second half at the one-yard line, which he returned 21 yards. Davis ended the game with five tackles, two interceptions for 21 returns yards and one blocked punt.

SPECIAL TEAMS
WESLEY SCOURTEN - HOUSTON
WR, So., Richardson, Texas (Berkner)
Scourten blocked both a field goal and a punt in the Cougars’ 28-25 loss at Colorado State. In the first half, Scourten blocked a 36-yard field goal try and when the Cougars needed the ball back in the fourth quarter, he blocked a punt to give Houston the ball with a chance to win the game.

C-USA names Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Week each Monday during the season. The awards are voted on by a media panel with one representative in each league city.

Offense
S2 Patrick Pinkney, QB, ECU
S8 James Casey, WR, Rice
S15 Patrick Pinkney, QB, ECU
S22 Darius Passmore, WR, MAR
David Johnson, QB, TLS

Defense
S2 Andrew Sendejo, FS, Rice
S8 Van Eskridge, DB, ECU
S15 C.J. Wilson, DL, ECU
S22 Charles Davis, DB, TLS

Special Teams
S2 T.J. Lee, WR, ECU
S8 Joe Burnett, DB, UCF
S15 Quinten Cotton, LB, ECU
S22 Wesley Scourten, WR, HOU

TULSA’S TALENTED RECEIVERS
Slick Shelley (129 yards) and Damaris Johnson (109 yards) are the first two Tulsa receivers to tally over 100 yards receiving in the same game since Trae Johnson (119 yards) and Brennan Marion (110 yards) accomplished the feat against Army last season. HEY, JOE UAB’s Joe Webb leads all of the nation’s quarterbacks in rushing yards this season with 401, averaging a little more than 100 yards per game on the ground. Webb ranks fourth in rushing yards per game by quarterbacks. Here’s a look at the nation’s QB rushing leaders leaders: MOST RUSHING YARDS BY A QB 401 Joe Webb, UAB 338 Michael Desormeaux, Louisiana-Lafayette 331 Kellen Lewis, Indiana 334 Robert Griffin, Baylor 308 Pat White, West Virginia

DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN
On Tulsa’s first defensive stand at the opening of the newly-renovated Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium, junior DB Charles Davis blocked Adam Miller’s punt and it was recovered by freshman RB Charles Opeseyitan. Tulsa scored two plays later on a 23-yard pass from senior QB David Johnson to freshman WR Damaris Johnson. On October 4, 1930, Tulsa christened the brand new Skelly Field in similar fashion when Johnny Potts recovered an Arkansas fumble on the opening kickoff. Tulsa’s Billy Boehm ran in a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage en route to a 26-6 victory.

DAVID HAS A DAY
Tulsa QB David Johnson’s 469 passing yards mark the 17th consecutive game in which a TU quarterback has thrown for at least 300 yards. It also is the 11th time a Tulsa quarterback has surpassed 400 yards and the total ranks fifth on the single game chart.

The performace also marked the third time in Tulsa history in which a quarterback has thrown for at least 400 yards in back-to-back games joining Paul Smith (Rice and UCF in 2007) and Billy Guy Anderson (Cincinnati and Southern Illinois in 1965).

THEY CALL ME SLICK
On the second offensive drive of the game for Tulsa on Saturday, junior WR Slick Shelley scored his first career touchdown on a 13-yard pass from QB David Johnson. Shelley finished the game with 129 yards on only six catches and two TDs.

The 129 receiving yards mark the most by a Tulsa receiver this season and most for a Tulsa receiver since Trae Johnson had 158 yards against SMU last season.

HIGH POWERED OFFENSE
Tulsa’s 606 yards of total offense on Saturday marked the sixth time the team has surpassed 600 yards and the 13th time the team has surpassed 500 yards in 17 games under Head Coach Todd Graham. It also marked the fourth consecutive game Tulsa has had at least 500 yards total offense and seventh time in the past eight games the team has gained at least 500 yards total offense.

