Might be helpful for somebody???
FACTS & STATS: Site: Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium (43,000) -- Greenville, North Carolina. Television: ESPN2. Home Record: Houston 2-0, E. Carolina 0-1. Away Record: Houston 1-1, E. Carolina 0-3. Neutral Record: Houston 0-0, E. Carolina 0-0. Conference Record: Houston 0-0, E. Carolina 0-1. Series Record: East Carolina leads, 4-1.
GAME NOTES: The college football spotlight shines on Greenville Tuesday night as the surprising Houston Cougars and the winless East Carolina Pirates are set for a Conference USA showdown. Houston has managed victories in three of its first four games this season, including in each of its last two outings. The team is off to its best start since the 1990 season, when it won its first eight games en route to a 10-1 finish. In their most recent outing on September 20th, the Cougars posted a 42-35 decision over Mississippi State. The only loss for the squad thus far came against national power Michigan in Ann Arbor back on September 6th. After Tuesday's game, Houston will battle Tulane on the road before returning home for three straight affairs. As for East Carolina, it has lost its first four games of the season by a combined score of 160-29. Last weekend's 34-16 defeat at Wake Forest was actually the closest game that the Pirates have played thus far. Over the past 10 years, the team is 6-10 in midweek contests. ECU owns a 4-1 lead in the all-time series with Houston, and the two teams produced a classic in their matchup last season. In that tilt, the Pirates emerged with a wild 54-48 victory after three overtimes.
Quarterback is the most important position for any football team, and Houston's Kevin Kolb is the first true freshman to start under center in the Cougars' 58-year history. Despite his youth and inexperience, Kolb has exceeded the expectations of his coaches, teammates and fans through the first four games. In leading the Cougars to the seven-point win over Mississippi State, Kolb completed 20-of-29 passes for a career-high 321 yards and four touchdowns en route to being named the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week. He was not picked off in the game, marking the third time in four outings that he has managed to avoid throwing an interception. Kolb got plenty of help from a group of outstanding receivers in the win as Vincent Marshall made a team-high eight catches and reached the end zone twice. Brandon Middleton made just four grabs in the tilt, but he racked up 124 yards and scored a touchdown. As for Leonard Gibson, he made four grabs for 75 yards and a score. Overall this season, Kolb has thrown for 788 yards and seven touchdowns, while completing 60.6 percent of his passes. He has also run for 84 yards and two scores. Marshall paces the squad with 22 catches, but Middleton has clearly been the most explosive option on the outside. He has totaled 383 yards and four touchdowns on only 14 grabs. Jackie Battle has scored four times on the ground and averages 5.9 ypc.
While Kolb and the offense had a tremendous day in the victory over Mississippi State, the Houston defense put forth a mediocre effort. The Cougars surrendered 360 passing yards in the tilt on 24 completions, and the average of 15 yards per completion is high by any standards. While the defense was clearly victimized by the big play, the unit managed to make several big plays of its own. Most notably, Houston racked up a staggering total of five interceptions in the tilt. While the Cougars played well against the run in the win, they have had trouble slowing down the opposition's ground attack so far this season. Teams are averaging 212 rushing ypg against Houston and 5.0 ypc, numbers that can obviously use a great deal of improvement. Of the 15 touchdowns that opposing offenses have scored against the Cougars, 11 have come on the ground. The UH defense is actually yielding only 149.2 ypg against the pass despite the Mississippi State game, and the unit is allowing well below 50 percent of all throws to be completed. Lance Everson has been a key to the team's solid 3-1 start, as he leads the Cougars with 45 total tackles, including five behind the line of scrimmage. Bryant Brown and Joe Clay have each registered two sacks for Houston.
For the first time this season, the Pirates were able to move the ball with some consistency last week against Wake Forest. Although the outcome of that game was once again disappointing, the team is simply searching for positives to build on at this point. ECU posted a season-best 391 yards of total offense against the Demon Deacons, but that solid effort was overshadowed by the five turnovers that the offense committed. Desmond Robinson took the majority of the snaps for the Pirates and finished 22-of-32 for 190 yards with three interceptions. The Pirates, who held the ball for over 31 minutes, actually made good on half of their third-down conversion attempts and posted 23 first downs. Terrance Copper made eight grabs in the tilt and continues to lead the nation in receptions with 38 through four games. East Carolina is averaging just 7.2 ppg and 287.8 ypg of total offense, embarrassing numbers to say the least. The biggest problem for the Pirates is that they have turned the ball over a staggering 16 times, with eight interceptions and eight fumbles. Robinson has completed 71.1 percent of his passes, but he has seven picks and no scoring strikes.
The Pirates put forth a respectable defensive effort last week, limiting Wake Forest to 324 total yards on 69 plays. On 55 rushing attempts, the Demon Deacons were able to gain 193 yards, averaging well below four ypc. There was a noticeable lack of big plays on the part of the East Carolina defense, however, as it forced just one turnover and failed to register a sack. The turnovers committed by the Pirates this season have often put the team's defense in bad situations, and the unit has not been able to step up to the challenge. East Carolina has been horrendous against the run, yielding 284.5 ypg and 5.8 ypc. Opposing offenses have already scored 20 touchdowns against the Pirates, who have managed just one sack in 16 quarters of football. Chris Moore currently leads the squad with 53 total tackles.
