Oct. 20, 2008

Oct. 20 C-USA Football Notebook

IRVING, Texas - Fresh off of a 77-35 victory over UTEP in Conference USA action on Saturday night, the Tulsa Golden Hurricane moved into the top-25 national rankings for the first time this season. Tulsa is ranked 19th in the USA Today/Coaches poll and came in 22nd in the Associated Press poll.

It's the first national ranking for the Hurricane since ending the 1991 season ranked 21st in both the AP and USA Today/CNN polls. Tulsa finished that season with a 10-2 record.

Tulsa has a 7-0 record for the first time since the 1942 campaign when the Hurricane posted a 10-0 regular season mark. Tulsa has the nation’s top scoring and total offensive team in the country as the Hurricane averages 56.6 points and 624.7 yards per game. The Hurricane also leads the nation in pass efficiency with a rating of 207.8, and is fifth in passing offense (357.7)and seventh in rushing offense (267.0).

Also in the win, Tulsa upped its NCAA-leading streak of scoring in consecutive quarters to 33, dating back to last year’s C-USA Championship Game.

POLLING PLACE
Tulsa became the second Conference USA team to be nationally-ranked this season when the Golden Hurricane jumped into the Oct. 19 polls (East Carolina was as high as No. 14 in September). That marks the first time since 2004 (Louisville and Southern Miss) that C-USA has had two teams ranked in the same season.

TULSA IN BCS RANKINGS
When the first BCS rankings of the 2008 season were released on Oct. 19, Tulsa appeared at No. 19. The 7-0 Golden Hurricane are listed in the BCS rankings for the first since Oct. 15, 2006.

GREAT START
Tulsa’s 77-35 win over UTEP on Saturday made the Golden Hurricane just the third Conference USA team to open a season at 7-0. 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
7-0 Tulsa, 2008

RECENT RESULTS
Saturday, October 18
East Carolina 30, Memphis 10
Rice 45, Southern Miss 40
UAB 23, Marshall 21
Houston 44, SMU 38
Tulsa 77, UTEP 35

LAST WEEK’S STARS
Here’s a look at some of the top performers in Conference USA games from Oct. 18:

Rushing Attempts
22 Bryce Beall, HOU (105 yds.)
20 Joe Webb, UAB (135 yds.)
17 Damion Fletcher, USM (120 yds.)
17 C.J. Ugokwe, Rice (90 yds.)

Rushing Yards
135 Joe Webb, UAB (20 att.)
120 Damion Fletcher, USM (17 att.)
114 Tarrion Adams, TLS (15 att.)
108 Jonathan Williams, ECU (15 att.)
105 Bryce Beall, HOU (22 att.)

Rushing Touchdowns
3 Bryce Beall, HOU
2 Tarrion Adams, TLS

Passing Completions
32 Austin Davis, USM (61 att.)
30 Chase Clement, Rice (43 att.)
29 Bo Levi Mitchell, SMU (39 att.)
28 Case Keenum, HOU (36 att.)

Passing Yards
461 Austin Davis, USM (32-of-61)
444 Chase Clement, Rice (30-of-43)
434 David Johnson, TLS (21-of-27)
404 Case Keenum, HOU (28-of-36)
365 Bo Levi Mitchell, SMU (29-of-39)

Passing Touchdowns
6 Chase Clement, Rice
5 David Johnson, TLS
4 Three players tied

Receptions
12 DeAndre Brown, USM
10 Mark Hafner, HOU
8 Aldrick Robinson, SMU
8 Emmanuel Sanders, SMU

Receiving Yards
233 Brennan Marion, TLS (6 rec.)
221 DeAndre Brown, USM (12 rec.)
186 Aldrick Robinson, SMU (8 rec.)
165 Darius Passmore, MAR (6 rec.)
160 Mark Hafner, HOU (10 rec.)

Receiving Touchdowns
4 DeAndre Brown, USM
3 Brennan Marion, TLS
3 Jarett Dillard, Rice
2 James Casey, Rice
2 Aldrick Robinson, SMU

All-Purpose
296 Damaris Johnson, TLS (36 rush, 47 rcv., 211 kr.)
233 Brennan Marion, TLS (233 rcv.)
221 DeAndre Brown, USM (221 rcv.)
195 James Casey, Rice (32 rush, 113 rcv., 50 pr.)
186 Aldrick Robinson, SMU (186 rcv.)

