Dec. 1, 2008

 

• C-USA Championship Central (complete game coverage)

• Dec. 1 C-USA Football Notebook

IRVING, Texas - With its 38-35 victory at Marshall on Saturday afternoon, combined with Houston's loss at Rice, Tulsa has won the West Division and will host the 2008 Conference USA Football Championship Game. The Golden Hurricane (7-1 in C-USA play, 10-2 overall) will meet the East Division champion East Carolina Pirates (6-2 in C-USA, 8-4 overall) on Saturday, December 6 at H.A. Chapman Stadium. The game will be televised live by ESPN 2, beginning at Noon EST/11 a.m. CST.

"This should be an outstanding matchup, said Commissioner Britton Banowsky. "Both teams have had strong seasons and have been very exciting to watch all season long. We are looking forward to a terrific atmosphere and a great game. "

Tulsa will enter the championship game as the West Division champion for the third time in four years as it seeks a second Conference USA Championship in that span. In 2005, Tulsa won the inaugural C-USA Football Championship Game with a 44-27 victory over UCF. The Golden Hurricane lost to UCF in last year's title game.

The Golden Hurricane has featured one of the top offenses in college football this season. Tulsa has topped the 45-point mark in eight games, including three games with more than 60 points. The offensive triggerman, senior QB David Johnson, has led the FBS in passing efficiency for most of the season and ranks among the national leaders in passing touchdowns with 42. Senior RB Tarrion Adams rushed for more than 1,000 yards for the second straight season to lead the ground game.

East Carolina won its first East Division title on Nov. 22 and closed out the regular season with a convincing 53-21 victory over UTEP on Friday. The Pirates finished 6-2 in C-USA play for the second straight season and won eight regular season games for the first time since 1999, a figure that includes two wins over top 15 teams to open the season.

Senior QB Patrick Pinkney guides the Pirate offensive attack. Pinkney has completed nearly 65 percent of his passes for 2,257 yards and 11 touchdowns. He is aided by a running game that features Brandon Simmons (four touchdowns against UTEP on Friday) and Norman Whitley (4.7 yards per carry). Defensively, ECU leads the league in scoring defense (20.5 ppg) and ranks second in total defense (329.4 ypg).

Tulsa leads the all-time series 5-2, including two wins as members of Conference USA. The Golden Hurricane won the last meeting with the Pirates, 31-10 on Oct. 14, 2006 in Greenville. TU has won two of the three games that have been played in Tulsa.

For ticket information, please visit the football championship page on www.ConferenceUSA.com or www.TulsaHurricane.com.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSE
JAMES CASEY - RICE
TE, So., Azle, Texas (Azle)
Casey broke the C-USA single-season reception record, while running for, throwing for and catching a touchdown pass in the same game for the second time this year to lead the Owls to a 56-42 victory over Houston and give the Owls their first nine win season since 1953. Casey was responsible for five of the Owls eight touchdowns on the day. He tied his career-high with 12 catches, to run his season total to 104, three better than the old league mark of 101 set by Arnold Jackson. He finished with 172 yards (his sixth 100-yard game this year) and tied his career high with three touchdown receptions.

DEFENSE
GERALD MCRATH - SOUTHERN MISS
LB, Jr., Powder Springs, Ga. (McEachern)
McRath tallied a team-high eight tackles (six solos), while tallying a half sack, 1.5 TFLs for 20 yards, a forced fumble and one pass breakup in a win at SMU. He led or tied for the team lead in tackles for the eighth time this season. McRath is the league’s top tackler with 126 stops. He has eight or more tackles in 10 games this season.

SPECIAL TEAMS
SWAYZE WATERS - UAB
PK/P, Sr., Jackson, Miss. (Jackson Prep)
Waters was successful on all five of his field goal attempts and accounted for all of the game’s points in UAB’s 15-0 road victory over UCF. Waters hit from distances of 40, 43, 22, 36 and 28 yards against the Knights as he improved his season numbers to 19-of-24 field goals and an accuracy mark of 79.2 percent, tops among C-USA kickers. Waters finished his Blazer career with 50 field goals in 64 attempts for a 78.1 percentage. He also went over the 200-point mark for his career, finishing with 202.

LAST WEEK’S STARS
Here’s a look at some of the top performers in Conference USA games from Nov. 28-29:

Rushing Attempts
30 Tarrion Adams, TLS (123 yds.)
27 Brandon Simmons, ECU (111 yds.)
23 Curtis Steele, MEM (135 yds.)
22 Joe Webb, UAB (77 yds.)

Rushing Yards
135 Curtis Steele, MEM (23 att.)
123 Tarrion Adams, TLS (30 att.)
111 Brandon Simmons, ECU (27 att.)
110 C.J. Ugokwe, Rice (18 att.)

Rushing Touchdowns
3 Tarrion Adams, TLS
3 Brandon Simmons, ECU
1 Three tied with

Passing Completions
30 Case Keenum, HOU (54 att.)
28 Chase Clement, Rice (41 att.)
26 Bo Levi Mitchell, SMU (49 att.)
23 Trevor Vittatoe, UTEP (41 att.)

