6.27.2000
1999 C-USA Football Notebook
Top 20 Teams
Conference USA has the fourth-highest total of teams ranked in the Top 20 of at least one of this week's polls. Here's a look at the latest conference breakdown.
| 1 |
Big Ten |
6 |
| 2 |
Southeastern |
6 |
| 3 |
Big 12 |
4 |
| 4 |
Conference USA |
2 |
| |
Atlantic Coast |
2 |
Seven-Game Winners
For the first time in its brief four-year history, Conference USA had four teams (East Carolina, Houston, Louisville and Southern Miss) post at least seven regular season victories. Only the Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC have more than four teams that have won at least seven games, while the Mountain West matches C-USA's total of four.
Houston 3rd-Most Improved
Houston posted the third-largest improvement in Division I-A in 1999. That marks the fourth straight season that C-USA has produced one of the nation's three most improved teams. Here's a look at the most improved Division I-A programs this season:
| School |
1999 |
1998 |
Imp. |
| Hawaii |
8-4 |
0-12 |
+8 |
| Stanford |
8-3 |
3-8 |
+5 |
| HOUSTON |
7-4 |
3-8 |
+4 |
| Boston College |
8-3 |
4-7 |
+4 |
NOTE: East Carolina and Memphis tied for the fifth-largest improvement at three games.
Redman named Unitas Golden Arm Winner
Louisville quarterback Chris Redman was named the 1999 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, presented annually to the nation's top senior quarterback. Redman finished the season completing 317 of 489 throws for 3,647 yards and a school-record 29 touchdowns. He finished his collegiate career as the NCAA Division I-A all-time leader in passes attempted (1,679) and completed (1,031) while standing No. 2 in all-time yardage (12,541).
Tough Defense
East Carolina is one of two teams in Division I-A (Kansas State) that have held five opponents under 10 points in a game this season. The Pirates held Duke (9), South Carolina (3), Tulane (7), Houston (3) and North Carolina State (6) to single figure scoring totals.
Blanked
Southern Miss is one of six teams in Division I-A that have recorded multiple shutouts this season. The Golden Eagles blanked Army and Louisiana-Lafayette. USM is joined by Kansas State, Maryland, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Virginia Tech in accomplishing this feat. The Golden Eagles lead C-USA in scoring defense, allowing just 15.6 points per game.
C-USA Expands
On October 11, Conference USA announced that it will expand to 11 teams in football by the 2003 season. Texas Christian University, currently a member of the Western Athletic Conference, will become a member of C-USA in 2001 and will give the conference 10 football members. In 2003, South Florida, a member of Conference USA in all other sports, will become a football-playing member. USF will move to Division I in 2001, playing two seasons as an Independent. Here's a look at TCU and USF's 1999 schedules and results:
| TCU (7-4, 5-2 WAC) |
| S5 |
ARIZONA |
L, 31-35 |
| S11 |
at Northwestern |
L, 7-17 |
| S25 |
at Arkansas State |
W, 24-21 |
| O2 |
at Fresno State |
L, 19-26 |
| O9 |
SAN JOSE STATE |
W, 42-0 |
| O16 |
TULSA |
W, 56-17 |
| O23 |
at Rice |
L , 21-42 |
| O30 |
at Hawai'i |
W, 34-14 |
| N13 |
NORTH TEXAS |
W, 27-13 |
| N20 |
UTEP |
W, 52-24 |
| N26 |
SMU |
W, 21-0 |
NOTING TCU:
Junior running back LaDainon Tomlinson set the all-time NCAA single-game rushing record against UTEP on November 20 with 406 rushing yards. He also scored six touchdowns on the day.
Tomlinson finished the 1999 season as the NCAA's leading rusher. He gained 1,850 yards on 268 carries (168.2 yards per game) and scored 18 touchdowns, the fourth-highest total in I-A.