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSE
Brennan Marion - Tulsa
Wr, Sr., Greensburg, Pa. (DeAnza JC)
Marion set a new Conference USA record for yards per catch (38.8), grabbing six passes for 233 yards and three touchdowns to earn offensive honors. He started things off for Tulsa with a 97-yard touchdown reception to tie the score at 7-7. That catch was the second-longest offensive play in C-USA history. On the next possession, Marion’s 51-yard TD reception put the Golden Hurricane ahead, 14-7. He also added a 40-yard TD reception in the third quarter as Tulsa set a new C-USA record for points scored in a league game.

DEFENSE
JOE HENDERSON - UAB
LB, Sr., Birmingham, Ala. (John Carroll)
Henderson earned UAB’s first defensive player of the week award since Sept. 10, 2007 after he recorded a season-high 13 tackles, including eight solo hits, in the Blazers’ 23-21 win over Marshall on Saturday. He also registered four tackles for loss, a single-game high among C-USA players this season. Henderson is UAB’s leading tackler this season with 61 stops.

SPECIAL TEAMS
DAMARIS JOHNSON - Tulsa
KR/KR, Fr., Norco, La. (Destrehan)
Johnson set a school record for kickoff return yards in a single game with 211 yards on six returns against UTEP, a 35.2 average that earned him special teams recognition. After Tulsa fell behind 28-21 in the first quarter, Johnson took the subsequent kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown to knot the score at 28-28 and give TU the momentum. The Golden Hurricane never trailed after that. He ended the game with 296 all-purpose yards.

OFFENSE
S2 Patrick Pinkney, QB, East Carolina
S8 James Casey, WR, Rice
S15 Patrick Pinkney, QB, East Carolina
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
O20 Brennan Marion, WR, Tulsa

DEFENSE
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, Houston
O20 Joe Henderson, LB, UAB

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
O20 Damaris Johnson, WR/KR, Tulsa

SCORES OF SCORES
Conference USA teams have notched an impressive 23 non-offensive scores so far in 2008, including 10 interceptions that have been returned for TDs. The league also has four fumble recoveries for scores, four kickoff return TDs, a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown, a punt return TD, one safety and the rare blocked PAT that was returned for two points.

With the safety by UAB on Saturday, C-USA has 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.

SIX PACK
In the first 12 seasons of Conference USA Football just three times had a quarterback thrown for six touchdowns in a game. That feat has already occurred four times in 2008. Tulsa’s David Johnson became the first QB in league history to accomplish the feat twice in one season earlier this year and is now joined on that list by Rice’s Chase Clement after he tossed six TDs Saturday against Southern Miss.

MOST TOUCHDOWN PASSES IN A GAME
6 Chase Clement, Rice vs. Southern Miss (10-18-08)
6 David Johnson, Tulsa vs. New Mexico (9-20-08)
6 David Johnson, Tulsa at North Texas (9-6-08)
6 Chase Clement, Rice vs. SMU (8-29-08)
6 Chase Clement, Rice vs. UTEP (11-3-07)
6 Lester Ricard, Tulane vs. UAB (10-23-04)
6 Chris Redman, Louisville at ECU (11-14-98)
5 David Johnson, Tulsa vs. UTEP (10-18-08)
5 Chase Clement, Rice vs. North Texas (9-27-08)

TD LEADERS
Conference USA quarterbacks are are among the NCAA leaders in passing touchdowns (through games of Oct. 18). Tulsa’s David Johnson leads FBS QBs with 31 TD passes. Here’s a look at the leaders.

MOST TOUCHDOWN PASSES IN 2008
31 David Johnson, Tulsa
26 Sam Bradford, Oklahoma
25 Tim Hiller, Western Michigan
23 Case Keenum, Houston
23 Graham Harrell, Texas Tech

CATCHING ON
Conference USA has four of the Top 10 leaders in receptions in the FBS (through games of Oct. 18). Rice’s James Casey currently is third in the nation with 61. Here’s a look at the leaders:

MOST RECEPTIONS IN 2008
66 Jamarko Simmons, Western Michigan
64 Casey Fitzgerald, UNT
61 James Casey, Rice
59 Emmanuel Sanders, SMU
59 Eric Decker, Minnesota
57 Kerry Meier, Kansas
56 Chase Coffman, Missouri
53 Jarett Dillard, Rice
53 Austin Collie, BYU
52 Mark Hafner, Houston

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.

