University of Houston
Hawaii
Game Primer: Houston vs. Hawai'i
12/21/2020 9:33:00 AM | Football
Game will air on ESPN (TV) and KPRC 950-AM (radio)
NEW MEXICO BOWL
Houston vs. Hawai'i
Dec. 24, 2020 | 2:30 p.m. CT | Toyota Stadium | Frisco, Texas
TV: ESPN
Radio: KPRC 950-AM | TuneIn
Game Notes
THE RUNDOWN
« Houston makes its 28th all-time bowl appearance as the Cougars take on Hawai'i in the 2020 New Mexico Bowl in Frisco, Texas, inside Toyota Stadium. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CT and the game will air on ESPN with Jon Schriffen (pxp), Rene Ingoglia (analyst) and Kris Budden (sideline) on the call.
« Houston is 11-15-1 all-time in bowl games and is looking to snap a three-game losing streak during the bowl season. Sixteen of UH's 27 previous bowl appearances have taken place in the state of Texas.
« The New Mexico Bowl was originally slated to take place in Albuquerque but was moved to Frisco, Texas, in November due to COVID-19 guidelines for sporting events in the state of New Mexico.
« The Cougars' schedule has seen its fair share of changes during the 2020 season. Houston has had eight games postponed, canceled or rescheduled due to COVID-19 issues.
« Junior quarterback Clayton Tune ranks 19th in the FBS in total offense, averaging 302.0 yards per game. The junior also ranks fourth in the league and 24th in the FBS in passing yards per game (261.7).
« Junior Marcus Jones' 317 punt return yards this season are more than all other FBS teams have recorded this year. Houston leads the FBS with 342 punt return yards this season, followed by Boise State (311) in second, Kansas State (309) in third place and TCU in fourth (304).
« Houston is 24-19-1 all-time in games played in the month of December.
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
« Houston has made a bowl appearance in seven of the last eight seasons. The Cougars have made 14 bowl appearances since 2003.
« The Cougars' pass rush has increased their production this season. Houston's 22 sacks through seven games are a major improvement. UH logged 22 sacks in 12 games during the 2019 season. The Cougars rank first in the American and are 15th nationally with 3.14 sacks per game.
« Junior Marcus Jones has made an impact in the punt return game, leads the American and ranks first in the FBS in punt return average (21.1). That average would rank as the second-best mark in UH single-season history if the season ended today. Jones picked up his first career punt return touchdown versus USF (72 yards). Jones also ranks No. 1 in the FBS in punt return yards (317).
« The Cougars have not seen a dip in production at punter as 26-year-old freshman Laine Wilkins has stepped into the role this season. Opponents have not returned a punt by Wilkins this season for positive yards. As a team, Houston leads the American and ranks third nationally in punt return defense (-1.33).
« Clayton Tune will become just the sixth UH quarterback in school history to start multiple bowl games as a Cougar. Tune started at quarterback in the 2018 Armed Forces Bowl against Army. He joins Case Keenum (4), Greg Ward Jr. (3), Kevin Kolb (3), Danny Davis (2) and Gary Mullins (2) as the only quarterbacks in program history to start multiple bowl games.
GAME 7 RECAP: MEMPHIS
« Houston rallied from 21 points down in the final quarter to tie the game with 28 seconds remaining, but a Memphis field goal on the final play lifted the Tigers to a 30-27 victory inside Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium on Dec. 12.
« Trailing 27-6 entering the final period, the Cougars began their comeback with a 13-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Clayton Tune to senior wide receiver Marquez Stevenson with 13:01 remaining.
« After Houston's defense forced Memphis to punt with 9:40 left, Tune moved Houston to within 27-20 after scampering into the end zone from 19 yards out.
« The Cougar defense again held and forced Memphis to punt on its next possession. From there, Tune led the Cougars on a 15-play drive to the Memphis 18. Facing 4th-and-8 with about 32 seconds left, Tune connected with junior wide receiver Bryson Smith for a touchdown to knot the game at 27-27.
« Unfortunately, that would be as close as Houston would get. The Tigers took advantage of two passes from quarterback Brady White for 34 yards and a pass interference penalty to move deep into Houston territory. On the final play of the game, kicker Riley Patterson drilled a 47-yard field goal to lift the Tigers to the win.
NOTABLES // HAWAI'I
« Houston and Hawai'i are meeting for the second time overall and first since Dec. 25, 2003, when Hawai'i outlasted Houston, 56-48 in three overtimes at the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl in Honolulu.
« Houston is 19-7 all-time against current Mountain West Conference teams but just 1-4 against current MWC opponents in bowl games. Thursday marks the third bowl matchup against a MWC opponent for Houston since 2016. The Cougars dropped the last three bowl matchups against the Mountain West Conference.
« Battles against Hawai'i head coach Todd Graham are nothing new for Houston. The Cougars are 4-1 when Graham is on the opposing staff and 3-1 with Graham as the head coach (1-0 vs. Rice; 2-1 vs. Tulsa).
« There is also no shortage of familiarity between Houston head coach Dana Holgorsen and Hawai'i head coach Todd Graham. Thursday marks the sixth time the two have coached against one another (Holgorsen has won all five previous meetings) including the fourth time with both serving as head coaches (Holgorsen has won all three prior meetings).
« Houston and Hawai'i quarterbacks have made their marks on the record book. Houston's Case Keenum (2007-11) is the FBS's all-time career passing leader (19,217 yards) followed by Hawai'i's Timmy Chang (2000-04) in second (17,072). Keenum is also the FBS's all-time career touchdowns leader (155). Hawai'i signal caller Colt Brennan (2005-07) is fourth (131) on that list.