Passing Yards
494 Case Keenum, HOU (30-of-54)
381 Chase Clement, Rice (28-of-41)
313 David Johnson, TLS (21-of-33)
313 Trevor Vittatoe, UTEP (23-of-41)

Passing Touchdowns
5 Case Keenum, HOU
5 Chase Clement, Rice
3 Brian Anderson, MAR
2 Four tied with

Receptions
12 James Casey, Rice
11 Justin Willis, SMU
9 Kris Adams, UTEP
8 Damaris Johnson, TLS

Receiving Yards
172 James Casey, RIce (12 rec.)
144 L.J. Castille, HOU (5 rec.)
142 Kierrie Johnson, HOU (6 rec.)
116 Kris Adams, UTEP (9 rec.)
106 Darryl Freeney, ECU (5 rec.)
101 Tyron Carrier, HOU (6 rec.)

Receiving Touchdowns
3 James Casey, Rice
3 L.J. Castille, HOU
2 Darius Passmore, MAR

All-Purpose
265 Tyron Carrier, HOU (2 rush, 101 rcv., 20 pr., 142 kr.)
213 Damaris Johnson, TLS (3 rush, 88 rcv., 122 kr.)
200 James Casey, Rice (10 rush, 172 rcv., 18 pr.)
199 Casey Robottom, TLN (15 rush, 14 rcv., 4 pr., 166 kr.)

2008 C-USA FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Tulsa will enter the championship game as the West Division champion for the third time in four years as it seeks a second Conference USA Championship in that span. In 2005, Tulsa won the inaugural C-USA Football Championship Game with a 44-27 victory over UCF. The Golden Hurricane lost to UCF in last year’s title game.

East Carolina won its first East Division title on Nov. 22 and closed out the regular season with a convincing 53-21 victory over UTEP on Friday. The Pirates finished 6-2 in C-USA play for the second straight season and won eight regular season games for the first time since 1999, a figure that includes two wins over top 15 teams to open the season.

EAST CAROLINA at TULSA
Saturday, December 6 - Tulsa, Oklahoma
11 a.m. (CST) - H.A. Chapman Stadium (30,000)
All-Time Series:Tulsa leads 5-2
Last Meeting: Tulsa 31, East Carolina 10 (Oct. 20, 2006)
Television: ESPN2
Announcers: Dave Pasch (PxP), Andre Ware (Analyst)

EAST CAROLINA (8-4, 6-2 in C-USA)
Website: www.ecupirates.com
Head Coach: Skip Holtz (Notre Dame, ’86)
Career Record: 62-44 (9th year)
Record at ECU: 28-21 (4th year)
Offense: Multiple
Defense: Multiple
Leading Passer: Patrick Pinkney (195-of-303, 2,257 yds.,11 TD)
Leading Rusher: Norman Whitley (121 att., 563 yds., 3 TD)
Leading Receiver: Dwayne Harris (58 rec., 654 yds., 1 TD)
Last Game: East Carolina 53, UTEP 21 (Nov. 28)
Next Game: Bowl Game TBD

TULSA (10-2, 7-1 in C-USA)
Website: www.tulsahurricane.com
Head Coach: Todd Graham (West Texas State, ’87)
Career Record: 27-12 (3rd year)
Record at Tulsa:20-6 (2nd year)
Offense: Spread No Huddle
Defense: 3-4
Leading Passer: David Johnson (220-of-333, 3,671 yds., 42 TD)
Leading Rusher: Tarrion Adams (200 att., 1,196 yds., 9 TD)
Leading Receiver: Damaris Johnson (44 rec., 588 yds., 9 TD)
Last Game: Tulsa 38, Marshall 35
Next Game: Bowl Game TBD

TULSA VS. EAST CAROLINA SERIES
(Tulsa Leads 5-2)

2006 Tulsa 31 at East Carolina 10
2005 at Tulsa 45 East Carolina 13
1995 at East Carolina 28 Tulsa 7
1994 East Carolina 28 at Tulsa 21
1993 Tulsa 52 at East Carolina 26
1985 Tulsa 21 at East Carolina 20
1984 at Tulsa 31 East Carolina 20

LAST MEETING
Tulsa 31, East Carolina 10 (Oct. 14, 2006)

The Golden Hurricane won the last meeting with the Pirates, 31-10, on Oct. 14, 2006 in Greenville. TU has won two of the three games that have been played in Tulsa.

AIR ATTACK
Of the top nine leaders in touchdown passes this season, four hail from the West Division of Conference USA. Houston’s Case Keenum is second, trailing Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford by just three TDs, while Tulsa’s David Johnson is next with 42. Here’s a look at the NCAA leaders (through games of Nov. 29):

MOST TOUCHDOWN PASSES IN 2008
46 Sam Bradford, Oklahoma
43 Case Keenum, Houston
42 David Johnson, Tulsa
41 Chase Clement, Rice
41 Graham Harrell, Texas Tech
34 Chase Daniel, Missouri
34 Max Hall, BYU
34 Tim Hiller, Western Michigan
33 Trevor Vittatoe, UTEP