On October 18, National Football Foundation Chief Operating Officer Matthew Sign honored the duo for their achievement at the Rice-Southern Miss game.

HEY, JOE
UAB’s Joe Webb currently leads the nation’s quarterbacks in rushing yards this season with 723, averaging 90.4 yards per game on the ground. Webb ranks second in rushing yards per game by quarterbacks. Here’s a look at the nation’s QB rushing leaders leaders as of Oct. 18:

MOST RUSHING YARDS BY A QB
723 Joe Webb, UAB
708 Michael Desormeaux, Louisiana-Lafayette
623 Julian Edelman, Kent State
613 Colin Kaepernick, UNLV
475 Juice Williams, Illinois

OFFENSIVE FIREPOWER
Conference USA is currently ranked second among FBS conferences in total offense, with league teams averaging 413.2 yards per game. Only the Big 12, at 439.6 ypg., is higher. C-USA also trails only the Big 12 in touchdown passes per game, with C-USA teams throwing 2.14 per outing to the Big 12’s 2.29. C-USA has moved up to second among FBS conferences in scoring at 29.5 points per game, trailing only the Big 12 at 36.5 ppg.

PASS HAPPY
Conference USA is the only FBS league that is averaging more passing plays than running plays. C-USA teams average 36.2 pass attempts per game, while averaging 34.4 rushing attempts. C-USA is running more total plays per game (70.5) than any other conference.

HIGH POWERED OFFENSE
Tulsa’s 791 yards of total offense against UTEP is a new Conference USA record and the most for the Golden Hurricane since it racked up a school record 798 yards of total offense against Idaho State (1967). The 791 yards of total offense was the most by any FBS school thus far during the 2008 season. It was TU’s eighth consecutive game in which it has compiled at 500 yards and the 10th time in the last 11 games that TU has racked up at least 500 total yards.

With 321 yards rushing against the Miners, TU has has now rushed for at least 300 yards in four consecutive games. Tulsa’s 49 first half points mark the second time this season the team has scored 40 or more points in the first half. The other time was against North Texas when Tulsa scored 42 first half points (Sept. 6, 2008)

LUCKY NUMBER 77...AGAIN
Tulsa defeated UTEP on Saturday night, 77-35, setting a new C-USA record for points scored in a league game. The 77 points were the most for the team since it defeated Tampa, 77-0 on Oct. 14, 1967. Tulsa has scored at least 50 points in five of its seven games this season and has gone over the 60 point mark on three occasions in 2008.

97-YARD HOOKUP
Tulsa QB David Johnson’s 97-yard touchdown pass to WR Brennan Marion against UTEP was Tulsa’s longest since 1996 when Troy DeGar completed a 99-yard touchdown pass to Wes Caswell against Oklahoma. It also marks the third-longest touchdown pass and third-longest touchdown play in Tulsa history. It was the second-longest play in Conference USA history, trailing only a 98 yard touchdown pass that TCU’s Brandon Hassell threw to Reggie Harrell at Arizona on Sept. 27, 2003.

DAMARIS FOR SIX
Tulsa WR/KR Damaris Johnson’s 94-yard kickoff return for a touchdown was Tulsa’s first since Roy Roberts returned a kickoff 92 yards against Tulane on Nov. 3, 2007. Johnson’s return is tied for 13th longest in Tulsa history (4 for 100, 6 for 98, 2 for 96, 2 others for 94).

With 211 kickoff return yards, Johnson set a new school record for kickoff return yards in a game, surpassing Ashlan Davis’ 199 yards set at SMU on November 6, 2004.

JOHNSON IN THIRD
With Tulsa QB David Johnson’s fifth touchdown pass against UTEP, he surpassed Billy Guy Anderson (1965) for third on Tulsa’s season chart (31) and he also surpassed Anderson for eighth on Tulsa’s career chart (31).