SCOUTING HAWAI'I
« Head coach Todd Graham is in his first season at Hawai'i. The Rainbow Warriors went 4-4 in the regular season. Graham is looking for his 100th career head coaching victory and is 99-65 in 13 seasons.
« In his first season as starting quarterback, redshirt sophomore Chevan Cordeiro has thrown for 1,997 yards with 11 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also has team highs in rushing yards (450) and rushing touchdowns (7).
« Seven Hawai'i football student-athletes were recognized by the Mountain West on the all-conference teams including first-team honoree Darius Muasau. The sophomore leads the team with 95 tackles, including 8.5 for loss and 3.5 sacks. He ranks first nationally in solo tackles per game (7.9) and fifth in total tackles per game (11.9).
« The Rainbow Warriors are making just their third-ever trip to a mainland bowl and first since the 2008 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, La. Hawai'i has earned a bowl bid in four of the last five years, including each of the last three seasons.
« Hawai'i capped its regular season with a 38-21 win in the battle for the Island Showdown Trophy against UNLV. The Rainbow Warriors racked up 530 yards of total offense with 278 of them coming on the ground.
LAST TIME AGAINST HAWAI'I
« In an "Instant Classic" performance, Houston and Hawai'i battled for over four hours and three overtimes before the Warriors concluded Christmas Day 2003 with a 54-48 win over the Cougars.
« Facing a third-and-11 from their own 19-yard line with less than 30 seconds left to play, Houston quarterback Kevin Kolb found Vincent Marshall on a quick pass that Marshall turned into an 81-yard touchdown as he outraced the Warrior secondary to tie the game.
« Both teams scored touchdowns in both the first and second overtimes. In the third overtime, the Warriors took the lead on an eight-yard run by Michael Brewster, but UH's Will Gulley intercepted Hawai'i's two-point attempt. The Cougars took over, needing a touchdown to send it to a fourth overtime, but more importantly, could get the two points needed for the victory; however, the Cougars failed to convert on fourth down.
« Houston running back Jackie Battle rushed for three touchdowns and a career-high 124 yards.
AMONG THE BEST
« Houston ranks third among FBS programs in Texas with 44 victories since 2015. The Cougars trail Texas A&M (47) and TCU (46) who lead the state. Houston owns three more wins than Texas and are six ahead of Baylor and boast nine victories more than fellow conference foe, SMU.
« Since 2013, Houston is tied with Baylor for most victories among FBS programs in Texas (60). The Cougars are four wins ahead of Texas in that span. Houston also leads the state of Texas among FBS schools with 10 seasons of at least eight wins since 2006. TCU is second in that span with nine.
« The Cougars also rank fourth among American Athletic Conference Teams with 39 victories in league history. UH remains the last FBS school in the state of Texas to win a league championship (2015 American Athletic Champions).
POSTSEASON HONORS
« Houston Football tallied five all-conference honors as the American Athletic Conference announced its annual football awards on Dec 15. Junior return specialist Marcus Jones and senior linebacker Grant Stuard were named to the American Athletic Conference First Team, while senior defensive lineman Payton Turner was selected to the Second Team. Senior offensive lineman Braylon Jones and senior defensive back Damarion Williams were picked as honorable mention all-conference selections.
THE THIRD PHASE
« Houston leads the American in punt return average (20.33), punt return defense (-1.33) and PAT kicking (1.000). The Cougars are second in the American in kick return average (26.47).
« Among active FBS players, Houston's Marcus Jones and Marquez Stevenson rank second and third, respectively in career kickoff return touchdowns. Jones ranks second among active FBS players with four career kickoff return touchdowns (all four kickoff return touchdowns came during his time at Troy), while Stevenson picked up his third career kickoff return touchdown against Tulane (97 yards) on Oct. 8.
« Against USF, Jones recorded his first punt return for a touchdown in his career, marking the first true punt return inside TDECU Stadium. The 72-yard return was also the first true punt return in a home game since Charles West returned an 87-yard punt against Southern Miss (Nov. 9, 1996).
PRESSURE UP FRONT
« Through Houston's first seven games of the season, its defensive unit has shown major progress from a year ago. The Cougars rank second in the league and 15th in the FBS in sacks per game (3.14). Against Memphis, Houston added two sacks, matching their 12-game total of 22 from a season ago.
« Houston has held its opponents to under their season average in rushing yards in five of its seven games. In its season opener, UH held Tulane to just 70 yards rushing, snapping the Green Wave's streak of 56 straight games with at least 100 yards rushing.
« The Cougars have scored a pair of defensive touchdowns in the last five games in part to their pressure. Against USF, Grant Stuard scored on a 34-yard fumble recovery off a sack by Payton Turner. The Cougars recorded their second defensive touchdown of the year as Derek Parish's 85-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown came in part to David Anenih's sack in the third quarter against USF.
A HOUSTON WIN WOULD ...
« Improve Houston's program win-loss record to 449-378-15 all-time since 1946 and give Houston its 61st win since 2013. The Cougars' 60 victories are tied with Baylor for the most among FBS programs in Texas during that span.
« Snap Houston's three-game losing streak in bowl games and be the Cougars' first bowl victory since defeating No. 9 Florida State, 38-24 in the Peach Bowl on Dec. 31, 2015.
« Snap Houston's three-game bowl losing streak against Mountain West Conference teams.
« Move Houston teams to 5-1 when Todd Graham is on the opposing staff and improve Dana Holgorsen's record to 6-0 against Graham when the pair have been either head coaches or assistant coaches.