AIR ATTACK II
Last season, Tulsa’s Paul Smith set a new Conference USA record by throwing 47 touchdown passes. Houston sophomore Case Keenum has now moved into second place on the list with 43, followed closely by Tulsa’s David Johnson with 42. Before this season, just four QB’s in league history had thrown 30 or more TDs in a season. Currently, four have already thrown for 30+ scores. Here’s a look at the leaders:

C-USA SINGLE-SEASON TD PASS LEADERS
47 Paul Smith, Tulsa, 2007
43 Case Keenum, Houston, 2008
42 David Johnson, Tulsa, 2008
41 Chase Clement, Rice, 2008
36 Shaun King, Tulane, 1998
33 Trevor Vittatoe, UTEP, 2008
33 J.P. Losman, Tulane, 2003

CATCHING ON
Rice’s James Casey currently is second in the nation in total receptions with a C-USA record 104 (through games of Nov. 29). Here’s a look at the leaders:

MOST RECEPTIONS IN 2008
113 Casey Fitzgerald, North Texas
104 James Casey, Rice
98 Jamarko Simmons, Western Michigan
95 Austin Collie, BYU
93 Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech

70 SOMETHING
On Nov. 15, Houston became the fourth different C-USA team to record 70 points in a game this season as they defeated Tulsa, 70-30. Prior to this season, C-USA teams had only reached the 70 point mark twice in 12 seasons. Here’s a look at the 70-point games in league history:

MOST POINTS SCORED IN A GAME
77 Tulsa vs. UTEP (35), 10-18-08
77 Rice vs. North Texas (20), 9-27-08
72 Tulane vs. Southwestern Louisiana (20), 10-31-98
70 Houston vs. Tulsa (30), 11-15-08
70 Southern Miss vs. UAB (14), 11-1-08
70 Louisville vs. Cincinnati (7), 11-27-04

DYNAMIC DUO
Chase Clement and Jarett Dillard became the all-time NCAA record holders for TDs by a duo on Sept 27. Clement and Dillard have combined for 50 scores in four seasons together at Rice. The duo has produced at least one touchdown in 34 of their last 41 games, including nine of 12 this season.

MOST TOUCHDOWNS BY A DUO
50 Chase Clement and Jarett Dillard, Rice (2005-08)
39 Tim Rattay and Troy Edwards, Louisiana Tech (1997-98)
39 Colt Brennan and Devone Bess, Hawai’i (2005-07)

BIG PLAYS
When DeAndre Brown grabbed an Austin Davis pass and raced 97 yards for a touchdown Nov. 15 against East Carolina, it tied for the second-longest pass play in C-USA history. Earlier this season, Tulsa’s David Johnson and Brennan Marion also hooked up on a 97-yard scoring strike. Here’s a look at the longest passing plays in league history:

LONGEST PASSING PLAYS IN C-USA HISTORY
98t Brandon Hassell to Reggie Harrell, TCU at Arizona (9-27-03)
97t Austin Davis to DeAndre Brown, USM vs. ECU (11-15-08)
97t David Johnson to Brennan Marion, Tulsa vs. UTEP (10-18-08)
95t Darrell Hackney to Roddy White, UAB at Cincinnati (10-11-03)

HEY, JOE
UAB’s Joe Webb is currently third among the nation’s quarterbacks with 1,021 rushing yards, averaging 85.1 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 (as of Nov. 29):

MOST RUSHING YARDS BY A QB
1,370 Julian Edelman, Kent State
1,115 Colin Kaepernick, UNLV
1,021 Joe Webb, UAB

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.

OFFENSIVE FIREPOWER
Conference USA is currently ranked second among FBS conferences in total offense, with league teams averaging 401.7 yards per game. Only the Big 12, at 439.8 ypg., is higher. C-USA also trails only the Big 12 in touchdown passes per game, with C-USA teams throwing 2.06 per outing to the Big 12’s 2.32. C-USA has moved up to second among FBS conferences in scoring at 28.8 points per game, trailing only the Big 12 at 35.9 ppg. C-USA is also running more total plays per game (69.6) than any conference other than the Big 12 (70.6).

PIRATES PURGE RANKED OPPONENTS
East Carolina jumped into the national polls in September, ranking as high as No. 14. The Pirates defeated No. 15 Virginia Tech and No. 8 West Virginia on back-to-back Saturdays to become the first team from a non-BCS AQ conference to win consecutive games over ranked opponents in the same season since Fresno State in 2001.

ECU NATIONAL NOTORIETY
ECU was named the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week by the Football Writers Association of America on Sept. 8 and won the Pontiac Game Changing Performance Play of the Week on Sept. 1 for T.J. Lee’s blocked punt and return for the game-winning touchdown vs. then-No. 15 Virginia Tech.

PIRATE TREASURES
ECU downed UTEP 53-21 on Friday to finish the regular season at 8-4. The eight wins are the most for the Pirates since 1999. ECU has now won five of its last six and 10 of its last 14 contests. They also won six of their last seven home games against C-USA members and five of their last six against C-USA West Division members.

TWO FOR 100
ECU RB Brandon Simmons (111 yds. rush) and WR Darryl Freeney (106 yds. receiving) both reached the century mark against UTEP. The last time ECU had a 100-yard rusher and receiver in the same game was on Oct. 13, 2007 also against UTEP in El Paso.