With Johnson’s fifth touchdown pass of the game, he surpassed Kevin Kolb of Houston (2006) for 3rd most touchdown passes in a season among Conference USA quarterbacks.

ADAMS FOR 100
Tulsa RB Tarrion Adams’ 114 yards rushing against UTEP marked his fourth consecutive 100-yard game and 12th career 100-yard game.

MARION THROUGH THE AIR
Tulsa WR Brennan Marion caught six passes for 233 yards against UTEP, to average 38.8 yards per catch. That mark broke Brandon Middleton of Houston’s previous record (38.7 yards per catch vs. TCU in 2003).

Marion’s 233 receiving yards were the 11th-most in Tulsa history and most yards in a game since 1989.

Marion’s 233 receiving yards gives him a career total of 1,999 to place him 10th on the TU career list. The performance was Marion’s second career 200-yard receiving game. His previous 200-yard game was last year with 244 yards against Rice (Nov. 24, 2007).

He became only the 4th player in Tulsa history to catch for multiple 200-yard games in his career and it was Marion’s 10th career game with at least 100 receiving yards.

CLEMENT TIES RECORD
Rice QB Chase Clement went 30-of-43, racked up 444 passing yards and tied the C-USA record with six touchdown passes in Rice’s 45-40 win over Southern Miss on Saturday. The 444 passing yards are the second-most in school history only behind his 541-yard effort against Tulsa last season. The Owls are 4-4 when Clement throws for more than 300 yards.

The six touchdown passes for Clement equal his career-best and school record set against UTEP last season. The Alamo Heights, Texas product now has tossed 77 career touchdown passes and moved into sixth place on the C-USA list. He is one scoring strike shy of equaling Cincinnati’s Gino Guidugli (2001-04) for the No. 5 spot.

Clement is responsible for 95 career touchdowns (77 pass, 18 rush). He surpassed Memphis’ Danny Wimprine (2001-04) for third place on that C-USA list.

DILLARD EXTENDS TD RECORD
Rice senior All-American WR Jarett Dillard has caught at least two passes in all 43 career appearances. The San Antonio native finished with seven receptions for 141 yards and three touchdowns. It’s his fifth consecutive 100-yard game and 14th of his career.

The scoring strikes for Clement and Dillard extended their NCAA record to 45 career connections. Dillard also moved his NCAA record to 54 career touchdown receptions. He is now six away from tying Memphis’ DeAngelo Williams (2002-05) for the overall C-USA touchdown record.

CASEY CATCHES
Rice WR James Casey finished the win against Southern Miss with seven catches for 113 yards. Casey has recorded at least five receptions in 13 straight games dating back to the Houston game last season.

His seven receptions allowed Casey to surpass Earl Cooper (1976-79) and Larry Davis (1967-69) for sixth place on the Rice all-time list. He now has 107 career receptions and is five catches shy of tying Ed Lofton (1973-75) for fifth place.

UGOKWE HAS A DAY
Rice RB RB C.J. Ugokwe rushed for a career-best 90 yards on 17 carries against Southern Miss. He broke a career-long 35-yard run during the first quarter. The 90 rushing yards were the most by a Rice RB since Justin Hill rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries at Southern Miss last season.

WILLIAMS LEADS PIRATES
East Carolina RB Jonathan Williams rushed 15 times for career-high 108 yards against Memphis, which included a career-long 68-yard TD run in the second quarter. Williams now has six career rushing TDs.

As a team, the Pirates had a season-high 180 rushing yards, the most since 2007 Sheraton Hawi’I Bowl (322

KASS GOES FOR TWO
East Carolina QB Rob Kass completed 9-of-17 passes for 167 yards and 2 TDs in ECU’s win over Memphis. His 42-yard strike to WR Brandon Simmons in the third quarter was his first of the season and he produced the third career multi-TD game of his career.

