Nov. 30, 2009
November 30 Release in PDF Format 
East Division Champion East Carolina will host the fifth annual Conference USA Football Championship Game on Saturday against West Division Champion Houston. Kickoff at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium is set for Noon EST and the game will be televised by ESPN 2, with Ron Franklin and Ed Cunningham announcing.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSE
TREVOR VITTATOE - UTEP
QB, Jr., Bedford, Texas (Trinity)
Vittatoe set a school record by throwing for 517 yards in UTEP's 52-21 win over Marshall on Saturday in the Sun Bowl. The previous school standard was 507 yards passing by Bill Craigo at Colorado State in 1970. Vittatoe completed 28-of-40 passes for 517 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions. The five TD passes tied his career high, achieved twice previously. Vittatoe now has four 400-yard passing games in his career, a new school record.
DEFENSE
Bruce Miller - UCF
DE, Jr., Canton, Ga. (Woodstock)
Miller continued to add to his C-USA leading totals with 2.5 tackles for loss and two sacks in UCF's win at UAB, helping the Knights to their sixth consecutive conference victory. He also broke up a pass and had five total tackles on the day. Both of the sacks were in the second half and the PBU was on the second to last play of the game as the Knights held off a late UAB surge. Miller is now seventh in the nation in sacks and 18th in TFLs. The junior's 26 career sacks tie for ninth in C-USA history.
SPECIAL TEAMS
BEN HARTMAN - EAST CAROLINA
Sr, Sr., Winston-Salem, N.C. (North Davidson)
Hartman was a perfect 5-of-5 on all kicks to help East Carolina defeat Southern Miss and clinch its second-straight East Division title. He turned in his third consecutive three field goal performance, connecting from 49 (season-long), 47 and 18 yards out. Hartman has now drilled eight-straight three-pointers, dating back to the Tulsa contest Nov. 15, and has authored multi-FG outings in nine of his last 13 contests. He also moved to within 12 points of ECU's all-time scoring record (287 by Kevin Miller from 1999-02), surpassing Chris Johnson's previous second-place mark of 264 with a total of 275.
C-USA CHAMPIONSHIP GAME RESULTS
2008 Tulsa, Okla.
East Carolina 27, Tulsa 24
MVP: Travis Simmons, DB, East Carolina
2007 Orlando, Fla.
UCF 44, Tulsa 25
MVP: Kevin Smith, RB, UCF
2006 Houston, Texas
Houston 34, Southern Miss 20
MVP: Vincent Marshall, WR, Houston
2005 Orlando, Fla.
Tulsa 44, 27
MVP: Garrett Mills, TE, Tulsa
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME NOTES
HISTORY IN THE MAKING
Houston will become the first nationally-ranked team to play in the Conference USA Football Championship Game as the game celebrates its fifth anniversary. Either East Carolina or Houston will become the first school to win multiple C-USA Football Championship Games, as the 2008 Pirates and 2006 Cougars have been joined by Tulsa (2005) and UCF (2007) as champions of the game.
A CASE STUDY
Houston junior QB Case Keenum leads the FBS in passing yards with 4,922, more than 1,200 yards more than any other quarterback. His 38 touchdown passes tie him with Boise State's Kellen Moore for the most among FBS QB's this season and he now owns the Houston school-record with 96 career TD passes. Keenum has set a Conference USA record by being named Offensive Player of the Week six times this season and was named National Player of the Week by the Walter Camp Foundation on Sept. 13 after winning at then-No. 5 Oklahoma State. Keenum joins Florida's Tim Tebow and Texas' Colt McCoy as the three finalists for the Davey O'Brien Award, given to the nation's top quarterback.
COUGAR CATCHERS
Keenum has three receivers that are having outstanding seasons as they each close in on 1,000 yards. Junior WR James Cleveland has enjoyed a tremendous first season at UH, catching 82 passes for 941 yards and 11 touchdowns. He is joined by a pair of outstanding sophomores in Tyron Carrier (75 receptions, 904 yards, six touchdowns) and Patrick Edwards (74 receptions, 949 yards and five touchdowns). In addition, Carrier has returned three kickoffs for touchdowns.
The three receivers could become the second trio of teammates in three years in Conference USA to reach 1,000 yards in a season. Tulsa's Brennan Marion, Damaris Johnson and Trae Johnson accomplished the feat in 2007.
DWAYNE DOMINATES
East Carolina junior WR Dwayne Harris enters the championship game with 425 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns in his last two games. He is averaging 150.3 all-purpose yards per game on the season and is third in C-USA in kickoff return average (26.3), including three returns for touchdowns. Against Southern Miss, Harris caught eight passes to become the school's all-time leader in receptions with 154.