Simmons’ 111 yards were a career-best and came on a career-high 27 carries. He also notched a career-high three rushing TDs and added a receiving score for a career-best four total TDs. He rumbled in from 12, six and two yards out and caught a 7-yard TD pass from QB Patrick Pinkney in the second quarter. Simmons now has 14 career TDs (11 rush, three receiving).

PATRICK THE PIRATE
East Carolina QB Patrick Pinkney recorded his ninth career 200-plus passing game (seven in 2008) after completing 19-of-23 passes for 228 yards against UTEP. He threw two TDs and completed first four passes to start the game before throwing an incompletion. Pinkney connected with Darryl Freeney (32-yards) in the first quarter and Brandon Simmons (7 yards) in second quarter for scores and has now thrown a TD in 9-of-12 games this season.

On the season, Pinkney has completed nearly 65 percent of his passes for 2,257 yards and 11 touchdowns.

TRACY SENDS TULSA TO TITLE GAME
Tulsa PK Jarod Tracy made up for a missed field goal with 8:24 left to play against Marshall, by booting the game-winner from 22 yards out with 3:42 left in the game to give Tulsa the 38-35 win and propel them into their third C-USA Championship game in four seasons.

Tracy is 8-of-11 on field goal attempts and 69-of-71 on PATs in 2008 for a team-leading 93 points. Tracy moved into third-place on the school’s career scoring list with 271 career points.

GROUND ATTACK
Tulsa RB Tarrion Adams ran for 123 yards and three touchdowns to lead TU past Marshall, 38-35, to clinch Conference USA’s West division on Saturday. Adams scored from one, one and six yards out. Adams moved from ninth place to sixth-place on the school’s single-season rushing chart and the Golden Hurricane had 203 rushing yards as a team against the Herd.

Tulsa’s first rushing touchdown of the game was the 33rd of the season, breaking the modern day record of 32 established in 1982. The Golden Hurricane now has 35 rushing scores in 2008.

7 FOR 10
Tulsa has won 10 games for the seventh time in school history and for the second consecutive season. It is the first time in the 113-year history of the program that it has notched back-to-back 10-win seasons. Since 2003, TU has won 46 games.

Tulsa will enter the championship game as the West Division champion for the third time in four years as it seeks a second Conference USA Championship in that span. The Golden Hurricane defeated UCF in the inaugural game in 2005 and fell to the Knights in 2007.

OWLS PERFECT AT HOME
Rice (9-3) won nine games in a season for the first time since the Cotton Bowl champion team of 1953. Rice also went 6-0 at home this season, the first unblemished mark at Rice Stadium since 2001 (5-0). The last time the Owls went 6-0 at home was by the Cotton Bowl champion team of 1949.

TD RESPONSIBILITY
Rice QB Chase Clement is now responsible for 120 touchdowns (96 pass, 24 rush) and has sole possession of first place on the C-USA list for career TDs.

C-USA CAREER TD RESPONSIBILITY LEADERS
120 Chase Clement, Rice (2006-present)
109 Paul Smith, Tulsa (2005-07, 82 pass 27 rush)

CHASING THE RECORDS
Rice QB Chase Clement finished with 381 passing yards (28-of-41) and five touchdowns in the Owls’ 56-42 win over Houston. He has thrown for over 300 yards in six of his last seven games and the Owls improved to 8-4 when Clement throws for more than 300 yards.

With 439 yards of total offense, Clement became the first Rice player and fifth player in C-USA history to surpass 11,100 career yards. The Alamo Heights, Texas product now has 11,147 yards and trails Tulsa’s Paul Smith (11,304 from 2005-07) for fourth place on the C-USA list.

Clement moved into seventh place on the C-USA career passing yards list. He now has 9,478 passing yards and is 409 yards away from eclipsing UAB’s Darrell Hackney (9,886 yards) for sixth.

With his 58 rushing yards on 13 carries, Clement moved into 13th place on the school’s all-time list for rushing with 1,669 yards. He is the first player in C-USA history to throw for more than 8,000 yards and rush for more than 1,600 yards.

TOUCHDOWN PASSES
After throwing five TD passes against Houston on Saturday, Rice quarterback Chase Clement now has 96 career TD passes to extend his all-time Conference USA TD pass record. Check this section throughout the season to monitor his progress.

C-USA CAREER TD PASS LEADERS
1. 96 Chase Clement, Rice, 2005-present
2. 85 Kevin Kolb, Houston, 2003-06
3. 84 Chris Redman, Louisville, 1996-99
4. 82 Paul Smith, Tulsa, 2005-07

CATCH THIS
Rice sophomore WR/TE James Casey set the C-USA record for single-season receptions on Saturday against Houston after he registered 12 catches for 172 yards and three TDs. The sophomore now has 104 on the season. Here’s a look at the leaders:

C-USA SINGLE-SEASON RECEPTION LEADERS
104 James Casey, Rice, 2008 (1,045 yards)
101 Arnold Jackson, Louisville, 1999 (1,209 yards)
94 JaJuan Dawson, Tulane, 1999 (1,036 yards)
91 Donnie Avery, Houston, 2007 (1,456 yards)
91 Jarett Dillard, Rice, 2006 (1,247 yards)
91 Arnold Jackson, Louisville, 1998 (1,175 yards)

“THOR” DOES IT ALL
Rice sophomore WR/TE James Casey caught three touchdown passes from Chase Clement, scored another on a 1-yard plunge and threw a 3-yard touchdown pass in the Owls’ win over Houston. Casey had his sixth 100-yard receiving day and became the second player in Rice history to catch at least 10 TD passes in a season.