GO JOE!
UAB QB Joe Webb accounted for 352 yards of total offense and set a Conference USA record as he led UAB to a 23-21 league victory over Marshall. Webb passed for 217 yards and ran for 135 yards, the latter helping him establish a new C-USA mark for rushing yards in a season by a quarterback. Webb now has 723 yards, breaking the record of 699 yards set by SMU’s Justin Willis in 2007. Webb’s 28-yard touchdown run Saturday vs. the Herd gave the Blazers a 23-14 lead early in the fourth quarter. Webb ranks 11th in the country in total offense at 306.1 yards per game.

HENDERSON HITS
UAB LB Joe Henderson recorded a season-high 13 tackles, including 8 solo hits, and registered 4 tackles for loss in the Blazers’ 23-21 win over Marshall Saturday. Henderson is UAB’s leading tackler this season with 61 stops.

BLAZING THE ENDZONE
UAB has 14 rushing TDs in 2008, more than double the number (5) the Blazers recorded last season.

UH 3-0 IN C-USA
The Cougars have started 3-0 in conference play for only the eighth time in program history. UH had never accomplished the feat in Conference USA before this season. UH began 3-0 five times in the Southwest Conference (1990, 1984, 1979, 1978, 1976) and twice in the Missouri Valley Conference (1956, 1952). The Cougars have won 17 of their last 20 Conference USA games.

HAFNER HAS IT
Houston WR/TE Mark Hafner had a career-high 160 receiving yards against SMU on 10 catches. He recorded his second 100-yard receiving game this season and the third of his career. Hafner recorded 103 yards receiving against Southern in the season opener (8-30-08). Houston is 3-0 in games in which Hafner reaches triple digits.

CASE IN POINT
With two touchdown passes against SMU, Houston QB Case Keenum has thrown a TD pass in 10 consecutive games awhile posting the 10th multi-touchdown game of his career. Keenum also added a rushing score and now has 47 career TDs responsible for, tying him for fifth on the UH all-time TDs responsible for list.

He finished with a career-high 404 passing yards, the second 400-yard passing game of his career and his eighth consecutive game with at least 300 passing yards. That mark ties the school record held by David Klingler in that category.

COUGAR COMEBACK
Houston trailed SMU 35-23 heading into the fourth quarter before QB Case Keenum, engineered UH’s second come-from-behind win in as many weeks. Trailing 38-36, the Cougars got the ball at their own 15 with 1:58 left. Keenum waent 5-of-6 on an eight-play drive and capped it with his TD pass to WR Tyron Carrier, who made a nice over-the-shoulder catch in the end zone.

COINCIDENCE, I THINK NOT
SMU retired the No. 17 jersery of former All-American Don Meredith on Saturday at halftime against Houston. Junior WR Emmanuel Sanders currently wears No. 17 for SMU and will be allowed to do so until his career is over. As a coincidence, the first score of the game was a 17-yard touchdown pass caught by Sanders from QB Bo Levi Mitchell at 11:10 of the first quarter.

RECEIVING TANDEM
SMU WRs Aldrick Robinson (909) and Emmanuel Sanders (823) now have 1,732 combined receiving yards for the season to set the SMU record for a tandem. Robinson (10) and Sanders (8) now have 18 combined receiving TDs for the season, which is second at SMU for a tandem.

SANDERS SETS RECORD
SMU WR Emmanuel Sanders had eight receptions for 79 yards and two TDs in the loss to Houston. He now has 26 career receiving TDs, setting the SMU record (was 25 by Emanuel Tolbert, 1976-79). Sanders also has eight TD receptions in 2008, which is tied for sixth in a season at SMU and has 59 receptions on the season, which ties for 10th at SMU. Sanders has 2,317 career receiving yards to move into third-place at SMU.

ALDRICK THROUGH THE AIR
SMU WR Aldrick Robinson had eight receptions for 186 yards and two touchdowns against Houston. His 186 receiving yards was the third-highest total in a game at SMU. Robinson had a TD catch for the fourth straight game, setting a career best and tying for second-longest streak at SMU. He also has a TD catch in seven of eight games this season

SCHOOL RECORD FOR DAVIS
Southern Miss QB Austin Davis was 32-of-61 for a school-record 461 yards and four TDs in the Golden Eagles’ 45-40 loss to Rice. Davis threw all four of his touchdown passes to freshman WR DeAndre Brown. The 461 yards now give him 1,886 on the year which is also a school freshman record. He is just the second Golden Eagle quarterback to throw for 400-plus yards in a game.