| SOUTH FLORIDA (7-4) |
| S4 |
at San Diego State |
L, 12-41 |
| S11 |
SW TEXAS STATE |
W, 17-10 |
| S18 |
at Western Kentucky |
W, 21-6 |
| S25 |
at Troy State |
L, 24-41 |
| O2 |
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS |
W, 21-14 |
| O9 |
LIBERTY |
W, 28-0 |
| O16 |
ILLINOIS STATE |
W, 14-13 |
| O23 |
NEW HAMPSHIRE |
W, 42-41 (2ot) |
| O30 |
at James Madison |
L, 3-13 |
| N6 |
NEW HAVEN |
W, 41-27 |
| N13 |
HOFSTRA |
L, 23-42 |
Catching On
Here's a look at the Top 12 players in Division I-A with the most consecutive games with at least one catch:
| 1. |
Ibn Green, Louisville |
44 |
| |
Trevor Insley, Nevada |
44 |
| 3. |
Wendell Montgomery, Wyoming |
40 |
| |
Jamie Deese, Wake Forest |
40 |
| 5. |
Dennis Northcutt, Arizona |
39 |
| 6. |
Peter Warrick, Florida State |
37 |
| 7. |
Drew Haddad, Buffalo |
36 |
| 8. |
JaJuan Dawson, Tulane |
33 |
| |
Trevor Gaylor, Miami (Ohio) |
33 |
| |
Charles Lee, Central Florida |
33 |
| |
Anthony White, Kentucky |
33 |
| 11. |
Orlando Iglesias, Houston |
31 |
| 12. |
Ryan Shaw, New Mexico State |
30 |
Topping the Century Mark
Here's a look at the receivers in Division I-A with the most current career 100-yard receiving days:
| 1. |
Trevor Insley (Nevada) |
27 |
| 2. |
Troy Walters (Stanford) |
18 |
| |
Drew Haddad (Buffalo) |
18 |
| 4. |
JaJuan Dawson (Tulane) |
15 |
| |
Arnold Jackson (Louisville) |
15 |
| 6. |
Sherrod Gideon (Southern Miss) |
12 |
Scoring Notes
Conference USA is one of only two Division I-A leagues (WAC) that has all of its teams averaging at least 20 points per game. Below is each C-USA team's points per game average:
| Louisville |
37.5 |
| East Carolina |
29.0 |
| Southern Miss |
28.2 |
| Tulane |
25.4 |
| Cincinnati |
25.0 |
| Houston |
23.1 |
| UAB |
22.5 |
| Memphis |
21.1 |
| Army |
20.5 |
National Player of the Week
Two C-USA Players have earned National Player of the Week awards this season:
| USA TODAY.COM |
| O11 |
Michael Wallace |
FB |
Army |
| BRANKO NAGURSKI DEFENSIVE P.O.W |
| O25 |
Adalius Thomas |
DE |
Southern Miss |
All-Stars
Here's a look Conference USA players that will be participating in postseason all-star games:
| Blue-Gray Classic |
| JaJuan Dawson |
WR |
Tulane |
| Damien Dodson |
WR |
Memphis |
| Mike Green |
RB |
Houston |
| Tinker Keck |
DB |
Cincinnati |
| Tim Seymour |
OL |
Memphis |
| Senior Bowl |
| Andrew Bayes |
P |
East Carolina |
| Anthony Byrd |
OL |
Louisville |
| Sherrod Gideon |
WR |
Southern Miss |
| Ibn Green |
TE |
Louisville |
| Terrance Parrish |
DB |
Southern Miss |
| Todd Pinkston |
WR |
Southern Miss |
| Chris Redman |
QB |
Louisville |
| T.J. Slaughter |
LB |
Southern Miss |
| Adalius Thomas |
DE |
Southern Miss |
| East-West Shrine Game |
| Greg Brown |
OL |
Houston |
| Sherrod Gideon |
WR |
Southern Miss |
| Jeff Kerr |
LB |
East Carolina |
| Adalius Thomas |
DE |
Southern Miss |
| Hula Bowl |
| Adriano Belli |
DL |
Houston |
Players of the Week
Here's a look at this year's C-USA Players of the Week as voted on by a panel of media from each of the league's cities.
