Nov. 15, 2010
Complete Notebook 
With just two weeks remaining in the regular season, six teams remain in contention for a spot in the sixth annual Conference USA Football Championship Game on Saturday, December 4. Two of those teams go head-to-head on Saturday night when Houston visits Southern Miss (8 p.m. EST on CBS College Sports). UCF and SMU currently control their destinies to win their respective divisions, with East Carolina and Tulsa also in the race for the two title game spots.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSE
G.J. KINNE - TULSA
QB, Jr., Mesquite, Texas (Gilmer)
Kinne accounted for 344 yards of total offense and three touchdowns in a 28-25 win at Tulsa. He had the fourth-highest rushing game in Conference USA this year and the third-highest total ever by a QB with 190 yards and one touchdown on 31 carries. Kinne also completed 65-percent of his passes for 154 yards and two scores.
DEFENSE
MARCO NELSON - TULSA
DB, Fr., Glenpool, Okla. (Glenpool)
Nelson totaled seven tackles, including six solos and tied single-game school and conference records with three interceptions at Houston. On Sunday, he was selected as the Walter Camp Foundation National Defensive Player of the Week for his three interception performance in the victory. All three interceptions were deep in Tulsa territory, thus preventing the Cougars from scoring.
SPECIAL TEAMS
CHARLES ROSS - RICE
KR, So., Schertz, Texas (Samuel Clemens)
Ross smashed the school record with 261 yards on seven kickoff returns against Tulane. Ross broke the school record of 200 set by Shane Turner in 2009 and fell just eight yards short of the C-USA mark of 269 set by Scott Wesley of Army in 2004. Ross' effort sparked the Owls to a conference record total of 344 yards on 10 kickoff returns.
C-USA CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
C-USA will host its sixth football championship game on Saturday, December 4. The game will be televised by ESPN or ESPN 2, beginning at Noon EST.
The team with the highest league winning percentage will serve as host site for the game. The title game will feature champions from the East and West divisions of the league.
Currently, UCF leads the East Division, while SMU holds a tie-breaker edge on Tulsa in the West Division based on a head-to-head victory over the Golden Hurricane. UCF and SMU control their destinies to earn a spot in the C-USA Championship Game.
UCF (twice), Houston, Tulsa and East Carolina have hosted the first five championship games.
Tulsa claimed the C-USA inaugural crown in 2005. In 2007, UCF hosted the game for the second time in three seasons and earned its first championship. Houston claimed the championship game title in 2006. East Carolina has won the last two titles, defeating Houston at home last year and winning at Tulsa in 2008.
SMU's ROBINSON NAMED A SEMIFINALIST FOR BILETNIKOFF
SMU senior WR Aldrick Robinson has been named one of 10 semifinalists for the 2010 Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation's top wide receiver. Robinson leads C-USA in yards per game at 99.4 (50 receptions for 994 yards), while placing second in receiving TDs with 10.
RICE'S MARTENS NAMED A SEMIFINALIST FOR THE RAY GUY AWARD
Junior Kyle Martens of Rice is one of ten punters who remain in contention for the 2010 Ray Guy Award, which identifies the nation's top collegiate punter. He leads C-USA and is third in the nation with a with a 46.91 average on 46 punts this season. Martens has placed 39% inside the 20 this year (18/46) and 53% (9 of 17) of those have been downed at or inside the 10.
QUARTERBACKS RUNNING WILD
Two of the top single-game rushing performances by a quarterback in C-USA history have taken place this season, including Tulsa QB G.J. Kinne's 190-yard effort in a win at Houston on Saturday.
RUSHING YARDS BY A QUARTERBACK (GAME)
214 David Isabelle, UAB vs. FAU, 9-20-10 (22 att.)194 Joe Webb, UAB vs. Rice, 9-5-09 (20 att.)190 G.J. Kinne, TLS at HOU, 11-13-10 (30 att.)177 Thomas Cox, UAB vs. Tulane, 10-20-01 (26 att.)163 Joe Webb, UAB at UTEP, 10-31-09 (20 att.)