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU
Southern Miss WR DeAndre Brown had a career-high 12 catches for 221 yards and four TDs in Southern Miss’ 45-40 loss to Rice. It was his second 100-yard game of the season and his four touchdowns are a new school record for receiving scores, while tying the conference mark. His 221 yards were the second-most in school history. His 12 receptions were also the second-most in Southern Miss history.

CAN’T CATCH FLETCH
Southern Miss RB Damion Fletcher had a game-high 120 yards rushing on 17 carries. It is the third 100-yard rushing game of the season and 19th of his career. Fletcher now has 2,455 over the last two years, putting him in second for the most yards rushing in consecutive seasons. He holds the record with 2,974 over the 2006-07 seasons.

Fletcher’s three-yard touchdown run in the third quarter was his sixth of the year and 32nd of his career, tying him for second all-time in Golden Eagle history with Harold Shaw (1994-97).

NELSON MOVES UP THE CHARTS
Southern Miss TE Shawn Nelson caught six passes for 71 yards against Rice. He now has sole possession of third place on the all-time receptions list at Southern Miss with 144. He also is now in third place with 1,933 receiving yards, passing LeRoy Handy (1999-2002) in both categories.

LET’S GO STREAKING
Memphis WR Duke Calhoun extended his receiving streak to 32 games with his seven-yard reception in the Tigers’ first drive of the first quarter. Calhoun holds the school record with the streak and came Saturday’s game game ranked 11th nationally in active receiving streaks.

STREAK SNAPPED
UTEP had its three-game winning streak snapped in the loss to Tulsa. QB Trevor Vittatoe passed for 306 yards and four touchdowns for the Miners, and WR Kris Adams tallied five receptions for 126 yards for his second 100-yard game of the season.

MOST TOUCHDOWNS
With 54 career touchdowns, Rice’s Jarett Dillard has moved into second place all-time on the C-USA career TD list. Here is a look at the C-USA leaders. Check this section throughout the season to monitor his progress.

1. 60 DeAngelo Williams, Memphis, 2002-05
2. 54 Jarett Dillard, Rice, 2005-present
3. 46 Kevin Smith, UCF, 2005-07

TOUCHDOWN CATCHES
With three TD grabs against Southern Miss on Saturday, Rice’s Jarett Dillard extended his own C-USA record for career touchdown catches. The senior now has 54 and also owns the NCAA career mark. Dillard is one of two active players with 40 career TD receptions. Here is a look at the career touchdown catch leaders:

54 Jarett Dillard, Rice, 2005-present
35 Roydell Williams, Tulane, 2001-04

ON THE RUN
UAB QB Joe Webb established a new C-USA mark for rushing yards in a season by a quarterback in UAB’s win over Marshall on Saturday. Webb now has 723 yards, after scampering for 135 yards in the contest. Check this section throughout the season to monitor his progress.

SINGLE-SEASON RUSHING BY A QUARTERBACK
723 Joe Webb, UAB 2008
699 Justin Willis, SMU 2007
606 Chad Plummer, Cincinnati 1997
555 Joel Armstrong, Rice 2005

EAST CAROLINA PIRATES
Junior QB Rob Kass threw a pair of second-half touchdown passes to lead the Pirates to a 30-10 victory over Memphis on Saturday in Greenville. Kass was 9-of-17 for 167 yards in his most extended action of the season. East Carolina, which trailed 10-7 at halftime, has outscored its opponents 61-29 in the third quarter this season and outscored Memphis 13-0 to claim a 20-10 lead. Kass, who replaced starter Patrick Pinkney in the first quarter, found Brandon Simmons for a 42-yard touchdown on the Pirates’ first second-half series for a 13-10 lead. A 28-yard scoring pass from Kass to sophomore WR Dwayne Harris on the same pass play late in the quarter put ECU ahead, 20-10. Junior K Ben Hartman added a 22-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter and sophomore RB Norman Whitley added a 12-yard scoring run with five minutes remaining. ECU had a season-high 180 rushing yards, led by sophomore RB Jonathan Williams who carried 15 times for a career-high 108 yards and Whitley who had a career-best 15 rushes for 64 yards.