D CAROLINA
The Pirates again possess one of the top defenses in C-USA, allowing 371.3 yards per game and 21.2 points per game (second in both categories). Seniors C.J. Wilson (53 tackles, 5.5 sacks) and Linval Joseph (54 tackles, 12.5 TFL's) lead the charge up front, while junior S Van Eskridge (83 tackles, 4 INTs) anchors the secondary.
EAST CAROLINA PIRATES
The Pirates defeated Southern Miss in Greenville for the first time since 1994 with a 25-20 decision on Saturday. Senior QB Patrick Pinkney was 25 of 41 passing for 269 yards and junior WR Dwayne Harris and junior DT Linval Joseph had scoring runs for East Carolina, which won the East Division for the second straight year with a 7-1 conference record. Harris finished with 171 all-purpose yards, rushing for 42 yards, catching eight passes for 89 yards and adding 58 kick return yards and seven punt return yards. Senior DL C.J. Wilson provided one of the game's biggest plays on special teams. After Southern Miss had tied the game in the fourth quarter, Wilson burst through the middle to block the PAT, pushed the kicker out of the way to grab the ball near the 25-yard line and raced downfield while being escorted by a convoy of blockers to put the Pirates up 22-20.
HOUSTON COUGARS
Houston won the West Division title when it defeated cross-town rival Rice, 73-14 on Saturday night. The Cougars scored touchdowns on offense, defense and special teams prior to the Owls producing a first down en route to building a 59-0 halftime lead which matched a school record set in 1989. Junior QB Case Keenum completed 25 of 31 passes for 323 yards and two touchdowns without taking a single snap after halftime. Even at that, the Cougars scored their most points in a game since defeating Louisiana Tech, 73-3 in the 1991 season opener. Sophomore Tyron Carrier had a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown (his third of the year) and also added his first career rushing score from 37 yards. Freshman RB Charles Sims had touchdown runs of five and 18 yards and finished the game with 87 yards on 12 carries. Houston has produced 10 regular season victories for just the fourth time in school history.
MARSHALL THUNDERING HERD
The Thundering Herd dropped the regular season finale at UTEP, 52-21. Marshall is bowl-eligible for the first time since 2004. Sophomore QB Brian Anderson was 25-of-47 for a career-high 347 yards and three touchdowns. Redshirt freshman Antavious Wilson matched his career-high with 153 receiving yards on nine catches, including a 50-yard scoring reception. True freshman WR Aaron Dobson caught four passes for 61 yards and a score. The Herd was forced to play without leading rusher Darius Marshall. In his absence, Marshall ran for 146 yards on 33 attempts, with redshirt freshman RB Martin Ward posting a team-best 57 yards on 13 attempts.
MEMPHIS TIGERS
The Tigers closed out the seasons on Friday, falling at Tulsa in overtime, 33-30. Senior RB Curtis Steele tied a school record with four rushing touchdowns in his final game at Memphis. With his four rushing TDs, Steele now totals 15 for the season and 22 for his two-year career. With 232 yards on 19 carries, Steele totaled 1,239 yards this season and moved up to fourth in single-season rushing. DeAngelo Williams holds the top three spots, while Steele is fourth (2009) and fifth (2008). Senior WR Duke Calhoun finished with a reception in all 49 games he played as a Tiger. Calhoun finishes as Memphis' all-time leader in receptions (212) and yardage (2,981).
RICE OWLS
The Owls closed out the season by falling to cross-town rival Houston, 73-14. Freshman RB Charles Ross rushed for 105 yards, his first career 100-yard game. His two rushing touchdowns lifted his season total to 11, the most since Ed Bailey had 12 in 2004. Ross finished the year with a team-leading 491 rushing yards to become the first freshman to lead Rice in rushing since Trevor Cobb rushed for 545 yards in 1989. With sophomore RB Tyler Smith rushing for a game-high 113 yards, Ross and Smith became the first Rice tandem to rush for 100 yards in a single game since Quinton Smith, Tyler's older brother, and John Wall rushed for 143 and 156 yards, respectively, in the Owls' 42-34 win over Tulane on Nov. 12, 2005. Sophomore S Travis Bradshaw was credited with 11 tackles, extending his streak of six consecutive games in double figures. He finished with 121 tackles for the season, tied for eighth in Rice single-season history.
SMU MUSTANGS
The Mustangs closed out the regular season with a 26-21 win over Tulane on Saturday. At 7-5, SMU will be making its first bowl appearance since the 1984 Aloha Bowl. The Mustangs have improved by a school-record six games from last season, the largest improvement in the FBS this season. Senior WR Emmanuel Sanders had six catches for 144 yards, setting the SMU single-season receiving yards record with 1,215, passing the mark of 1,131 yards by Jerry LeVias in 1968. The Mustangs have a 1,000-yard receiver (Sanders 1,215) and a 1,000-yard rusher (junior RB Shawnbrey McNeal 1,125) for just the second time. The other season was 1968 (Jerry LeVias 1,131 receiving, Mike Richardson 1,034 rushing). McNeal is the first 1,000-yard rusher for SMU since Keylon Kincade had 1,280 in 2003 and is the first 1,000-yard rusher for June Jones as a collegiate head coach. McNeal ran for 147 yards and two touchdowns vs. Tulane.
