GAME NOTES: West Division rivals face off at Chapman Field this weekend, as the 13th-ranked Houston Cougars lock up with the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in a Conference USA matchup.
The Cougars claimed the West Division crown back in 2006, but Tulsa has taken the last two titles, giving Houston even more motivation heading into this weekend. Houston kept control of its destiny in the West Division courtesy of a last-minute 50-43 shootout victory over Southern Miss this past weekend.
"Every week you see wild games and you hope you're not part of it," said head coach Kevin Sumlin. "It's how you finish that situation. Our guys didn't panic, we made enough plays to win and that's the bottom line."
Houston is now tied with SMU atop the West Division standings at 3-1, but the Cougars defeated the Mustangs the prior week, giving them the edge in the tie- breaker. At 7-1 overall, the Cougars are off to their best start since 1990, as they continue to climb the national rankings.
For Tulsa, it had become the team-to-beat in C-USA after consecutive double- digit win campaigns in 2007-08. The Hurricane however, has fallen off this season courtesy of a current three-game losing skid, its longest since dropping three in a row to start the 2004 campaign. In last weekend's C-USA home-opener, Tulsa came out flat and was stunned by SMU in a 27-13 setback.
"Naturally, a very disappointing day for us," said head coach Todd Graham. "We didn't play very good in all three phases."
The Hurricane is now just 2-2 within the conference and it has dropped four games overall, one more than all of last year.
This is the 35th encounter between Houston and Tulsa, with the Cougars holding a slim 18-16 edge in the all-time series. Houston blasted Tulsa last season, 70-30, exacting revenge for a 56-7 loss the prior year.
Quarterback Case Keenum showed exactly why he deserves Heisman Trophy consideration, as he threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Patrick Edwards with 21 seconds left to give Houston a 50-43 win over USM this past weekend.
"Keenum's level of play establishes an attitude for our whole team," said coach Sumlin. "If we're behind, we're going to win the game and if it's close we're going to win that game. I don't think there's any doubt on our whole team."
USM had actually just tied the game with 57 seconds left before Keenum drove Houston 77 yards in just 36 seconds for the game-winning score. Keenum finished the game 44-of-54 for a career-best 559 yards and five touchdowns, helping the Cougars pile up 750 yards of total offense. Houston is averaging an electric 563.2 total ypg behind Keenum, who has now completed 71.6 percent of his tosses for over 3,000 yards, with 25 touchdowns against only five picks.
James Cleveland has emerged as Keenum's favorite target, but there are plenty of weapons in the Cougars' arsenal, including four players with at least 37 catches. Cleveland heads the group with 62 catches for 686 yards and eight scores, and last weekend he enjoyed a career day, pulling in 13 passes for 190 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
In the backfield, Bryce Beall appears to have lost his grip on the starting job, as freshman Charles Sims begins to emerge. Sims went for 95 yards and a touchdown last weekend and he now has 347 rushing yards on the year.
Defensively, the Cougars' struggles were brought front and center last weekend, as they were torched by USM for 608 total yards, including 248 on the ground. The unit recorded only one sack and takeaway in the poor performance, while USM averaged 7.4 yards per play.
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