Tulsa’s 35 first half points marked the fourth time in the last eight games that the team has scored 35 points or more in the first half. Tulsa’s 56 points marked the eighth time the team has scored at least 40 points in the last nine games.

STREAKING
Marshall’s win over Southern Miss on Saturday marked only the 11th time the Golden Eagles have lost to a conference foe at “The Rock.” Southern Miss owns a 32-11 overall record in Conference USA home games. The win also snapped a nine game road losing streak for Marshall and gave the Thundering Herd its first 2-0 start in C-USA play.

WARNER COMES THROUGH
Freshman K Tyler Warner made his collegiate debut in Saturday’s game against Southern Miss, replacing the injured Craig Ratanamorn. He made his first kick a 37-yarder in the first quarter and later added a 28-yarder. Warner was a perfect 2-for-2 on field goals, handled kickoffs and was 4-for-4 on PATs.

MR. PASSMORE
Marshall senior WR Darius Passmore topped the 100-yard receiving mark in the first half of action for his third 100-yard game this season. The Marshall deep threat recorded five catches for 101 yards that included a 27-yard touchdown reception in the half. He ended the game with nine catches for 139 yards and a touchdown. In the second half, he also broke an 80-yard touchdown run.

HE IS MARSHALL
Marshall sophomore RB Darius Marshall turned in another strong performance against Southern Miss with 128 yards rushing and one touchdown. He now has 417 rushing yards on the season to go along with four scores.

YES, HE CANN
Marshall redshirt freshman QB Mark Cann was solid in the win against Southern Miss. He completed 16-of-25 passes for 228 yards and two touchdowns against with no interceptions. On the season, Cann has thrown for 824 yards and five TDs and has an efficiency rating of 123.4.

SACK MASTERS
Tulane entered Saturday’s game against Louisiana-Monroe the NCAA FBS leader in sack-per-game average. The Green Wave did very little to hurt that average against the Warhawks, as the TU defense sacked ULM signal caller Kinsmon Lancaster four times to bring its season sack total to 13. Junior LB Logan Kelley leads the way with four sacks and the team still leads the nation in sacks per game at 4.33.

ANDRE THE GIANT
Tulane junior RB André Anderson posted his first career 100-yard rushing day, galloping for 157 yards and a touchdown on 38 carries. His previous career high of 82 yards came last week against East Carolina. Anderson’s 157 yards ranks 29th in Tulane history and marks the 139th time that a Green Wave player has rushed for 100-plus yards in a game. His 38 carries, meanwhile, ranks tied for fifth in single-game history, just six behind Matt Forté’s record of 44 set last Oct. 27 against Memphis.

LESS IS MOORE
Tulane sophomore QB Kevin Moore set single-game career highs for the third consecutive week with 272 yards through the air. Ironically enough, his 19 completions and 32 passing attempts were both season lows.

KELLEY DOUBLES SACK TOTAL
Tulane junior LB Logan Kelley had a career-high two sacks (for 17 yards lost) against UL-Monroe and now has at least one sack in each of Tulane’s three ballgames in 2008. Entering the year, Kelley had just three sacks for his career - all coming last season.

STOUT “D”
By limiting Louisiana-Monroe to 182 yards of total offense on Saturday, the Tulane defense posted its second game of holding a foe to less than 200 yards. In the season-opener against Alabama, the Green Wave allowed just 172 yards.

Saturday’s game marked the third consecutive game in 2008 that the Tulane defense held an opponent to less than 100 yards of total offense in the first half. After limiting Alabama and East Carolina to 38 and 76 yards in the first half of those respective ballgames, the Green Wave held the Warhawks to 58 yards over the first 30 minutes of play on Saturday.

The Green Wave defense is allowing just 223.3 yards per game and has only surrendered 670 total yards, to rank No. 8 in the NCAA FBS total defense rankings.

DUKE DOES IT
Memphis WR Duke Calhoun extended his receiving streak to 28 games with his eight-yard reception early in the second quarter against Nicholls State. Calhoun now holds the school record with the 28-game streak.