Casey has recorded at least five receptions in 18-straight games dating back to the Houston game last season and now has 150 career receptions. The mark is just two catches shy of equaling David Houser (1974, 76-78) for third place on the Rice list.

CAREER CATCHES
Rice’s Jarett Dillard now sits in second place on the all-time C-USA reception list, just 16 catches away from all-time lead. Here is a look at the career reception leaders. Check this section throughout the season to monitor his progress.

300 Arnold Jackson, Louisville, 1997-00 (3,670 yards)
284 Jarett Dillard, Rice, 2005-present (4,052 yards)
272 Vincent Marshall, Houston, 2003-06 (3,770 yards)

RECEIVING YARDS GAINED
After 43 yards against Houston on Saturday, Rice’s Jarett Dillard extended his all-time C-USA receiving yards record. Here is a look at the all-time leaders. Check this section throughout the season to monitor his progress.

4,052 Jarett Dillard, Rice, 2005-present (284 catches)
3,770 Vincent Marshall, Houston, 2003-06 (272 catches)
3,670 Arnold Jackson, Louisville, 1997-00 (300 catches)

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 Oct. 18. Webb now has 1,021 yards, after scampering for 80 yards against UCF on Saturday. Webb also is tied for second in the league in rushing TDs with 11.

SINGLE-SEASON RUSHING BY A QUARTERBACK
1,021 Joe Webb, UAB 2008
699 Justin Willis, SMU 2007
606 Chad Plummer, Cincinnati 1997

MOST TOUCHDOWNS
With 59 career touchdowns, Rice’s Jarett Dillard has moved into second place all-time on the C-USA career TD list, just one behind the career leader. Check this section throughout the season to monitor his progress.

1. 60 DeAngelo Williams, Memphis, 2002-05
2. 59 Jarett Dillard, Rice, 2005-present

TOUCHDOWN CATCHES
With two TD catches against Marshall on Nov. 22, Rice’s Jarett Dillard extended his own C-USA record for career touchdown catches. The senior now has 59 and also owns the NCAA career mark. Dillard is one of two active FBS players with 40 career TD receptions. Here is a look at the career touchdown catch leaders:

59 Jarett Dillard, Rice, 2005-present
35 Roydell Williams, Tulane, 2001-04
33 Ibn Green, Louisville, 1996-99
31 JaJuan Dawson, Tulane, 1996-98
31 Arnold Jackson, Louisville, 1997-00

SCORES of SCORES
Conference USA teams have notched an impressive 33 non-offensive scores so far in 2008, including 13 interceptions that have been returned for TDs. The league also has six fumble recoveries for scores, six kickoff return TDs, two blocked field goals returned for touchdowns, two safeties, a punt return TD and has converted the rare blocked PAT that was returned for two points on two occasions.

With the safety by UAB against Marshall on Oct. 18, C-USA has put points on the board in every way possible. East Carolina, Rice, UCF and UTEP account for 18 of the 26 scores, with Owls leading the way with five non-offensive scores so far this season.

CASE IN POINT
With three straight completions to start the game against Rice on Saturday, Houston QB Case Keenum set the NCAA Division I record for consecutive completions. Keenum completed his last 22 passes against UTEP (Nov. 2, 2008), the third-highest single-game total in NCAA Division I history.

Keenum finished the Rice game 30-of-54 for 494 yards and five TDs. It was the 15th multi-touchdown game of his career and he has thrown a TD in 15 consecutive games. It was the eighth game of his career with at least three TDs and the fourth straight game he has tossed for three or more scores.

The 494 yards extended his school record of 300+ yard passing games to 13-straight and it was the fifth 400-yard passing game of his career. The sophomore now has 43 TD passes on the season to become just the third Cougar to throw for 40 or more scores in a season. He joins David Klingler (52 touchdowns in 1990) and Andre Ware (46 touchdowns in 1989).

CALHOUN CATCHES
Memphis WR Duke Calhoun made his first catch of game in the third quarter on a 9-yard pass from Arkelon Hall. He extended his receiving streak to 36 games as he has caught a pass in each of his 36 career games played. He entered Saturday’s game tied for 11th nationally in active receiving streaks. The 36 games is a school record for the junior.

TIGERS WITH 6 TO GET 6
Memphis scored six rushing touchdowns in the win over Tulane, which ties for third all-time in the program’s history. The U of M record is seven rushing touchdowns against North Texas State in 1971 and The Citadel in 1962. The last time the Tigers have had six rushing touchdowns came in 1972 against Wichita State and Tulsa.

With the win, Memphis improved to 6-6 and became bowl eligible for the fifth time in the last six years.