| OFFENSE |
| S7 |
Chris Redman |
QB |
Louisville |
| S14 |
Patrick Ramsey |
QB |
Tulane |
| S21 |
Patrick Ramsey |
QB |
Tulane |
| S27 |
David Garrard |
QB |
East Carolina |
| O4 |
David Garrard |
QB |
East Carolina |
| O11 |
Michael Wallace |
FB |
Army |
| O18 |
Ketric Sanford |
RB |
Houston |
| O25 |
Lavell Boyd |
WR |
Louisville |
| N1 |
Robert Cooper |
RB |
Cincinnati |
| N8 |
Ketric Sanford |
RB |
Houston |
| N15 |
Jason McKinley |
QB |
Houston |
| N22 |
David Garrard |
QB |
East Carolina |
| |
| DEFENSE |
| S7 |
Mike James |
S |
Houston |
| S14 |
Forrest Foster |
CB |
East Carolina |
| S21 |
Eddie Johnson |
LB |
Cincinnati |
| S27 |
T.J. Slaughter |
LB |
Southern Miss |
| O4 |
Pernell Griffin |
LB |
East Carolina |
| O11 |
Leo Barnes |
DB |
Southern Miss |
| O18 |
Leo Barnes |
DB |
Southern Miss |
| |
Wayne Rogers |
LB |
Houston |
| O25 |
Adalius Thomas |
DE |
Southern Miss |
| N1 |
Anthony Adams |
DB |
East Carolina |
| N8 |
Rodregis Brooks |
DB |
UAB |
| N15 |
Marcus Bell |
DT |
Memphis |
| N22 |
Ty Trahan |
LB |
Southern Miss |
| |
| SPECIAL TEAMS |
| S7 |
Kevin Miller |
K |
East Carolina |
| S14 |
Roy Magee |
LB |
Southern Miss |
| S21 |
Andrew Bayes |
P |
East Carolina |
| S27 |
Ryan White |
K |
Memphis |
| O4 |
Kevin Miller |
K |
East Carolina |
| O11 |
Ryan White |
K |
Memphis |
| O18 |
Seth Marler |
K |
Tulane |
| O25 |
Andrew Bayes |
P |
East Carolina |
| N1 |
Ryan White |
K |
Memphis |
| N8 |
Jake Arians |
K |
UAB |
| N15 |
Keith Strokes |
KR |
East Carolina |
| N22 |
Brent Hanna |
K |
Southern Miss |
All-Americans
Here's a look at the Conference USA players that have received post-season accolades so far in 1999:
| AFCA |
| FIRST TEAM |
| TE |
Ibn Green, Louisville |
| AP |
| SECOND TEAM |
| DE |
Adalius Thomas, Southern Miss |
| DB |
Rodregis Brooks, UAB |
| P |
Andrew Bayes, East Carolina |
| BCS ONLINE |
| SECOND TEAM |
| DE |
Adalius Thomas, Southern Miss |
| DB |
Rodregis Brooks, UAB |
| P |
Andrew Bayes, East Carolina |
| CBS SPORTSLINE |
| SECOND TEAM |
| DE |
Adalius Thomas, Southern Miss |
| DB |
Rodregis Brooks, UAB |
| FOOTBALL NEWS |
| THIRD TEAM |
| TE |
Ibn Green, Louisville |
| DE |
Adalius Thomas, Southern Miss |
| DB |
Rodregis Brooks, UAB |
| HONORABLE MENTION |
| QB |
Chris Redman, Louisville |
| RB |
Frank Moreau, Louisville |
| RB |
Ketric Sanford, Houston |
| WR |
Arnold Jackson, Louisville |
| WR |
Todd Pinkston, Southern Miss |
| OL |
Greg Brown, Houston |
| LB |
Jeff Kerr, East Carolina |
| LB |
T.J. Slaughter, Southern Miss |
| P |
Andrew Bayes, East Carolina |
| FWAA |
| FIRST TEAM |
| P |
Andrew Bayes, East Carolina |
| SPORTS RAMPAGE.COM |
| FIRST TEAM |
| DE |
Adalius Thomas, Southern Miss |
| DB |
Rodregis Brooks, UAB |
| P |
Andrew Bayes, East Carolina |
| SECOND TEAM |
| LB |
T.J. Slaughter, Southern Miss |
| LB |
Pernell Griffin, East Carolina |
| SPORTING NEWS |
| SECOND TEAM |
| TE |
Ibn Green, Louisville |
| DE |
Adalius Thomas, Southern Miss |
| P |
Andrew Bayes, East Carolina |
| THIRD TEAM |
| LB |
Jeff Kerr, East Carolina |
| SPORTS RAMPAGE.COM |
| NATIONAL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR |
| DE |
Adalius Thomas, Southern Miss |
| WALTER CAMP |
| FIRST TEAM |
| P |
Andrew Bayes, East Carolina |
Freshman All-Americans
Here's a look at the C-USA freshman players that have received post-season accolades:
SPORTING NEWS
SECOND TEAM
DT Michael Josiah, Louisville
NOTING C-USA IN 1999
Improvement and success can be seen all around Conference USA this season. Listed below are a few facts and accomplishments regarding C-USA's 1999 season:
- After not having defeated a nationally-ranked opponent since November, 1996, Conference USA defeated two teams ranked in the Top 10 during September. Cincinnati knocked off No. 8 Wisconsin on September 18, while East Carolina beat No. 9 Miami on September 25.