Calhoun caught his first touchdown pass of the season; the 12th of his career, when he hauled in the 10-yard pass in the third quarter. Calhoun finished the game with five catches for a team high 50 yards and a score. He now ranks third all-time at Memphis with 1,782 career receiving yards.

CARLOS CATCHES
Memphis WR Carlos Singleton extended his receiving streak to 25 games against Nicholls State when he had his first catch of the game, an 11-yard reception, in the third quarter. Singleton now ranks fourth all-time at Memphis with the 25-game streak. Singleton totaled three catches for 40 yards and now ranks ninth with 1,398 career yards.

JONES MAKES AN IMPACT
Memphis senior RB Charlie Jones scored off an 11-yard run in the second quarter against Nicholls State for his third rushing touchdown as a Tiger. Jones scored his second rushing touchdown of the game on a two-yard run in the fourth quarter for his fourth TD of the year. This is the second game this season he has scored two rushing touchdowns. Jones finished with 57 yards rushing on 11 carries. Jones, who played 2004-2006 at Miami, now totals 14 career rushing TDs.

CAREER HIGH FOR CURTIS
Memphis junior RB Curtis Steele registered a career-high 109 yards on 20 carries against Nicholls State. Steele is the first Memphis player to rush for over 100 yards this season. The last Tiger to pass the century mark was T.J. Pitts with 110 yards against SMU in 2007.

DILLARD CLOSES IN ON RECORDS
Rice senior WR Jarett Dillard extended his streak to 40 consecutive games with at least two receptions against Texas. It is the longest current of its kind in the nation.

Dillard caught his second of nine passes on the night during the Owls’ 67-yard scoring drive to take a 3-0 lead.The 158 receiving yards marked the second time this season and the 11th time for his career that he has had 100+ yards receiving. The 158 yards ranks as the senior’s third-best career receiving performance.

Dillard now has 46 career touchdown receptions. He needs one more TD catch to tie Marshall’s Darius Watts for second in the NCAA annals and four to match the NCAA career mark set by Louisiana Tech’s Edwards

SENDEJO STOPS ‘EM
Rice junior S Andrew Sendejo recorded 13+ tackles for the third straight game. After 13 stops against both Memphis and Vanderbilt, Sendejo finished the Texas game with 17 tackles, one shy of a career mark. He had a career-high 18 tackles against Marshall last year. The Canyon Lake, Texas, native had three double-figure tackle games in 2007.

GOODSON GRABS IT
Rice junior WR Jeramy Goodson’s three-yard catch from QB Chase Clement in the first quarter was the junior running back’s first career reception. The play also marked the 10th different receiver to catch a pass from Clement.

16 IN A ROW FOR DIXON
With a five-yard reception against Texas, Rice junior WR Toren Dixon has now caught at least one pass in 16 consecutive games played. Dixon missed the Vanderbilt game with an injury. Against Texas, Dixon went on to catch two passes for nine yards.

ANDERSON ADDS TO TOTAL
UAB sophomore TE Jeffery Anderson added a pair of touchdowns to his season total with his 24 and 36-yard scoring catches in the first half. The sophomore Anderson now has three touchdown receptions on the season and four in his career.

GO JOE
UAB QB Joe Webb enjoyed a monster game against Alabama State as he passed for 238 yards and ran for 121 more. Webb, who came into the contest averaging 314 yards of total offense, had 359 total offensive yards against Alabama State. Webb is now ranked No. 9 nationally in total offense at 325.3 ypg.

Webb increased his season rushing total to 401 yards (64 attempts), already at the No. 2 spot on the UAB single-season rushing list for a quarterback. Webb only needs 45 yards to surpass the record of 445 yards.

CHASING THEM DOWN
UAB true freshman S Chase Daniel registered his first career interception in the first quarter on Saturday against Alabama State. Daniel returned the interception 34 yards before fumbling. Teammate and fellow freshman Terrell Springs picked up the loose football and added 18 yards to the return.