A GOLDEN STREAK
Southern Miss equaled a school record by clinching their 17th consecutive winning season with its victory over UCF on Saturday, tying the previous team mark that was set from 1951-67. That is the fourth-longest active streak among FBS schools:
Consecutive Winning Seasons (Active)29 Florida State20 Florida18 Virginia Tech17 Southern Miss
"NEW" ORLEANS LEADS TULANE
After battling injuries early on this season, Tulane's Orleans Darkwa has established himself as one of the top freshman running backs in the nation in 2010. Darkwa has rushed for 731 yards on 141 carries (5.2 ypc) and eight touchdowns. His rushing yardage ranks second overall among C-USA's top backs and the highest by a rookie running back. On the national level, Darkwa's 81.22 yards per game is the fourth-best effort by a freshman running back this season.
EAST CAROLINA PIRATES
The Pirates became bowl-eligible for the fifth consecutive season with a 54-42 win at UAB on Thursday night. Junior QB Dominique Davis was 26-of-41 for 331 yards and five touchdowns. The five TD passes gave him 31 on the season, surpassing Jeff Blake's single-season record of 30 set in 1991. He also set a new ECU single-season mark for passing yards with 3,007. ECU entered the game fourth in the FBS in red zone efficiency and scored on all six trips inside the red zone vs. UAB. The Pirates have now scored on 43-of-46 trips inside the red zione in 2010. The 270 points scored in six C-USA games this season are the most ever by the Pirates in league action, with two contests remaining.
HOUSTON COUGARS
The Cougars fell to Tulsa on Saturday, 28-25. With 140 receiving yards, junior WR Kierrie Johnson recorded his first 100-yard game of the season and the third of his career. Included was a 66-yard touchdown grab. Senior WR James Cleveland had seven catches for 94 yards, including his 19th career touchdown catch (sixth all-time at UH). With four receptions, junior WR Tyron Carrier moved into a tie with Donnie Avery (2004-07) for fourth place in school history with 211 career receptions. Senior CB Jamal Robinson and sophomore LB Phillip Steward each picked off passes, givng the Cougars 12 interceptions this season.
MARSHALL THUNDERING HERD
Marshall won its third game in a row on Saturday, downing Memphis, 28-13. It is the Thundering Herd's first three-game winning streak swince the 2006 season. During the three-game win streak, MU has outscored its opponents 37-12 in the fourth quarter. Junior QB Brian Anderson threw three touchdowns, completing 20-of-28 passes for 251 yards. Junior WR Troy Evans amassed 220 all-purpose yards and two scores, including a 62-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Senior LB Mario Harvey recorded nine tackles, three tackles for loss and a sack while leading a Marshall defense that held the Tigers to only 241 yards of total offense. He also moved into ninth place on Marshall's all-time career tackles list with 388.
MEMPHIS TIGERS
The Tigers fell at Marshall on Saturday, 28-13. Junior WR Jermaine McKenzie established a career-high with 109 yards on six catches, including a 43-yard scoring reception. Freshman QB Ryan Williams went over 200 yards passing for the second-straight game and fifth time this season. Williams threw for 201 yards, completing 14 of a career high 32 pass attempts. Senior LB Jamon Hughes led the team in tackles for the ninth time in 10 games this season with 14. It marked the sixth time this season he has had double digit tackles. Playing against a Marshall offensive line that had allowed just two sacks all season, three different Memphis players posted sacks.
RICE OWLS
The Owls fell at Tulane on Saturday, 54-49. Sophomore QB Taylor Cook came off the bench to lead four second-half scoring drives, completing 7-of-15 passes for 101 yards and two TDs. Sophomore TE Vance McDonald had a career-best three TD receptions, becoming the 13th player in school history to catch three TDs in a game. With five catches for 193 yards, he became the first Rice player to top the 100-yard receiving mark this season. True freshman RB Jeremy Eddington carried 14 times for a career-high 103 yards and a score. Sophomore KR Charles Ross set a Rice single-game record for kickoff return yards with 261 on seven returns.
SMU MUSTANGS
The Mustangs were idle this past weekend and host Marshall this Saturday attempting to become bowl-eligible in back-to-back years for the first time since 1985-86. Senior WR Aldrick Robinson has passed the 3,000-yard mark in his career (3,007) and is just shy of 1,000 this season (994). Robinson has a receiving TD in four straight games, which ties for the third-longest streak at SMU. At UTEP on Nov. 6, the 99-yard drive that concluded with a Kyle Padron 31 yd TD pass to Robinson was the 3rd 99-yard drive for SMU this year.
