News Nuggets, 10.02.04
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NOTES FROM ECU AND BEYOND...
Previous Day Nuggets...
Next Day Nuggets...
Compiled from staff reports
and electronic dispatches
Memphis hopes to shed first half doldrums against
Houston
PREVIOUS NUGGETS |
10.01.04: Punishing
regimen hardens Louisville's defense ... Gamecocks' "Pops"
goes late night ... Ross's challenge at Army proves to be a
daunting one
...
More... |
09.30.04: Deja
Vu ECU? Florida A&M prez fired amidst turmoil ... Marshall
hangs on to break into win column ... Pessimism wanes at SMU
after long skid ends
...
More... |
09.29.04: Herd
trying to head off worst start in decades ... C-USA
standings, scoreboard, schedule & TV ... AP college football
poll
...
More... |
09.28.04: Bearcat
sack artist honored for disrupting Pirates ... C-USA teams
pepper preseason hoops poll
...
More... |
09.27.04: No Nuggets posted
because of technical issues. |
09.26.04: Gamecocks
formally unveil "Pops" in win over Troy ... Major football,
baseball changes under study
...
More... |
09.25.04: Duke
dealing with meager home crowds, QB issues ... Bush inks
legislation targeting shady agents
...
More... |
09.24.04: NCAA
gives thumbs up to South Carolina's "Pops" ... Imperfect
Miami manages win at Houston ... Hula Bowl's future in
question
...
More... |
09.23.04: Pirates
order up heavy hoops menu ... Miami seeks win and new
recruits in Houston
...
More... |
09.22.04: 'Pack,
Pirates in opposite BCA tourney brackets ... Knight
criticizes Olympic team's priorities ... Bowden Bowl again
pivotal for Clemson coach
...
More... |
09.21.04: USM
turns to former stars to fill athletics positions ... Tigers
take two of league's weekly awards ... UH students get more
ducats for ESPN game
...
More... |
09.20.04: C-USA
standings, scoreboard, schedule & TV ... Associated Press
college football poll ... USM, Cal reschedule Ivan-delayed
game ... Cowboys in party mode after long skid ends
...
More... |
09.19.04: Frogs
to collaborate with European reality TV show ...
Historically black schools get showcase game ... Cal under
the gun to fund stadium upgrades ... Legislation takes aim
at sleazy sports agents
...
More... |
09.18.04: Diamond
Pirates post 'Help Wanted' notice ... Stanford band's satire
finally goes too far ... Cincinnati vs. Syracuse: Preview of
the future ... Bulls poised for taste of BCS football ...
Wolfpack, Buckeyes try to live up to 2003 classic
...
More... |
09.17.04: Storm
refugees invited to FSU-UAB game on the house ... Coaches
ditch plan for 5th year of eligibility ... CSU cracks down
on alcohol in wake of death
...
More... |
09.16.04: Marshall
coach navigates hot water over remark ... Air Force locks in
DeBerry through 2009 ... Bowling Green football player dies
...
More... |
09.15.04: USM's
Bower blasts Cal handling of postponement ... More Ivan:
Tulane-Louisville game postponed ... Big bucks lure Hawaii
to Alabama in 2006
...
More... |
09.14.04: Ivan blows Southern Miss-Cal showdown off track ... Happy
days in Memphis over national ranking ... SMU, Texas A&M
agree to three-game series
...
More... |
09.13.04: C-USA
standings, scoreboard, schedule & TV ... AP Top 25: Memphis,
Louisville make the cut ... College football weekend: stars
& storylines
...
More... |
09.12.04: Southern
Miss bags big prey in Big 12 country ... Pitcher sues over
weight-training injury
...
More... |
09.11.04: Tulane football crisis turns into boon for program ...
Sooners licking chops over visiting Houston?
...
More... |
09.10.04: ECU
boomer Dougherty nominated for punting award ... Army's Ross
still fired up about coaching
...
More... |
09.09.04: Golden
Eagles in countdown mode for Nebraska ... ESPN branching out
with new ventures ... Tar Heels book trip to Maui
Invitational
...
More... |
09.08.04: It's
official: Holland the chosen one ... AP agrees: Holland the
chosen one ... Delayed start an unforgiving one for USM ...
Old skeptic Holtz goes positive
...
More... |
09.07.04: Storm-related
tragedy slams Bowden family ... Army AD Greenspan enlists
with Hoosiers
...
More... |
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MEMPHIS — The Memphis Tigers hope to
kick the habit of getting off to a slow start.
The Tigers (3-1, 0-1 Conference USA)
host Houston (1-3, 1-0) at 1 p.m. Saturday for Memphis' homecoming.
The Memphis offense, coming off the
school's best season in three decades, is on a roll. But the Tigers' best
efforts have often failed to show up until the second half this year.