Daniel recorded a team-high eight tackles in the win to equal the total he had recorded previously in the first three games combined. Daniel also had his first career sack in the game.

RASHAUD RUSHES
UAB junior RB Rashaud Slaughter scored two rushing touchdowns against Alabama State, his first two of the season. The scores doubled his TD total from last season. Slaughter ranks second on the team in rushing and has also caught five passes for 23 yards so far in 2008.

BLAZING BLAZERS
UAB’s 45 points in the win over Alabama State was its highest since it scored 45 in a 45-26 win over Rice on October 1, 2005.

MORE TDs FOR PINKNEY
East Carolina senior QB Pat Pinkney completed 19-of-32 passes for 210 yards with one TD and one INT against N.C. State. He has thrown at least one passing TD in the last five games. Pinkney has passed for 200-plus yards in all four games this season and has six for his career. He carried the ball nine times for 38 yards in the loss.

HARRIS HAULS THEM IN
ECU sophomore WR Dwayne Harris caught a career-high 10 passes for 88 yards against N.C. State with a long of 21 coming in the first quarter. Four of his 10 receptions went for 10 or more yards.

INT FOR ESKRIDGE
East Carolina junior DB Van Eskridge picked off his second career pass returning it 23 yards for the Pirates first of the game. It was his second career TD (50-yard fumble recovery against UTEP in 2007). He caused his third career fumble in the second quarter with 32 seconds remaining in the second quarter. Eskridge finished with seven total stops (six solo and one assist) and two pass breakups.

CASE IN POINT
Houston sophomore QB Case Keenum finished Saturday’s game against Colorado State 37-of-54 for 380 yards and three touchdowns. Keenum has now thrown a touchdown pass in seven consecutive games. It was the seventh multi-touchdown game of his career and the fourth game of his career with at least three touchdown passes and his fourth straight game with at least three touchdown passes to open the 2008 season.

Keenum now has thrown 16 touchdowns in 2008, already topping his passing touchdown total from 2007 (14). It was the fifth 300-yard passing game of his career and his fifth consecutive game with at least 300 passing yards. He became the first Cougar quarterback to accomplish that feat since Jimmy Klingler from Oct. 24-Nov. 28, 1992.

ON THE MARK
With one touchdown against Colorado State, Houston senior TE Mark Hafner recorded his fourth straight game with at least one TD catch. He finished the game with eight catches for 73 yards and tied his personal high in receptions.

MANY HAPPY RETURNS
SMU KR Jessie Henderson had six kickoff returns for 142 yards against TCU. Henderson became SMU’s career kickoff return yardage leader on the opening kick return and now has 2,293 KOR yards (passed Jonas Rutledge 2154 from 2000-03). The performance was his ninth career game with 100-plus KOR yards and his second this season. Henderson is now fourth in career KOR yards in Conference USA

OH EMMANUEL
SMU WR Emmanuel Sanders had six catches for 62 yards against TCU. He now has 1,940 career receiving yards to move into 6th place at SMU. Sanders also has 150 career receptions to move into 7th place in the SMU annals.

300 FOR AUSTIN
Southern Miss redshirt freshman QB Austin Davis threw for 308 yards in the loss to Marshall. It was his first career 300-yard game. It was also Davis’ fourth consecutive 200 yard game, making him the first quarterback in Golden Eagle history to throw for 200 or more yards in their first four games.

MORE DAVIS
Southern Miss’ QB Austin Davis’ four 200 yard games to begin the season are also the most ever for a freshman. Davis’ 68-yard touchdown pass to freshman DeAndre Brown was the longest pass of his career. He also scored on a 12-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter. It was his third rushing touchdown of the season.

ESTES FROM DEEP
Southern Miss’ sophomore PK Justin Estes kicked a career-long 45-yard field goal in the second half against Marshall. His previous high was a 43-yarder last year at UAB.