SOUTHERN MISS GOLDEN EAGLES
The Golden Eagles won at No. 23 UCF on Saturday, 31-21, the first win over a ranked team on the road for Southern Miss since a 21-0 victory at No. 13 Alabama on Sept. 16, 2000. Junior QB Austin Davis threw for 264 yards on 21-of-34 attempts, while tying a career-high for touchdown passes. Davis, who added 41 rushing yards on 12 carries, helped the Golden Eagles rebound from an early 14-0 deficit as they scored 31 unanswered points against the Knights. After missing six games, junior WR DeAndre Brown returned to action and caught three passes for 66 yards, including a 10-yard TD. Southern Miss has scored at least 30 points in each of the last six games and eight times this season.
TULANE GREEN WAVE
The Green Wave posted a 54-49 win over Rice on Saturday. Freshman RB Orleans Darkwa posted his fourth straight 100-yard day, rushing 26 times for 113 yards and completing two pass attempts for touchdowns. Sophomore QB Ryan Griffin completed 21-of-34 passes for 314 yards and three scores, including a 73-yard game winning scoring strike to Ryan Grant with 1:46 to play. Grant and senior TE Cody Sparks each caught two TD passes. With six TD receptions, Sparks has set a new Tulane single-season school record for touchdowns by a tight end. Sophomore WR D.J. Banks ran for two scores and caught another.
TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE
The Golden Hurricane made it four straight victories with a 28-25 win at Houston. During the winning streak, Tulsa has averaged 43 points (172) and 490.5 yards (1,962) of total offense. Junior QB G.J. Kinne accounted for 344 yards of total offense and three touchdowns. He had the fourth-highest rushing game in Conference USA this year with 190 yards and one TD on 31 carries and also completed 65-percent of his passes for 154 yards and two scores. The Tulsa defense intercepted five passes against Houston, the most interceptions in a game for a TU defense since intercepting five passes against UTEP in 1999. Four of the five interceptions were in Tulsa territory and foiled Houston scoring opportunities. National Defensive Player of the Week Marco Nelson had three picks, while junior LB Curnelius Arnick had two INTs.
UAB BLAZERS
The Blazers fell to East Carolina on Thursday, 54-42. Junior QB Bryan Ellis joined John Whitcomb (1993-94) and Darrell Hackney (2004) as the only UAB players to throw five touchdowns in a game. He was 31-of-49 for a career-high 418 yards. Junior RB Pat Shed set a UAB single-game record with 309 all-purpose yards (81 rushing, 84 receiving and 144 return yards). With 1,735 all-purpose yards on the year he has established a new UAB record for all-purpose yards in a season, moving past Derrick Ingram's mark set in 1994. Senior WR Mike Jones had eight receptions for 1,110 yards, while senior TE Jeffery Anderson grabbed seven passes for 82 yards and two scores.
UCF KNIGHTS
The Knights lost for the first time in C-USA play this season on Saturday, falling to Southern Miss, 31-21. Junior RB Ronnie Weaver posetd his fourth 100-yard rushing game of the season with 12 carries for 112 yards. Senior WR Jamar Newsome had his second consecutive 100-yard receiving game, grabbing five passes for 100 yards and a TD. He is the first UCF player to post back-to-back 100-yard receiving games since Rocky Ross in 2006. It marked the first time UCF had a 100-yard rusher and a 100-yard receiver in the same game since Oct. 6, 2007 at ECU (RB Kevin Smith and WR Kamar Aiken).
UTEP MINERS
The Miners fell at No. 14 Arkansas, 58-21. Senior WR Kris Adams had five catches for 148 yards and a touchdown, his 10th TD in the past nine games. A week after a reception for his first TD, sophomore WR Marlon McClure scored for the first time on a kickoff return, returning a first quarter kick 100 yards for a score. He is only the seventh sophomore in school history to amass 1,000 all-purpose yards in a season. McClure ranks seventh nationally in kickoff returns (29.1 avg.), and would rate 15th in punt returns (14.7 avg.) if he averaged 1.2 attempts per game (he averages 1.1). Junior RB Leilyon Myers opened the game's scoring with a career-long 51-yard TD run.