SOUTHERN MISS GOLDEN EAGLES
The Golden Eagles fell at East Carolina on Saturday, 25-20. Sophomore QB Martevious Young was 20-of-44 for 262 yards and one touchdown, while senior RB Damion Fletcher threw the other Southern Miss touchdown on a three-yard halfback option pass to senior TE Leroy Banks. Fletcher ran for 60 yards in the game, which moved him up to 10th place on the all-time FBS rushing list with 5,224 yards. Sophomore WR DeAndre Brown recorded his second straight 100-yard game with seven receptions for 145 yards, including his fifth catch of 36 yards or longer since Young took over as quarterback. Freshman P Peter Boehme now has 11 punts of 50 yards or longer and has pinned the opponent inside the 20-yard line 26 times in 49 attempts.
TULANE GREEN WAVE
The Green Wave closed out the 2009 season with a 26-21 loss at SMU on Saturday. With 105 yards, senior RB Andre Anderson finished the year with 1,016, becoming the fourth player in school history to run for 1,000 yards in a season. Anderson's rushing total, combined with senior WR Jeremy Williams 1,113 receiving yards gives Tulane its first ever 1,000-yard runner and 1,000-yard receiver in the same season. Williams, who scored two TDs on Saturday, finished the season with 84 receptions, the second-highest total in Green Wave annals. He closes his career ranked fourth in catches (197) and receiving yards (2,807) and seventh in TD catches (19). Senior K Ross Thevenot finished his career with 222 points, which ranks third at Tulane.
TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE
The Golden Hurricane closed out the season with a 33-30 win over Memphis on Friday, as junior QB G.J. Kinne tossed a game-tying, two-yard touchdown pass to junior WR Trae Johnson with 30 seconds left to tie the game and Kevin Fitzpatrick booted his fourth field goal in overtime for the game-winner. Kinne completed 27-of-40 passes for 268 yards and three touchdowns with one interception, moving Tulsa 70 yards in nine plays to tie the score. Fitzpatrick added field goals of 25, 31 and 21 yards for the Hurricane to match his career best for field goals in a game. Sophomore WR/KR Damaris Johnson had eight catches for 89 yards and returned three kickoffs for 75 yards to finish with 2,864 all-purpose yards on the season.
UAB BLAZERS
The Blazers fell to UCF on Saturday, 34-27 on Saturday to finish 5-7 on the season. Playing his final game in a UAB uniform, senior QB Joe Webb passed for 322 yards and three TDs and rushed for 137 yards and a score. He finished the season with 1,427 rushing yards, third all-time behind Beau Morgan of Air Force (1,494 in 1996) and Stacey Robinson of Northern Illinois (1,443 in 1989). Junior WR Frantrell Forrest caught his ninth TD pass of the season and finished with six catches for 82 yards. For the second straight week, UAB tallied more than 500 offensive yards against one of the league's top defenses. Last week, it put up 520 yards at East Carolina. This time, the Blazers produced 527 yards against UCF, including 205 on the ground.
UCF KNIGHTS
The Knights won their sixth consecutive Conference USA game on Saturday, defeating UAB, 34-27 in Birmingham. Sophomore RB Brynn Harvey carried 24 times for 130 yards and a touchdown. It was his third straight 100-yard game and he has run for 398 yards and seven touchdowns over his past three games. Harvey now has 14 TDs on the season, the third-highest total in school history and he became the eighth player in school history to reach 1,000 yards in a season. True freshman RB Jonathan Davis added 75 yards and his third touchdown of the year. Junior WR Kamar Aiken's first quarter touchdown was his seventh of the year, tying for the most by a Knight since Mike Sims-Walker had seven in 2006. Senior QB Brett Hodges now has 15 TD passes this year, tying for the most since Steven Moffett's 22 in 2005.
UTEP MINERS
The Miners closed out the season with a 52-21 win over Marshall on Saturday. Junior QB Trevor Vittatoe passed for 517 yards to set a UTEP single-game record, breaking the old record of 507, set by Bill Craigo at Colorado State in 1970. He completed 28-of-40 attempts while tying his career-high with five passing TDs as the Miners won their season finale for the first time since 1986. Vittatoe threw for 3,308 yards this season, making him the only quarterback in school history to have three separate 3,000-yard campaigns. The 3,308 yards are a career-best for Vittatoe and the third-best single-season tally in school annals. Senior WR Jeff Moturi, one of 24 seniors playing their final game for the Miners, established a career-high with 179 yards on seven catches. Junior RB Donald Buckram played sparingly, carrying eight time for 25 yards, but he had a 12-yard touchdown run and he surpassed 2,000 rushing yards for his career.