That wasn't good enough last week when
they lost their league opener at Alabama-Birmingham.
Down 21-3 at the half, the Tigers
fought back to tie the game at 28 by the final period. But UAB scored a
touchdown with 13 seconds left to play to take the victory.
A week earlier, the Tigers scored 31
second-half points to snatch a victory over Arkansas State, and the week
before that they scored 35 second-half points in defeating UT-Chattanooga.
Overall, opponents have outscored the
Tigers 52-46 before halftime. But the second half margin is 101-52 in favor
of Memphis.
Coach Tommy West says the Tigers have
to learn to get moving in the first half and that, despite Houston's record,
the Cougars cannot be taken for granted.
"I've been very impressed with them.
They've played an outstanding schedule," West said. "We thought last year
that they would be one of the teams to beat this year in our league, and I
think they are."
Two of Houston's losses were to No. 2
Oklahoma and No. 4 Miami, while the Tigers' victories came against
Mississippi, Division I-AA Chattanooga and Arkansas State.
The Tigers have struggled on defense,
giving up more than 500 yards in each of their past two games. But the
offense has come on strong, averaging more than 470 yards a game.
Running back DeAngelo Williams is
averaging more than 120 yards rushing, while quarterback Danny Wimprine is
passing for more than 300 yards a game.
Though it lost to Miami 38-13, Houston
scored the first offensive touchdown given up by the Hurricanes this year.
Cougar quarterback Kevin Kolb scampered
into the end zone from six yards out near the close of the first half. The
Cougars were without the services of leading rusher Anthony Evans, who was
sidelined with a strained right calf.
Houston is averaging just over 140
yards rushing and 214 yards passing.
The Cougars lead 9-7 in the series with
Memphis, but the Tigers beat them 45-14 last season in Houston.
"We've been granted another
opportunity, so we'll see what we can do with it," said Houston coach Art
Briles.
Memphis is 6-2 in home openers against
C-USA opponents.
Briles said his offensive line put up a
hard fight against Miami and he's hoping for the same thing at Memphis.
"Those guys have really learned to
cohesively work together as a unit and have developed a mentally tough
attitude," he said. "And if they continue to do that, then we'll continue to
be able to get some yards against some people on the ground."
Joy of winning may be short-lived for SMU
BOISE — Now that its 15-game losing
streak is over, Southern Methodist turns its attention to trying to end the
nation's longest winning streak.
The Mustangs' opponent Saturday night
is No. 23 Boise State, which has won 15 straight games and is unbeaten in
its last 21 at home.
``It's a class program, and it will be
a big chore for us to go up there and hang with them,'' SMU coach Phil
Bennett said.
Both teams are members of the Western
Athletic Conference, though SMU has accepted an invitation to join
Conference USA next season.
By beating San Jose State 36-13, the
Mustangs (1-3, 1-0 WAC) earned their first victory since topping Tulsa in
the last game of the 2002 season. SMU went 0-12 in 2003, including a 45-3
loss to Boise State in Dallas.
The Broncos (4-0, 1-0) don't appear to
have lost much on offense, averaging 48 points.
``Regardless of who they put in the
game, they seem to know exactly what they want to get done,'' Bennett said.
But Boise State is coming off a close
call, slipping past Brigham Young 28-27 last week when BYU missed a field
goal with 19 seconds left. The Broncos trailed 27-22 in the fourth quarter
before scoring a late touchdown. The Broncos also were down before beating
Oregon State and Texas-El Paso.
``It was kind of a call to clean things
up,'' Boise State tight end Andy Weldon said. ``Knowing we can come from
behind again, just that confidence in knowing you can pull things out. We're
going to rally and keep coming out of them.''
Actually, the Broncos hope they can
stop having to rally. The win over BYU was the closest in Dan Hawkins' four
seasons at Boise State, but the coach won't complain about the narrow
margin. He's also not dwelling on it.
``We're such an emerging team right
now,'' he said. ``There's little things everywhere.''
The Broncos allowed BYU to gain 415
yards, including 390 yards passing and two long touchdown throws by John
Beck.
``A lot of it is in ourselves. We're
trying to be technically sound, do everything right,'' cornerback Gerald
Alexander said. ``We just learned that we can be a dominating team as long
as we don't give up some of these big plays we've been giving up.''
Boise State was uncharacteristically
out of sync with the ball, scoring only 28 points after averaging 55 through
the first three games.
First-year starter Jared Zabransky was
also sacked six times, failing to get rid of the ball in time on a few of
them. But he also completed 20 of 28 passes for 302 yards and two
touchdowns.
``The bottom line is he's playing
pretty good,'' Hawkins said. ``He's the reason that we're winning. There's
not a doubt in my mind about that.''
News Nuggets are
compiled periodically from staff, ECU, Conference USA and its member
schools, and from Associated Press and
other reports. Copyright 2004
Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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