SMALL GAINS
Marshall RB Chubb Small scored on a 69-yard touchdown run in the second quarter for the Herd. It was a career long run for the senior and the longest run of the season against the Tulsa defense. The prior longest run against the Golden Hurricane this season was only 38 yards.

Terrell Edwards later scored on a career-long 53-yard run in the third quarter. It was a career-long for Edwards. Marshall recorded a season-high with 437 yards of total offense and 260 yards of rushing.

RECORD DAY FOR MUSTANGS
SMU’s Jessie Henderson became the NCAA career record holder for kickoff return yards in SMU’s loss to Southern Miss on Saturday, finishing with 2,945.

Five other records were broken in the game, four team marks and an individual mark. The Mustangs had 1,392 kickoff return yards as a team in 2008, breaking the previous SMU record of 1,292 from 2007. The other team records set were TD passes (31), passing yards (3,275) and passing yards per game (284.5).

In addition, former QB turned WR Justin Willis had his first career receiving TD, which set the SMU record for career TD responsibility with 58. He now has 51 passing TDs, 6 rushing TDs, and a receiving TD.

CAN’T CATCH FLETCH
USM RB Damion Fletcher broke the school’s career record for carries with a two-yard rush in the second quarter for his 769th career carry breaking Derrick Nix’s mark set from 1998-2000 and 2002. He finished the day with 19 carries, giving him 788 for his career.

GOLDEN FINISH
With its 28-12 victory Saturday over SMU, Southern Miss became bowl-eligible for the 15th-straight season and secured a spot in one of the six bowl games affiliated with Conference USA. By winning its last four games to end the regular season, the Golden Eagles are one of six teams within C-USA which garnered bowl eligibility.

PICKED OFF
UCF’s Joe Burnett recorded his 16th career interception against Memphis on Saturday to move into second place on Conference USA’s all-time interception list. Here’s a look at the top interceptors in C-USA history:

18 Anthony Floyd, Louisville, 1999-02
16 Joe Burnett, UCF, 2005-08
15 Kevin Sanders, UAB, 2005-08
15 Quentin Demps, UTEP, 2005-07
14 Sha’reff Rashad, UCF, 2005-08
14 Lynaris Elpheage, Tulane, 2000-02
14 Rashad Holman, Louisville, 1997-00

Kevin Sanders of UAB registered his seventh interception of the season against UCF, a total that ties him for the NCAA lead and is three better than the second-best number among C-USA defensive backs. Sanders finished with 15 career interceptions, second all-time at UAB and tied for third all-time in C-USA history.

SWAYZE HAS A DAY
UAB PK/P Swayze Waters booted five field goals for the second time in his career in the win over UCF. Waters was 5-for-5 against the Knights and finished the season with 19-of-24 field goals. Waters’ 19 field goals in 2008 were second in C-USA by only one and his accuracy mark of 79.2 is the best among conference kickers. Waters ranks No. 14 in the NCAA in field goals made per game (1.58) and is No. 16 in punting (43.6 avg.).

ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICANS
Rice TE James Casey and Memphis DB Brandon Patterson were both recently named CoSIDA ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America. Casey was named to the Academic All-American second team after compiling a 3,84 GPA with a triple major in Economics, Managerial Studies and Sports Management. Patterson was named an All-American in both 2007 and 2008, and becomes the only Tiger football player to earn such a distinction twice in his career. He graduated from the U of M in August 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in finance, and currently holds a 3.7 grade point average in graduate school.

EAST CAROLINA PIRATES
The Pirates closed out the regular season with a 53-21 win over UTEP on Friday. The victory gave East Carolina eight regular season wins for the first time since 1999 and allowed the Pirates to finish 6-2 in C-USA play for the second straight season. Senior RB Brandon Simmons established career highs for rushing attempts (27), rushing yards (111), rushing touchdowns (three) and total touchdowns (four). Freshman WR Daryl Freeney set new career-bests with five catches for 106 yards, including his first collegiate touchdown. Simmons and Freeney gave East Carolina a 100-yard rusher and a 100-yard receiver in the same game for the first time since Oct, 13, 2007 vs. UTEP. East Carolina scored on nine of 10 offensive drives on the afternoon (five touchdowns, four field goals), including five in the first half to take a 30-7 lead. The Pirates had a season-high 475 yards of total offense (231 rushing and 244 passing). ECU did not have to punt in the game, marking the first time that has happened since Sept. 3, 1983 at Florida State.

HOUSTON COUGARS
Needing a win to clinch the West Division title, Houston fell to cross-town rival Rice in the “Battle for the Bayou Bucket”, 56-42, on Saturday. Sophomore QB Case Keenum threw for 494 yards and five touchdowns, and set a Football Bowl Subdivision record with 25 straight pass completions. Keenum finished the game 30-of-54, and he is one game shy of tying the NCAA record of 14 consecutive 300-yard passing games. It was the 15th multi-touchdown game of his career and he has thrown a TD in 15 consecutive games. It was the eighth game of his career with at least three TDs and the fourth straight game he has tossed for three or more scores. The sophomore now has 43 TD passes on the season to become just the third Cougar to throw for 40 or more scores in a season. Sophomore WR L.J. Castile led Houston with five catches for a career-high 144 yards and three touchdowns. With 142 receiving yards, freshman WR Kierrie Johnson notched a career-high in receiving yards as well as his second career 100-yard receiving game. RB Bryce Beall’s 17 rushing attempts increased his freshman attempts record to 176 and his two-yard TD run in the second quarter marked his sixth-straight game with at least one rushing TD.

