Written by Roger Dunaway (TU Ath.)
Friday, 07 November 2008 07:21PM
Tulane News
Green Wave looks to notch first win at Houston since 2002New Orleans – The Tulane football team returns to action this Saturday when the Green Wave battles Conference USA foe Houston in front of a nationally televised audience on CBS College Sports at Robertson Stadium. The game will kick-off at 7:04 p.m. and will be televised live in New Orleans on Cox Cable, Channel 315 (customers are reminded they must be digital cable subscribers to access this channel). The contest is also available on the Dish Network (152) and on DirecTV (613). Tom Hart will describe the action, while Trev Alberts will provide color analysis.
Following its final non-conference game of the regular season last week at LSU, Tulane (2-6, 1-3 C-USA) jumps back into Conference USA play, but enters the contest with the Cougars mired in a four-game skid, its longest since dropping eight straight decisions to conclude the 2005 campaign. The Wave’s last win came at home against SMU on Thursday, Sept. 25, and like this week’s game, was featured on CBS College Sports.
TU is 0-3 on the road this season, falling at No. 13 Alabama in the season opener, at UTEP (24-21) and at No. 15 LSU (35-10) last week. With regular starter Andre Anderson shelved for the season, true freshman Nathan Austin earned the first start of his collegiate career last week at No. 15 LSU at running back and responded with 53 yards on 16 carries, and is now the team’s leading active rusher for year with 179 yards on 45 carries.
Sophomore quarterback Kevin Moore has completed 58.8 percent of his pass attempts (134-228) this season for 1,520 yards and seven touchdowns. Last week, Moore and redshirt freshman Joe Kemp took turns rotating series against LSU, but Moore will get the starting nod at Houston this Saturday.
With leading receiver Jeremy Williams out of the season with multiple injuries, senior Brian King becomes the Green Wave’s go-to guy in the passing attack. King has 25 receptions for 301 yards this season,
Defensively, first-year starter safety Corey Sonnier continues to lead the Green Wave in tackles with 57 (29 solo) on the year, while senior defensive end Reggie Scott is tops on the team for tackles for lost yardage with 5.5.
Houston (4-4, 3-1 C-USA) began the season with a 1-3 record, but has reversed their fortune with a 3-1 mark over the last four games. UH is currently sitting in third place in the C-USA West Division, but is coming off its first league loss of the year with a 37-23 setback at Marshall. Houston is 2-0 at home this season, including 1-0 in conference play after a 45-20 victory over UAB (Oct. 8).
Sophomore quarterback Case Keenum, the 2007 C-USA Freshman of the Year, leads the Cougars’ offensive attack with 376 passing yards per game, which ranks second nationally. Keenum has completed 67.1 percent of his attempts (251-374) for 3,008 yards and 25 touchdowns.
Freshman running back Bryce Beall leads the UH ground game with 625 yards on 102 attempts (6.1 ypc) and has eight scores. Keenum is the team’s second-leading ground gainer with 169 yards on 55 attempts and has two rushing touchdowns.
Senior Mark Hafner and redshirt-freshman Tyron Carrier each have 50-plus receptions this season. Hafner has 54 catches for 598 yards and eight scores, while Carrier has notched 50 receptions for 541 yards and five touchdowns.
Junior linebacker Matt Nicholson has a team-high 66 tackles (35 solo), while senior DE Phillip Hunt has 12.5 TFL to lead the UH defense.
Saturday’s game marks 14th all-time meeting between Tulane and Houston and the Cougars lead the series, 9-4. Tulane is 2-5 all-time in Houston and will look to snap a two-game skid dating back to 2002 when the Wave notched its last win on the Cougar’s home field (34-13). The Wave’s only other win in Houston was a 44-10 route in 1997.
Tulane and Houston have met 11 times as members of Conference USA. The first-ever meeting came in 1968, while the second meeting between the teams was in the 1973 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl at the Houston Astrodome.
Tulane’s 2008 roster features 30 players from the state of Texas, including nine from Houston (Emmanuel Aluko, Chris Asumnu, Logan Kelley, John Landa, James McMurchy, Travis Olexa, Sule Osagiede, Adam Podet and Kristofar Ryhmes) while Scott Elliott (Bay City), Jeremy Williams (Baytown), Nick Landry and Albert Williams from Beaumont, Cody Sparks (Bridge City), Taylor Echols (League City), Justin Adams (Missouri City), Joey Ray (Spring), Corey Sonnier (Friendswood), Alex Wacha and Cedric Wilson from Sugar Land are from the surrounding areas.
Catching up w/ Frank Wills