KNIGHTS PICK THEM OFF
The Knights have now intercepted a pass in each of the last 11 games. UCF’s starting secondary of Joe Burnett, Johnell Neal, Sha’reff Rashad and Jason Venson now boasts a combined 146 career starts.

Neal’s third quarter interception at BC was the 10th of his UCF career, moving him into third place on the school’s career chart. Venson’s second quarter interception was the eighth of his UCF career, tying him for sixth in school history with a group that includes current Philadelphia Eagle Asante Samuel.

GROUND ATTACK
The 44-yard touchdown run by UTEP QB James Thomas II against New Mexico State was the second rushing score of his UTEP career. The first came on a 13-yard run at Marshall in 2006. It was also a career-long rushing attempt for Thomas. The run was the longest rushing play by a UTEP quarterback since Jon Schaper had a 74-yard touchdown run at Alabama in 2001.

Thomas becomes just the third UTEP quarterback since 1982 to rush for over 100 yards in a game. He finished with a career-high 19 carries for 142 yards.

JOHNSON TO JOHNSON
Tulsa freshman WR Damaris Johnson eclipsed the 100-yard receiving mark in the first quarter with four receptions including two for touchdowns. Johnson finished the game with three TD grabs, marking the first time a freshman has accomplished that feat since Charles Clay did so against BYU last season.

SLATE RETURNS
Marshall junior TE Cody Slate made his return after missing more than two games with an injury he sustained in the season opening win over Illinois State. The All-America candidate played a major role in the game with four catches for 76 yards and one touchdown. He also took a reverse 35-yards to set up a Marshall score in the first half.

PEAK PERFORMERS
Check here throughout the season to track some of the top individual offensive performances in C-USA:

300-YARD PASSERS
469 David Johnson, TLS vs. New Mexico 9-20
418 David Johnson, TLS vs. North Texas 9-6
392 Case Keenum, HOU vs. Southern 8-30
387 Case Keenum, HOU vs. Oklahoma State 9-6
380 Case Keenum, HOU vs. Colorado State 9-20
373 Arkelon Hall, MEM vs. Rice 9-6
370 Bo Levi Mitchell, SMU vs. Texas State 9-6
364 Arkelon Hall, MEM vs. Marshall 9-13
362 Case Keenum, HOU vs. Air Force 9-13
332 David Johnson, TLS vs. UAB 8-30
326 Joe Webb, UAB vs. Florida Atlantic 9-6
318 Chase Clement, Rice vs. Memphis 9-6
308 Austin Davis, USM vs. Marshall 9-20

100-YARD RECEIVERS
208 James Casey, Rice vs. Memphis 9-6
178 Maurice Jones, Memphis vs. Rice 9-6
172 Aldrick Robinson, SMU vs. Texas State 9-6
158 Jarett Dillard, Rice vs. Texas 9-20
158 Carlos Singleton, MEM vs Marshall 9-13
149 Frantrell Forrest, UAB vs. Florida Atlantic 9-6
139 Darius Passmore, MAR vs. Southern Miss 9-20
138 Jeremy Williams, TLN vs. East Carolina 9-13
138 Emmanuel Sanders, SMU vs. Texas State 9-6
129 Slick Shelley, TLS vs. New Mexico 9-20
128 Darius Passmore, MAR vs. Memphis 9-13
125 Emmanuel Sanders, SMU vs. Texas Tech 9-13
121 Emmanuel Sanders, SMU vs. Rice 8-28
118 Shawn Nelson, USM vs. Auburn 9-6
115 James Casey, Rice vs. Vanderbilt 9-13
110 Shawn Nelson, USM vs. Arkansas State 9-13
109 Damaris Johnson, TLS vs. New Mexico 9-20
107 Brennan Marion, TLS vs. North Texas 9-6
106 Patrick Edwards, HOU vs. Oklahoma State 9-6
105 Jarett Dillard, Rice vs. Vanderbilt 9-13
103 Mark Hafner, HOU vs. Southern 8-30