East Carolina has won the last three meetings with Houston, but these Cougars are supremely confident and talented as well. Kolb has been one of the nation's most impressive rookies, and his squad should have little trouble picking up its fourth victory of the season.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Houston 41, East Carolina 20
FACTS & STATS: Site: Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium (43,000) -- Greenville, North Carolina. Television: ESPN2. Home Record: Houston 2-0, E. Carolina 0-1. Away Record: Houston 1-1, E. Carolina 0-3. Neutral Record: Houston 0-0, E. Carolina 0-0. Conference Record: Houston 0-0, E. Carolina 0-1. Series Record: East Carolina leads, 4-1.
GAME NOTES: The college football spotlight shines on Greenville Tuesday night as the surprising Houston Cougars and the winless East Carolina Pirates are set for a Conference USA showdown. Houston has managed victories in three of its first four games this season, including in each of its last two outings. The team is off to its best start since the 1990 season, when it won its first eight games en route to a 10-1 finish. In their most recent outing on September 20th, the Cougars posted a 42-35 decision over Mississippi State. The only loss for the squad thus far came against national power Michigan in Ann Arbor back on September 6th. After Tuesday's game, Houston will battle Tulane on the road before returning home for three straight affairs. As for East Carolina, it has lost its first four games of the season by a combined score of 160-29. Last weekend's 34-16 defeat at Wake Forest was actually the closest game that the Pirates have played thus far. Over the past 10 years, the team is 6-10 in midweek contests. ECU owns a 4-1 lead in the all-time series with Houston, and the two teams produced a classic in their matchup last season. In that tilt, the Pirates emerged with a wild 54-48 victory after three overtimes.
Quarterback is the most important position for any football team, and Houston's Kevin Kolb is the first true freshman to start under center in the Cougars' 58-year history. Despite his youth and inexperience, Kolb has exceeded the expectations of his coaches, teammates and fans through the first four games. In leading the Cougars to the seven-point win over Mississippi State, Kolb completed 20-of-29 passes for a career-high 321 yards and four touchdowns en route to being named the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week. He was not picked off in the game, marking the third time in four outings that he has managed to avoid throwing an interception. Kolb got plenty of help from a group of outstanding receivers in the win as Vincent Marshall made a team-high eight catches and reached the end zone twice. Brandon Middleton made just four grabs in the tilt, but he racked up 124 yards and scored a touchdown. As for Leonard Gibson, he made four grabs for 75 yards and a score. Overall this season, Kolb has thrown for 788 yards and seven touchdowns, while completing 60.6 percent of his passes. He has also run for 84 yards and two scores. Marshall paces the squad with 22 catches, but Middleton has clearly been the most explosive option on the outside. He has totaled 383 yards and four touchdowns on only 14 grabs. Jackie Battle has scored four times on the ground and averages 5.9 ypc.
While Kolb and the offense had a tremendous day in the victory over Mississippi State, the Houston defense put forth a mediocre effort. The Cougars surrendered 360 passing yards in the tilt on 24 completions, and the average of 15 yards per completion is high by any standards. While the defense was clearly victimized by the big play, the unit managed to make several big plays of its own. Most notably, Houston racked up a staggering total of five interceptions in the tilt. While the Cougars played well against the run in the win, they have had trouble slowing down the opposition's ground attack so far this season. Teams are averaging 212 rushing ypg against Houston and 5.0 ypc, numbers that can obviously use a great deal of improvement. Of the 15 touchdowns that opposing offenses have scored against the Cougars, 11 have come on the ground. The UH defense is actually yielding only 149.2 ypg against the pass despite the Mississippi State game, and the unit is allowing well below 50 percent of all throws to be completed. Lance Everson has been a key to the team's solid 3-1 start, as he leads the Cougars with 45 total tackles, including five behind the line of scrimmage. Bryant Brown and Joe Clay have each registered two sacks for Houston.
For the first time this season, the Pirates were able to move the ball with some consistency last week against Wake Forest. Although the outcome of that game was once again disappointing, the team is simply searching for positives to build on at this point. ECU posted a season-best 391 yards of total offense against the Demon Deacons, but that solid effort was overshadowed by the five turnovers that the offense committed. Desmond Robinson took the majority of the snaps for the Pirates and finished 22-of-32 for 190 yards with three interceptions. The Pirates, who held the ball for over 31 minutes, actually made good on half of their third-down conversion attempts and posted 23 first downs. Terrance Copper made eight grabs in the tilt and continues to lead the nation in receptions with 38 through four games. East Carolina is averaging just 7.2 ppg and 287.8 ypg of total offense, embarrassing numbers to say the least. The biggest problem for the Pirates is that they have turned the ball over a staggering 16 times, with eight interceptions and eight fumbles. Robinson has completed 71.1 percent of his passes, but he has seven picks and no scoring strikes.
The Pirates put forth a respectable defensive effort last week, limiting Wake Forest to 324 total yards on 69 plays. On 55 rushing attempts, the Demon Deacons were able to gain 193 yards, averaging well below four ypc. There was a noticeable lack of big plays on the part of the East Carolina defense, however, as it forced just one turnover and failed to register a sack. The turnovers committed by the Pirates this season have often put the team's defense in bad situations, and the unit has not been able to step up to the challenge. East Carolina has been horrendous against the run, yielding 284.5 ypg and 5.8 ypc. Opposing offenses have already scored 20 touchdowns against the Pirates, who have managed just one sack in 16 quarters of football. Chris Moore currently leads the squad with 53 total tackles.
East Carolina has won the last three meetings with Houston, but these Cougars are supremely confident and talented as well. Kolb has been one of the nation's most impressive rookies, and his squad should have little trouble picking up its fourth victory of the season.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Houston 41, East Carolina 20