HOUSTON COUGARS
Houston QB Case Keenum threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to WR Tyron Carrier with 24 seconds left as the Cougars rallied for its third straight win, beating SMU 44-38 on Saturday night. Houston trailed 35-23 heading into the fourth quarter before Keenum, who surpassed 300 yards passing for the eighth straight game,directed the comeback. Trailing 38-36, the Cougars got the ball at their own 15 with 1:58 left. Keenum, who completed 28-of-36 passes for 404 yards, was 5-of-6 on an eight-play drive. He capped it with his TD pass to Carrier, who made a nice over-the-shoulder catch in the end zone. Keenum also added a rushing score and now has 47 career TDs responsible for, tying him for fifth on the UH all-time TDs responsible for list. RB Bryce Beall rushed for 105 yards and three touchdowns and WR/TE Mark Hafner had a career-high 160 yards receiving for the Cougars, who are 3-0 in league play for the first time since 1990 and for the first time ever as a member of Conference USA. It was also Hafner’s second 100-yard receiving game of the season and third of his career. With his sack in the second quarter, senior Phillip Hunt recorded his 9th sack of the season and now has 28.5 in his career.

MARSHALL THUNDERING HERD
The Thundering Herd suffered its first loss of the season in league play, losing at UAB on Saturday, 23-21. Marshall did have an opportunity to take a late lead, but junior K Craig Ratanamorn’s 37-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right with 2:37 remaining. Junior QB Mark Cann finished the day 16-of-26 for 237 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Senior WR Darius Passmore caught six passes for a career-high 165 yards, including a 71-yard scoring reception in the second quarter. Junior TE Cody Slate was held to just three catches, but one of them was a 20-yard touchdown reception in the opening quarter. Junior LB Mario Harvey led the Herd with 11 total tackles, including eight solo stops. He recorded a sack for a loss of nine yards, two tackles for loss and scored on a 62-yard fumble return in the fourth quarter.

MEMPHIS TIGERS
The Tigers fell at East Carolina on Saturday, 30-10. Memphis was forced to play former walk-on Brett Toney at quarterback for most of the game after starter Arkelon Hall suffered a hand injury and backup Will Hudgens had a knee injury on the first quarter. Toney, who had never taken a snap at QB for the Tigers, completed 11-of-15 passes for 65 yards. Junior WR Duke Calhoun extended his school record receiving streak to 32 games, but senior WR Carlos Singleton saw his 28 game streak end as Memphis used four quarterbacks on the day. Junior RB Curtis Steele scored his second touchdown of the season on a four-yard run that put the Tigers up 7-0 in the first quarter.

RICE OWLS
Rice QB Chase Clement threw for 444 yards and tied his C-USA record with six touchdown passes and three Rice receivers topped 100 yards to lead the Owls to a 45-40 win over Southern Miss at Rice Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The win was the Owls third straight at home and their third in four tries in C-USA competition this season. WR All-American Jarett Dillard caught three of Clement’s six touchdown passes to raise their NCAA record for career touchdown passes by a duo to 45 and his own NCAA career mark for touchdown receptions to 54. He finished the day with seven catches for 141 yards, his fifth consecutive game with more than 100 yards receiving. WR James Casey grabbed seven for 113 yards and Toren Dixon added seven catches for 118 yards to give the Owls three receivers over the century mark for the first time since the final game of the 2007 season. Travis Bradshaw, making his first career start in place of an injured Andrew Sendejo, was credited with a career-best 12 tackles while forcing a fumble, breaking up a pair of passes and blocking the Golden Eagles first PAT attempt.

SMU MUSTANGS
True freshman QB Bo Levi Mitchell was 29-of-39 for 365 yards and four touchdowns, and Aldrick Robinson had 186 yards receiving and two touchdowns for the Mustangs, but it was not enough as the Mustangs fell to Houston, 44-38, at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. SMU jumped out to a 21-7 lead thanks to Mitchell’s first TD run of the season and two scoring passes to WR Emmanuel Sanders, who set the SMU school record with 26 touchdown receptions. Robinson (909) and Sanders (823) now have 1,732 combined receiving yards for the season to set the SMU record for a tandem. Robinson (10) and Sanders (8) also have 18 combined receiving TDs for the season, which is second at SMU for a tandem. KR Jessie Henderson had seven kickoff returns for 181 yards (25.9 average). His 181 kickoff return yards are a career-best and third in a game at SMU. The senior now has 110 kickoff returns, extending his SMU recordand now has 2,671 kickoff return yards, extending his SMU record and moving into second in C-USA history.