100-YARD RUSHERS
222 Damion Fletcher, USM vs. La-Lafayette 8-30
157 Andre Davis, TLN vs. La-Monroe 9-20
142 James Thomas II, UTEP vs. NM State 9-20
140 Darius Marshall, MAR vs. Memphis 9-13
136 Joe Webb, UAB vs. Tulsa 8-30
121 Joe Webb, UAB vs. Alabama State 9-20
115 Darius Marshall, MAR vs. Illinois State 8-30
112 Darius Marshall, MAR vs. Southern Miss 9-20
110 Bubba Kirksey, USM vs. La-Lafeyette 8-30
109 Curtis Steele, MEM vs. Nicholls State 9-20

EAST CAROLINA
The Pirates suffered their first loss of the season on Saturday, falling in overtime at N.C. State, 30-24. Junior DB Van Eskridge scored the game’s first touchdown on a 23-yard interception return, ECU’s third non-offensive touchdown in four games this year. It was the first interception returned for a TD by the Pirates since Nov. 11, 2006 against UCF. Sophomore RB Norman Whitley nine rushes for a career-high 83 yards and scored for the second straight week, recording a 42-yard scoring jaunt. Senior QB Patrick Pinkney completed 19-of-32 passes for 210 yards and one touchdown. Sophomore WR Dwayne Harris caught a career-high 10 passes for 88 yards. ECU’s defense had an interception and a fumble recovery, marking the fifth consecutive game in which they have forced at least one turnover. In the eight opening drives of a half in four games this season, ECU has scored five touchdowns. The Pirate defense has not allowed touchdown in the first quarter in four games this season.

HOUSTON COUGARS
Houston sophomore QB Case Keenum finished Saturday’s game against Colorado State 37-of-54 for 380 yards and three touchdowns, but a late INT ended the Cougars’ drive to overcome a 21-point deficit and UH fell to the Rams, 28-25. Trailing 21-3, the Cougars scored on their initial possession of the second half, going 85 yards on 10 plays, capped by a 4-yard touchdown pass to TE Mark Hafner. Two possessions later, Keenum threw a 15-yard TD pass to freshman WR Tyron Carrier to cut it to 21-17 with 2:07 left in the third quarter. After a CSU score early in the fourth quarter made it 28-17, UH scored again with 2:31 left on a 3-yard TD pass from Keenum to sophomore WR L.J. Castile. The tandem then converted the two-point conversion to cut the Ram lead to three. The Cougars held on defense and got the ball back with 1:06 remaining. Houston reached the 15-yard line with eight seconds to go and elected to go for the win, but Keenum was picked off in the end zone to end the game. Hafner recorded his fourth straight game with at least one touchdown catch. The senior finished the game with eight catches for 73 yards and tied his personal high in receptions. The Cougars travel to Greenville, N.C. next Saturday to take on No. 23 East Carolina in a game to be televised on CBS College Sports.

MARSHALL THUNDERING HERD
The Thundering Herd improved to 2-0 in C-USA play for the first time since joining the league in 2005 with its 34-27 victory at Southern Miss on Saturday. The win improved Marshall to 3-1 for the first time since the 2002 season. Senior WR Darius Passmore topped the 100-yard receiving mark in the first half for his third 100-yard game this season. The Marshall deep threat recorded five catches for 101 yards in the first 30 minutes, including a 27-yard touchdown reception. He ended the game with nine catches for 139 yards and finished with 215 all-purpose yards, thanks to an 80-yard touchdown run on a reverse. Junior TE Cody Slate returned to action after missing the past two games and caught four passes for 76 yards and a TD, while also running 35 yards on a reverse. Redshirt freshman QB Mark Cann was 16-of-25 for 228 yards and two scores. Sophomore RB Darius Marshall carried 30 times for 112 yards, including an 18-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.