- Conference USA's two non-conference wins against the Top 25 are as many as the SEC (0-1), Pac-10 (0-4), Big 12 (0-2) and Big East (2-5) have combined.
- C-USA schools combined to win 14 non-conference games in September, the most in any first month in the league's history.
- The 13 teams that were victorious against Conference USA in September were a combined 40-7, with six schools entering October unbeaten.
- Nine of Conference USA's non-conference losses have come by a touchdown or less, including close losses to Tennessee, Nebraska, Mississippi State, Mississippi (twice), Missouri and Illinois.
- Conference USA has posted at least one victory against seven of the eight conferences it has faced this season. C-USA defeated the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big West, Mid-American, SEC and the WAC. C-USA has not faced the Mountain West or Pac-10 Conferences. The only league that it faced and did not defeat was the Big 12.
- C-USA is the only Division I-A conference in which every team is averaging at least 20 points per game.
- Conference USA has lost just two non-conference games to teams with a losing record this season.
- At 5-6, Memphis' record is quite deceiving. Five of the Tigers six losses - Tennessee (9-2), Mississippi State (8-2), Mississippi (7-3), Missouri (4-7) and Louisville (7-4) have come by a combined total of 18 points, including two by one point and two others by three.
- UAB emerged victorious in its first-ever conference game, defeating Houston, 29-10, at Legion Field on September 25.
- In eight quarters of football against Top 5 teams Nebraska and Texas A&M, the Southern Miss defense allowed just one touchdown.
1999 Conference USA Scheduling Note
Conference USA schools have played 17 of its 45 non-conference games (38 percent) against schools that have been nationally-ranked this season. League members have played 20 non-league games (45 percent) against teams that are bowl-eligible.
SI Recognizes C-USA's top Receiving Tandems
Sports Illustrated named its top 10 receiving tandems in college football earlier this season and Conference USA had three duos on the list, making it the only conference with three tandems. Todd Pinkston (48-977) and Sherrod Gideon (40-520) of Southern Miss were joined by Arnold Jackson (101-1,209) and Ibn Green (60-680) of Louisville and Tulane's duo of JaJuan Dawson (94-1,036) and Adrian Burnette (79-1,095). All three tandems have combined for at least 13 TDs.
C-USA on TV
Conference USA will have at least 25 games televised this season. Listed below is the remaining schedule: (all times Central)
| ESPN SCHEDULE |
| Dec. 31 |
AXA/Equitable Liberty Bowl |
4:00p |
| |
| ESPN 2 SCHEDULE |
| Dec. 22 |
Mobile Alabama Bowl |
6:30p |
| Dec. 30 |
Humanitarian Bowl |
2:00p |
| |
Peak Performers
Here's a look at some of the top individual offensive performances in Conference USA this season:
|
300-YARD PASSERS |
|
450 |
Chris Redman, LOU vs. Illinois |
9-18 |
|
447 |
Patrick Ramsey, TUL vs. Army |
9-18 |
|
407 |
Deontey Kenner, CIN at USM |
10-23 |
|
404 |
Patrick Ramsey, TUL vs. SMU |
9-11 |
|
397 |
Chris Redman, LOU vs. Houston |
10-23 |
|
396 |
Patrick Ramsey, TUL vs. ULL |
10-16 |
|
385 |
Chris Redman, LOU vs. Memphis |
10-16 |
|
367 |