MARSHALL THUNDERING HERD
Marshall racked up a season-high 437 yards of offense, including 260 on the ground, but it wasn’t enough to prevent a 38-35 shootout loss to Conference USA West Division Champion Tulsa at Joan C. Edwards Stadium on Saturday. Marshall got a combined 185 yards rushing on 18 carries from Darius Marshall and Chubb Small, including a career-long 69-yard touchdown run from Small. Freshman Terrell Edwards tacked on 53 yards and a score on just three touches. QB Brian Anderson started his first game of the season in place of the the injured Mark Cann and completed 14-of-19 passes for 177 yards and three touchdowns. Anderson found WR Darius Passmore for a 42-yard touchdown pass to tie the score at 21 just before halftime. Marshall had an opportunity to tie or take the lead, but Small was stopped on fourth-and-1 at the Thundering Herd’s 49-yard line with 1:56 left in the game.

MEMPHIS TIGERS
Senior WR Steven Black ran for three touchdowns and Memphis became bowl eligible with a 45-6 win over Tulane on Saturday. The Tigers are now bowl-eligible for the fifth time in six seasons. Memphis reached six wins while weathering midseason injuries to three of its top four quarterbacks to clinch postseason play. Black, a receiver, took six direct snaps out of the “wild” formation for 38 yards and scores of 36, 2 and 1 yards. Junior RB Curtis Steele ran for 135 yards and a score, giving him 1,175 yards for the season - the fourth best one-year effort in school history. Senior WR Maurice Jones opened the scoring with a 13-yard touchdown run off a direct snap for Memphis, who stretched its lead to a 31-0 lead midway through the third, and freshman RB Brandon Ross scored on a 1-yard run in the final period to cap the scoring. The Tigers rolled up 379 of their 488 total yards on the ground. Junior QB Arkelon Hall, who returned last week after being out with a broken thumb suffered at East Carolina on Oct. 18, hit 10-of-12 passes for 109 yards. Memphis’ defense limited Tulane to 222 yards and forced three turnovers, a fumble recovery by senior FS Brandon Patterson and interceptions from junior LB Greg Jackson and senior DB Michael Grandberry. The Tigers also blocked a field goal try.

RICE OWLS
Senior QB Chase Clement threw for 381 yards and five touchdowns in a 56-42 win over Houston on Saturday. Sophomre TE/WR James Casey caught three touchdown passes from Clement, scored another on a 1-yard plunge and threw a 3-yard touchdown pass for the Owls who improved to 6-0 at home this season, the first unblemished mark at Rice Stadium since 2001 (5-0). The last time the Owls went 6-0 at home was by the Cotton Bowl champion team of 1949. Casey’s 104 catches this season are a single-season conference record. Rice is 9-3 overall and has won nine games in a season for the first time since the Cotton Bowl champion team of 1953. Rice eclipsed its scoring record for a season and now has racked up 499 points this year. The previous full season mark was 377 points set during 2007. The Owls’ 56 points in the game were the most for the team in a Bayou Bucket game. Two of Rice’s eight touchdown drives covered at least 75 yards. The Owls have notched 24 TD drives this season of 75 yards or more. Thirteen of those 24 drives have come in Rice’s last four games. Freshman DB Travis Bradshaw made 12 tackles, forced a fumble and broke up one pass. He racked up 12 tackles against Southern Miss, Tulane and Army earlier this season and had 11 last week vs. Marshall.

SMU MUSTANGS
The Mustangs closed out the season with a 28-12 loss to Southern Miss on Saturday. Senior Jessie Henderson became the NCAA’s career record holder for kickoff return yards, finishing his career with 2,945. Junior Justin Willis had his first career receiving touchdown, which set the SMU record for career TD responsibility with 58. He now has 51 passing TDs, 6 rushing TDs, and a receiving TD. He finished the game with career highs of 11 receptions for 88 yards. Freshman QB Bo Levi Mitchell was 26-of-49 for 253 yards and one touchdown. He helped SMU set new single-season team records for passing touchdowns (31) and passing yards (3,275). Senior P/K Thomas Morstead, playing in his final game at SMU, connected on two field goals and punted five times for a 44.2 average, including a career-high-tying five punts of 50-plus yards. With 37 career field goals, he finished second on SMU’s all-time list and his 217 points placed him fifth. Morstead had a career punting average of 43.4, which ranks third at SMU. southern Miss golden eagles The Golden Eagles won at SMU on Saturday, 28-6, to become bowl-eligible for the 15th consecutive season. The victory was the fourth straight for Southern Miss and the Eagles have allowed a total of just 35 points in those four games (8.7 avg.) after allowing 31.4 ppg in the season’s first eight games. Freshman QB Austin Davis was 15-of-26 for 212 yards and two touchdowns. He also set a new Southern Miss record for pass attempts with 409. Junior RB Damion Fletcher broke the school’s career record for carries with a two-yard rush in the second quarter and he now has 788 for his career. His third quarter TD run was the 35th of his career, putting him just five away from setting a new school record. Southern Miss set a single-season school record with 5,220 yards of total offense, breaking the previous mark set just last year. The Golden Eagles have forced two or more turnovers in five straight games and have nine total games with at least two turnovers. Southern Miss has limited its opponents less than 100 rushing yards in each of the last four games, the first time it has accomplished that since the first five games of the 2001 season.