SOUTHERN MISS GOLDEN EAGLES
The Golden Eagles dropped a 45-40 decision at Rice on Saturday. The loss was the fourth straight for Southern Miss, something which has not occurred since 1977. Freshman QB Austin Davis threw for a school-record 461 yards and a career-high four touchdowns. He also set a new Southern Miss record for pass attempts with 61, completing 32 and not throwing an interception. Freshman WR DeAndre Brown established all new career highs, catching 12 passes for 221 yards and four touchdowns. The four TD catches are a new school record, while the receptions and yards are the second-most in Southern Miss history. Junior RB Damion Fletcher posted his third 100-yard game of the season, carrying 17 times for 120 yards and a touchdown. He had three runs of 20 yards or longer and now has eight 20+-yard runs this season. Senior TE Shawn Nelson caught six passes for 67 yards and touchdown, moving into third place on USM’s all-time reception list with 144. Junior LB Gerald McRath added to his conference-leading tackle total with 19 at Rice, the second-most he has produced in a game.

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 October 11. 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
QB David Johnson threw for 434 yards and five touchdowns to lead Tulsa to a 77-35 victory over UTEP on Saturday night. On Sunday, TU moved into the Top 25 national rankings for the first time this season. Tulsa is ranked 19th in the USA Today/Coaches poll and came in 22nd in the Associated Press poll. It’s the first national ranking for the Hurricane since ending the 1991 season ranked 21st in both the AP and USA Today/CNN polls. Tulsa is also 7-0 for the first time since the 1942 campaign when the Hurricane posted a 10-0 regular season mark. Senior WR Brennan Marion had six catches for 233 yards and three touchdowns, setting a C-USA record for yards per catch in a game (38.8). TU amassed 791 total yards, including 321 rushing. The 791 yards of total offense is also a new C-USA record and the most by an FBS team this season. Senior RB Tarrion Adams notched 114 yards rushing against UTEP to mark his fourth consecutive 100-yard game and 12th career 100-yard game. TU also had two 90+ yard scoring plays, marking the second time that Tulsa has scored two touchdowns from 90-yards or more in the same game. Tulsa has rushed for at least 300 yards in four consecutive games and the team’s 49 first half points marked the second time this season the team has scored 40 or more points in the first half.

UAB BLAZERS
The Blazers posted their first Conference USA win of the season with a 23-21 victory over UAB on Saturday at Legion Field. Once again, it was junior QB Joe Webb starring for the Blazers, posting 352 yards of total offense, rushing for 117 yards and passing for 235. It was Webb’s third 100-yard rushing game of the season as he set a new C-USA single-season record for rushing yards by a quarterback with 723. Sophomore RB Rashaud Slaughter added 13 carries for 54 yards and a touchdown as UAB ran for 215 yards as a team. Senior LB Joe Henderson had 13 tackles, including four tackles for loss. The Blazers defense limited Marshall to 82 yards rushing on 30 attempts, held them scoreless for the final 42 minutes of the game and also produced a safety on the first offensive play of the game, two points that proved to be the winning margin for UAB.

UCF KNIGHTS
The Knights played in-state rival Miami for the first time on October 11, 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
UTEP had its three-game winning streak snapped as it lost to Tulsa, 77-35. QB Trevor Vittatoe went 21-of-34 for 306 yards and tossed four touchdowns to four different receivers for the Miners. WR Kris Adams tallied five receptions for 126 yards for his second 100-yard game of the season. UTEP kept pace with Tulsa early and the score was tied 28-28 after the first quarter, but the Golden Hurricane used blitzes to rattle Vittatoe and take control of the game in the second quarter. Sophomore P Kyle Petersen averaged 45.1 yards on eight punts, pinning two inside the 20-yard line.