MEMPHIS TIGERS
The Tigers moved into the win column with a 31-10 victory over Nicholls State on Saturday. Memphis rushed for 110 yards in the first quarter, marking the first time since the UAB game last season that it had rushed for 100 or more yards in a quarter. The Tigers went on to finish the game with 276 yards on the ground. Senior RB Charlie Jones posted his second game this season with two rushing touchdowns, finishing the game with 11 carries for 57 yards. Junior RB Curtis Steele ran for a career-high 109 yards on 20 carries. Junior WR Duke Calhoun caught his first touchdown pass of the season; the 12th of his career, when he hauled in a 10-yard offering from QB Arkelon Hall in the third quarter. Calhoun finished the game with five catches for a team high 50 yards and moved into third place all-time at Memphis with 1,782 career receiving yards. The Memphis defense held Nicholls State to only 47 yards passing (its lowest total since 1999) and 164 total yards. The Tigers allowed just eight first downs, holding a team to less than 10 first downs for the first time since 2003 against South Florida.

RICE OWLS
Senior WR Jarett Dillard had 158 yards receiving and a touchdown to lead Rice, but the Owls were downed by former Southwest Conference rival No. 7 Texas on Saturday, 52-10. Dillard ran his streak of catching at least two passes to 40 games. It is the longest current of its kind in the nation. It was the senior’s second 100+ receiving yards game this season and the 11th such game in his career. The 158 yards ranks as the Dillard’s third-best career receiving performance. Senior QB Chase Clement finished the game 25-of-37 for 254 yards and the TD toss to Dillard. It was the duo’s 38th all-time touchdown pass combination, leaving them one shy of the NCAA record of 39 set by Tim Rattay and Troy Edwards of Louisiana Tech. Junior S Andrew Sendejo recorded 13+ tackles for the third straight game. Sendejo finished Saturday’s game with 17 tackles, one shy of a career mark. He had a career-high 18 tackles against Marshall last year.

SMU MUSTANGS
SMU was plagued by two turnovers that both were returned for scores less than six minutes into the game and couldn’t recover in a 48-7 loss to TCU on Saturday in Dallas. True freshman QB Bo Levi Mitchell completed 20-of-36 passes for 218 yards and one touchdown. His favorite target again was junior WR Emmanuel Sanders. Sanders led all receivers with six receptions and 62 yards. He now has 1,940 career receiving yards to move into 6th place at SMU. Senior KR Jessie Henderson had six kickoff returns for 142 yards against the Horned Frogs. Henderson became SMU’s career kickoff return yardage leader on the opening kick return and now has 2,293 career KOR yards. The performance was his ninth career game with 100-plus KOR yards and his second this season.

SOUTHERN MISS GOLDEN EAGLES
The Golden Eagles fell to East Division rival Marshall on Saturday, 34-27. The loss was just the 11th that Southern Miss has suffered at home in league play since the inception of Conference USA in 1996 (32-11) and just the second time in 13 years that they have dropped their conference opener. Freshman QB Austin Davis threw for a career-high 308 yards, completing 27-of-49 passes with one touchdown. His TD pass was a career-long 68-yarder to freshman WR DeAndre Brown. Davis rushed for his third touchdown of the season on a 12-yard run late in the third quarter. Junior RB Damion Fletcher carried the ball 21 times for 82 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore K Justin Estes booted a career-long 45 yard field goal in the third quarter and also had a 42-yarder. Redshirt freshman Korey Williams recovered his third fumble of the season. USM has forced 11 turnovers in the first four games of the season.

TULANE GREEN WAVE
Junior RB Andre Anderson rushed for a career-high 157 yards and a touchdown, and Tulane took its first victory of the season, 24-10 over Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday. First-year sophomore QB Kevin Moore threw for 272 yards and a score for the Green Wave and freshman RB Albert Williams added a 37-yard touchdown run. Moore completed 19-of-32 passes, his longest completion going for 57 yards to senior WR Brian King, which set up Williams’ TD. King caught five passes for 95 yards. Tulane junior OL Logan Kelley had a career-high two sacks (for 17 yards lost) against UL-Monroe and now has at least one sack in each of Tulane’s three ballgames in 2008. By limiting Louisiana-Monroe to 182 yards of total offense on Saturday, the Tulane defense posted its second game of holding a foe to less than 200 yards. In the season-opener against Alabama, the Green Wave allowed just 172 yards. Saturday’s game marked the third consecutive game in 2008 that the Tulane defense held an opponent to less than 100 yards of total offense in the first half.

TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE
Tulsa QB David Johnson threw for 469 yards and six touchdowns as Tulsa christened its newly remodeled H.A. Chapman Stadium with a 56-14 victory over New Mexico Saturday. Johnson, who entered the game as the nation’s leader in pass efficiency, completed 24 of 39 passes in the contest. Freshman WRs Slick Shelley and Damaris Johnson each had two touchdown catches and exceeded 100 yards receiving. Tulsa finished with 606 yards total offense against a defense that had been allowing just 305 per game. Tulsa’s defense chipped in as well, as Roy Roberts returned an interception 41 yards for a score as TU limited the Lobos to 316 yards of offense. It was the second consecutive week of six scoring tosses for Johnson, a senior who backed up record-setting Paul Smith for three seasons. Johnson directed Tulsa to touchdowns on five of its six first-half possessions. Johnson has thrown for 15 touchdown passes in the first three games of the season compared to Tulsa single-season record holder Paul Smith’s 10 touchdown passes at the same time last season. With the win, Tulsa starts a season 3-0 for the first time since 1978 when the team opened 4-0 and finished 9-2.

UAB BLAZERS
The Blazers posted their first win of the season on Saturday, downing Alabama State, 45-10. The 45 points scored by UAB are its highest total since a 45-26 win over Rice on October 1, 2005. Junior QB Joe Webb continued his impressive combination of running and throwing, rushing for 121 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries, while completing 14-of-22 passes for 238 yards and two scores. Webb has rushed for 401 yards through the first four games of the season. UAB is No. 1 in C-USA in rushing offense (189.2 ypg) this season after ranking last in 2007. The Blazers rank 35th in the nation through the first four games. Last season, UAB ranked No. 104 nationally (110.3). Sophomore TE Jeffery Anderson had the first multiple-touchdown game of his career, catching three passes for 88 yards. Senior RB Rashaud Slaughter carried nine times for 47 yards, running for a pair of scores. The Blazers ran for four touchdowns against Alabama State, the most since running for five against Tulane on Oct. 23, 2005. UAB rolled up 486 yards of total offense on Saturday.

UCF KNIGHTS
UCF fell at Boston College on Saturday, 34-7. Senior FS Jason Venson’s second quarter interception was the eighth of his UCF career, tying him for sixth in school history with a group that includes current Philadelphia Eagle Asante Samuel. Senior CB Johnell Neal’s third quarter interception was the 10th of his UCF career, moving him into third place on the school’s career chart. The Knights have intercepted at least one pass in 11 consecutive games. Junior QB Michael Greco’s 44-yard second quarter scamper was a career long and the longest run by a UCF quarterback since Steven Moffett had a 55-yard scoring scamper against Marshall on Nov. 19, 2003 at the Citrus Bowl. Greco also scored the Knights only touchdown on a one-yard run. UCF entered Saturday as one of 15 teams that had not thrown an interception this season, but Greco was picked off three times.

UTEP MINERS
Despite a career day on the ground for UTEP sophomore QB James Thomas II, the Miners fell to New Mexico State, 34-33, at the Sun Bowl. Thomas II notched a 44-yard scoring run and led UTEP with 142 yards rushing and two scores, becoming only the third Miner quarterback to eclipse the 100-yard mark since 1982. Sophomore S Anthony Morrow notched an interception return in the first quarter for a touchdown. It was the first of his career and marked the first defensive touchdown for the Miners in 2008. Freshman RB Vernon Frazier made his first career start on Saturday and established career-highs for rushing attempts (14) and rushing yardage (74). Classmate Daniel Palmer also had career-highs for rushes (14) and yards (64).