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High Noon:
Houston (4-4)
travels outside the
state of Texas for
just the second time
this season when it
takes on East
Carolina (5-4) today
in a 12 p.m.
shootout. The two
teams had opposite
results last week as
Houston defeated
Texas-El Paso, 45-35, in
Conference USA
action, while East
Carolina
fell to
Navy, 56-28, in its
final non-league
game of the season. The Pirates want to
prove to the fans
and themselves that
last week's
defensive collapse
was an aberration,
but it won't be easy
as the Cougars come
to Greenville having
scored at least 35
points in each of the past
five games. Houston
lit
up ECU for
56 points last
season. A win
by the Pirates will
make them bowl
eligible.. |
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UH |
TALE OF
THE TAPE* |
ECU |
|
51st/173.4 |
Rushing
Offense |
101st/120.4 |
|
7th/340.1 |
Passing
Offense |
46th/257.1 |
|
10th/513.5 |
Total
Offense |
84th/377.6 |
|
37th/34.1 |
Scoring
Offense |
76th/26.0 |
|
79th/173.4 |
Rushing
Defense |
68th/166.3 |
|
55th/128.6 |
Pass
Efficiency Defense |
83rd/136.78 |
|
102nd/460.9 |
Total
Defense |
72nd/411.6 |
|
105th/35.3 |
Scoring
Defense |
72nd/28.7 |
|
99th/-.75 |
Turnover
Margin |
82nd/17 |
|
9th/3.3 |
Sacks |
94th/1.4 |
|
24th/1.3 |
Sacks
Allowed |
89th/2.4 |
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*2012 FBS
National ranking |
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TOP PERFORMERS AT A
GLANCE |
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PASSING
ATT. CMP. INT. YDS. TD |
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UH
- David Piland
364 218 9 2438
12 |
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ECU - Shane Carden
248 160 6 1879 12 |
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RUSHING
ATT.
YDS. AVG. TD |
|
UH- Charles Sims
134 816 6.1
11 |
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ECU - Vintavious Cooper
129 751 5.8 4 |
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RECEIVING
NO. YDS. AVG. TD |
|
UH - Daniel Spencer
38
543
14.3
3 |
|
ECU - Justin Hardy
57 780 13.7
9 |
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TACKLES
UT AT
TFL SACKS |
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UH- Phillip Steward
39 45 17 2 |
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ECU - Jeremy Grove
32 29 4 0 |
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Schemes:
Houston utilizes an
�Air Raid� offensive
attack while
employing a 4-3
defensive alignment.
ECU will line up in
a spread offense and
use a 3-4 when
defending. |
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WORTH NOTING |
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� The
game factors
heavily in
the
Conference
USA race
with four
league games
remaining
for Houston
and just
three for
ECU. Houston
holds a 3-1
record and
sits in
third in
C-USA West
behind Tulsa
(5-0) and
SMU (3-1
with the head
to-head
tiebreaker
over UH). ECU is
4-1 and
second in
C-USA East
behind UCF
(4-0 with
the head-to-head
tiebreaker
over the
Pirates). |
|
� Vintavious
Cooper�s
back-to-back,
triple-digit
rushing
efforts (against UAB
and Navy)
were the
first by a
Pirate since
Chris
Johnson
tallied 155
and 223
yards
against
Tulane and
Boise State,
respectively,
to close out
the 2007
campaign. |
|
� The
Pirates have
cashed in on
13 straight redzone
visits,
beginning
with their
last three
against
Memphis. ECU
was 10-of-10
on redzone
chances
versus
UAB (6-6)
and Navy
(4-4). |
|
� After
failing to
score in first
quarter
action
during its
first four
games, ECU
has since
outscored
opponents
42-28 in the
opening
frame over
the last
five
contests.
The positive
trend was
reversed
last
Saturday as
the Pirates
were on the
short end of a
14-0 first
quarter
score
against Navy. |
|
� ECU has
lost
13 straight
games when
surrendering
200 or more
rushing
yards. Over
the last
three years, Houston is
7-0 when RB Charles
Sims rushes
for 100-plus
yards. |
|
� Shane
Carden is
the lone
Texan on the
Pirate
roster,
hailing from
Houston
where he
attended
Episcopal
High School. |
|
�
Sophomore
ILB Jeremy
Grove, who
earned
inclusion on
four
Freshman
All-America
squads in
2011 after
booking a
rookie
school-record
122 stops,
currently
ranks third
nationally
among all
active
career
defenders in
tackles per
game. |
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