TULANE GREEN WAVE
The Green Wave dropped a 45-6 decision to Memphis on Saturday to conclude their 2008 season. Tulane’s only score came on an 8-yard run by sophomore WR Casey Robottom late in the third quarter, his first collegiate TD. Junior PK Ross Thevenot missed the extra point, his first miss since early in the 2006 season. Senior C Micheal Parenton started his 30th consecutive game, the longest actice streak for the Green Wave, while sophomore OL Andrew Nierman made his 24th straight start. Senior WR Michael Batiste extended his receptions streak to 12 games with an 11-yard catch from QB Kevin Moore.

TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE
Tarrion Adams ran for 123 yards and three touchdowns to lead Tulsa past Marshall, 38-35, on Saturday to clinch Conference USA’s West division on Saturday. Adams scored from one, one and six yards out, and Tulsa finished with 516 total yards to Marshall’s 437. The Golden Hurricane, which will be making its third appearance in the conference title game, benefited from Rice knocking off Houston 56-42 and then defeated Marshall to earn the right to host East Carolina next week. Tulsa took a 38-35 lead with 3:42 to play in the fourth quarter on PK Jarod Tracy’s 22-yard field goal. Tracy is 8-of-11 on field goal attemts and 69-of-71 on PATs in 2008 for a team-leading 93 points. Tracy moved into third-place on the school’s career scoring list with 271 career points. Senior QB David Johnson was 21-of-33 for 313 yards and two touchdown passes. Adams moved from ninth place to sixth-place on the school’s single-season rushing chart and the Golden Hurricane had 203 rushing yards as a team against the Herd. Tulsa’s first rushing touchdown of the game was the 33rd of the season, breaking the modern day record of 32 established in 1982. The Golden Hurricane now has 35 rushing scores in 2008. TU is 10-2 so far in 2008 and has won 10 games for the seventh time in school history and for the second consecutive season. It is the first time in the 113-year history of the program that it has notched back-to-back 10-win seasons. Since 2003, TU has won 46 games.

UAB BLAZERS
The Blazers closed out the season with a 15-0 win at UCF, their second straight road victory and their first-ever win over UAB in six tries. The shutout marked the first time they have ever blanked a Conference USA opponent. Senior K Swayze Waters tied a C-USA record with five field goals, connecting from 40, 43, 22, 36 and 28 yards. Junior QB Joe Webb had 324 yards of total offense, completing 20-of-28 passes for 244 yards, while rushing 22 times for 80 yards. The 80 yards on the ground allowed him to become the first quarterback in league history top 1,000 rushing yards in a season, as he finished with 1,021. Junior WR Mark Ferrell had five catches for a career-high 82 yards. UAB currently ranks No. 35 in the country in rushing per game, an improvement of 69 spots from 104th where the Blazers finished the 2007 season. UAB also ran for 18 touchdowns this season after scoring just five times on the ground last year.

UCF KNIGHTS
The Knights closed out the season with a 15-0 shutout loss to UAB on Saturday. Freshman RB Brynn Harvey carried 15 times for 90 yards. Saturday marked the final game for several members of UCF’s secondary. Three of the seniors rank among the top 12 active NCAA leaders in interceptions. Joe Burnett is tied for second with 16, Sha’Reff Rashad is fifth with 15 and Johnell Neal is 12th with 12. Those three players, along with Jason Venson, combined for 183 starts and 50 INTs. Burnett finished the year with 102.2 all-purpose yards per game despite having no rushing or receiving yards. Since 2000, only two other players in the nation have finished in the Top 100 nationally in all-purpose yardage with no offensive gains. Four different freshman (QB Rob Calbrese, Harvey, and RB’s Latavius Murray and Ronnie Weaver) scored touchdowns for UCF this season. Sophomore DT Bruce Miller had four tackles for loss against UAB, giving him 17 on the season, the seventh-highest total in school history.

UTEP MINERS
The Miners closed out their season with a 53-21 loss at East Carolina on Friday. Sophomore QB Trevor Vittatoe was 23-of-41 for 313 yards and two touchdowns. The two TD passes allowed him to extend his program-record to 33 scoring strikes on the season, including eight games with three or more. His 313 passing yards gives the sophomore 6,375 for his career and moves him into third on the all-time UTEP list. Sophomore WR Kris Adams had nine receptions for 166 yards and a touchdown, his 14th of the season. He scored nine touchdowns in the final four games of the season and he finished one shy of Lee Mays’ school record 15, set in 2000. Sophomore WR Evan Davis became the 18th different Miner to score a touchdown this season when he reeled in a 54-yard pass for his first career touchdown in the third quarter.