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• Memphis visits No. 24 Houston

  
  

  Houston, TX (Sports Network) - The 24th-ranked Houston Cougars open a regular- season ending two-game homestand this weekend, as they try to bounce back against the Memphis Tigers in Conference USA play at Robertson Stadium.

  The Cougars rallied for wins in each of their two prior games, but last weekend, they ran out of steam and were knocked off by UCF, 37-32, in Orlando.

  "Obviously, we're not happy with the events, everything that took place and the performance of last weekend," said coach Kevin Sumlin. "We had a chance early in the game to take control of it, but we did not do that." The loss was costly in a couple of different ways, as it took away any hope of a BCS bowl berth and put a huge dent in the team's chances of reaching the Conference USA title game. It also snapped a five-game winning streak by the Cougars, who now sit a game back of SMU for the West Division lead. Houston defeated SMU earlier this season, so it owns the tiebreaker, but still needs the Mustangs to lose one of their final two games to take the division. The Cougars obviously would need to win their last two games, but that should be a problem considering their final two opponents have combined for only three wins this season.

  As for the Tigers, their dismal campaign continued following a 31-21 setback to UAB this past weekend. It was the first game since the team learned head coach Tommy West will be removed after nine seasons at the helm of the program. West will finish out the season, while the program searches for his replacement. Meanwhile, his team has now dropped four straight decisions in falling to 2-8 overall and 1-5 within the conference.

  In regard to the all-time series, Houston holds a 10-9 edge over Memphis, but the Tigers have won three straight at Robertson Stadium.

  The Tigers rolled up 436 yards of total offense against UAB, but committed two costly turnovers and went just 1-of-4 on fourth downs in the loss.

  "Errors have been this team's nemesis," said coach West, whose club has committed 24 turnovers this season. "Again, I can't believe that I can't get this team fixed. We have a turnover at the three (yard line) and a turnover at the one (yard line) and that's the football game." Despite the outcome, tailback Curtis Steele had a productive day, as he rushed for 107 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 20 carries. It was another solid performance from Steele, one of the league's top backs who has rushed for 847 yards and nine scores in eight games.

  Quarterback Will Hudgens didn't throw any touchdowns last weekend, but he still was effective, converting on 26-of-41 pass attempts for 333 yards. It was the first start of the year for Hudgens, who has now passed for 1,484 yards, with seven scores and six picks.

  Duke Calhoun is the team's leading receiver with 59 receptions for 881 yards and five scores, and he had four catches for 79 yards against UAB.

  The Memphis defense has been exploited down the stretch and last weekend the unit gave up 487 total yards to UAB. The defense was torched for 376 yards and three touchdowns on 19-of-26 pass attempts and those numbers include several pass plays of over 25 yards.

  "Right now, the problem is that we are not good enough in the secondary to be quite frank," said coach West. "We're fighting like crazy against the run, and then we give it up in the passing game." The Tigers are being burnt on the ground (183.0 ypg) as well as through the air (255.5 ypg) this season and they have allowed 40 touchdowns, with an even split between rushing and passing scores.

  Deante' Lamar leads the defense with 59 stops for the season and that includes a six-tackle performance in last weekend's setback.

  The Cougars jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, but they lost a pair of fumbles deep in UCF territory that would end up proving costly. Houston built a 17-3 lead late in the second quarter before things took a turn for the worse and UCF went on a 34-3 run to capture the 37-32 upset.

  "We turned the ball over twice and didn't do things that we needed to do offensively to take control of the game in the first half," said coach Sumlin.

  Houston's high powered attack was also limited to 423 total yards, which is not a bad number, but its far below the team's average of 562.6 ypg. Quarterback Case Keenum threw for 377 yards and three touchdowns, as he continues his remarkable campaign. For the season, Keenum has now completed an efficient 69.6 percent of his pass attempts for 4,194 yards, with 31 touchdowns and only six interceptions.

  James Cleveland has been his favorite target, as he leads the team with 82 receptions for 941 yards and 11 touchdowns. Tyron Carrier and Patrick Edwards have also been effective and they have over 65 catches and 800 receiving yards apiece on the year. Last weekend, it was Carrier's time to shine, as he grabbed nine balls that went for 149 yards and a pair of scores.

  The Cougars have been vulnerable on defense and that showed last weekend, when the team allowed 393 total yards to UCF. The total yards were actually lower than the 462.1 ypg the team is allowing on the season, but they helped UCF keep control of the ball for nearly 40 minutes.

  "We didn't do the things we needed to do defensively in the second half to win the game," said Sumlin, whose team gave up 27 points after the break.

  The biggest issue the Cougars' defense has had is stopping the run, allowing 213.3 ypg and 24 scores on the ground. If foes can dominate Houston on the ground game, they can control the clock, keeping the Cougars' potent offense off the field.

  While Houston's defense may be struggling as a group, Marcus McGraw and C.J. Cavness are both enjoying terrific campaigns. McGraw tops the roster with 109 tackles, to go with four sacks, while Cavness checks in with 100 stops of his own.

  11/18 11:10:28 ET