Chris Redman, LOU at Cincinnati |
11-6 |
|
366 |
Chris Redman, LOU at Army |
10-7 |
|
360 |
Patrick Ramsey, TUL at Houston |
11-6 |
|
345 |
Chris Redman, LOU vs. USM |
11-20 |
|
343 |
Deontey Kenner, CIN at Ohio State |
9-25 |
|
342 |
Patrick Ramsey, TUL at Syracuse |
10-2 |
|
339 |
Patrick Ramsey, TUL at Ole Miss |
10-9 |
|
328 |
David Garrard, ECU vs. Miami (Fla.) |
9-25 |
|
325 |
Patrick Ramsey, TUL vs. UAB |
11-20 |
|
324 |
Chris Redman, LOU at Kentucky |
9-4 |
|
300 |
David Garrard, ECU at Army |
10-2 |
|
|
|
|
|
100-YARD RUSHERS |
|
269 |
Michael Wallace, ARMY vs. Louisville |
10-7 |
|
212 |
Ketric Sanford, HOU vs. Tulane |
11-6 |
|
209 |
Robert Cooper, CIN at Miami (Ohio) |
10-30 |
|
204 |
Robert Cooper, CIN vs. Memphis |
11-20 |
|
188 |
Frank Moreau, LOU vs. Chattanooga |
9-11 |
|
183 |
Jamie Wilson, ECU vs. West Va. |
9-4 |
|
181 |
Frank Moreau, LOU at Kentucky |
9-4 |
|
174 |
Robert Cooper, CIN vs. UAB |
10-16 |
|
171 |
Derrick Nix, USM at East Carolina |
10-9 |
|
167 |
Derrick Nix, USM vs. Tulane |
9-6 |
|
166 |
Percy Coleman, UAB at Louisville |
10-30 |
|
162 |
Mike Green, HOU at Army |
11-20 |
|
157 |
Ketric Sanford, HOU at No. Carolina |
10-16 |
|
150 |
Frank Moreau, LOU at Army |
10-7 |
|
145 |
Jamie Wilson, ECU at South Carolina |
9-18 |
|
144 |
Gerard Arnold, MEM vs. Louisville |
10-16 |
|
143 |
Robert Cooper, CIN vs. Wisconsin |
9-18 |
|
142 |
Gerard Arnold, MEM at Tulane |
10-30 |
|
139 |
Ketric Sanford, HOU at Louisville |
10-23 |
|
139 |
Frank Moreau, LOU vs. Illinois |
9-18 |
|
139 |
Derrick Nix, USM vs. Memphis |
11-6 |
|
138 |
Gerard Arnold, MEM vs. Army |
11-13 |
|
134 |
Carl Fair, UAB vs. Louisiana-Monroe |
10-2 |
|
130 |
Mike Green, HOU vs. No. Carolina |
10-16 |
|
129 |
Mike Green, HOU vs. UL Lafayette |
9-18 |
|
129 |
Frank Moreau, LOU vs. Eastern Mich. |
10-2 |
|
128 |
Frank Moreau, LOU vs. UAB |
10-30 |
|
122 |
Joe Gerena, ARMY vs. Ball State |
9-25 |
|
118 |
Mike Green, HOU vs. Tulane |
11-6 |
|
115 |
Brandon Rooney, ARMY vs. Ball St. |
9-25 |
|
112 |
Frank Moreau, LOU at Cincinnati |
11-6 |
|
107 |
Ketric Sanford, HOU at Army |
11-20 |
|
108 |
Omari Thompson, ARMY vs. N.M. St. |
10-23 |
|
105 |
Ketric Sanford, HOU at LSU |
11-13 |
|
104 |
Teofilo Riley, MEM vs. Arkansas St. |
9-18 |
|
103 |
Ketric Sanford, HOU vs. UL Lafayette |
9-18 |
|
101 |
David Garrard, ECU vs. N.C. State |
11-20 |
|
100 |
Derrick Nix, USM vs. NW (La.) St. |
9-11 |
|
100 |
Robert Cooper, CIN at Ohio State |
9-25 |
|
100 |
Calvin Smith, ARMY vs. MEM |
11-13 |
|
|
|
|
|
100-YARD RECEIVERS |
|
218 |
JaJuan Dawson, TUL vs. SMU |
9-11 |
|
194 |
Arnold Jackson, LOU vs. Illinois |
9-18 |
|
174 |
Arnold Jackson, LOU at Cincinnati |
11-6 |
|
173 |
Lavell Boyd, LOU vs. Houston |
10-23 |
|
166 |
Ibn Green, LOU vs. Memphis |
10-16 |
|
166 |
Adrian Burnette, TUL at Houston |
11-6 |
|
161 |
Arnold Jackson, LOU vs. USM |
11-20 |
|
143 |
Kerwin Jones, TUL at Houston |
11-6 |
|
163 |
Todd Pinkston, USM at Nebraska |
9-18 |
|
153 |
Ibn Green, LOU at Army |
10-7 |
|
138 |
JaJuan Dawson, TUL vs. ULL |
10-16 |
|
136 |
Adrian Burnette, TUL vs. ULL |
10-16 |
|
136 |
JaJuan Dawson, TUL at Ole Miss |
10-9 |
|
136 |
Adrian Burnette, TUL vs. SMU |
9-11 |
|
134 |
Todd Pinkston, USM vs. ULL |
11-13 |
|
130 |
Orlando Iglesias,
 |