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Houston-East Carolina Preview

Dec 2, 2009 - 7:14 AM By ALAN FERGUSON STATS Writer

No. 21 Houston (10-2) at East Carolina (8-4), 12:00 p.m. EDT

Two weeks ago, Houston needed help just to reach the Conference USA championship game.

After getting everything to fall their way, the 18th-ranked Cougars will have a couple of difficult challenges as they try to win their second league title in four seasons.

Houston will not only face defending champion East Carolina on Saturday, but the Cougars will also have to win in hostile territory - the Pirates' Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

A 37-32 loss at Central Florida on Nov. 14 pushed Houston (10-2, 6-2) behind SMU in C-USA's West Division, but the Mustangs fell at Marshall the next week to give the Cougars another chance.

They took advantage with a 55-14 win over Memphis and 73-14 rout of Rice, which denied them the opportunity to advance to last season's title game.

Houston avenged that defeat last Saturday by scoring 59 points in the first half against the Owls. The victory left them one win shy of tying a school record set in 1973 and matched in 1979.

"We had that bitter taste in our mouth this whole year," wide receiver Tyron Carrier said of last year's 56-42 loss to the Owls. "So it was real important for us to come out and start early and I put it upon myself to set the tone for the rest of the game."

The Cougars scored on their first seven possessions with junior quarterback Case Keenum accounting for three touchdowns.

"Our team has really played pretty well the last couple of weeks and we need that," coach Kevin Sumlin said. "Any time you're involved in any type of championship run, you've got to continue to get better."

Stopping Keenum and Houston's high-powered offense will be one of the keys in the Pirates' attempt to repeat.

Keenum, who needs 78 passing yards to reach 5,000 for the second straight year, is the nation's leader in total offense and passing yards. He's also tied with Boise State's Kellen Moore with 38 touchdowns to lead the Football Bowl Subdivision's top scoring squad (44.9 points per game).

Houston didn't face East Carolina (8-4, 7-1) this season, but Keenum had 401 yards and three touchdowns in last year's 41-24 road win over the No. 23 Pirates, the program's first win over a ranked team since 1996.

Running back Bryce Beall added 130 yards and two touchdowns as the Cougars racked up 621 yards. Beall, however, hasn't cracked 100 yards this season since the Cougars added promising freshman runner, Charles Sims.

Beall had 1,247 yards and 13 touchdowns as a freshman last season, and he and Sims have combined for 1,283 yards and 16 TDs this season for Cougars, who also lead the FBS with 583.25 yards per game. Carrier, Patrick Edwards and James Cleveland are each within 100 yards of 1,000 receiving.

The Houston defense, however, is among the nation's worst in giving up 445.2 yards and it has also allowed 28.0 points per game. The Cougars have especially struggled against the run (218.2 ypg), and that makes East Carolina senior Dominique Lindsay another pivotal figure in Saturday's game.

Lindsay, who has 954 yards on 181 carries, is attempting to become the Pirates' second 1,000-yard rusher in six seasons and first since current Tennessee Titans starter Chris Johnson in 2007.

The senior will try to lead East Carolina to its fourth straight win but more importantly another milestone for a program that's seen a resurgence since hiring Skip Holtz as coach on Dec. 3, 2004.

The Pirates had lost 22 of 25 games before Holtz arrived, but he has led them to winning seasons in four of his five years. They made another big stride last season by earning their first conference title since 1976 with a 27-24 victory at Tulsa.

Holtz's team opened this season 1-2 but recovered to finish a league-best 7-1, capping the conference schedule with a 25-20 win over Southern Mississippi last Saturday.

The Pirates, however, have dropped both of their games against ranked teams this season after winning their two in 2008.

"To keep the momentum of the program, I think it's huge," Holtz said. "It's something the seniors have looked at as this is their legacy that they're leaving. I don't think there's any doubt they have left (the program) much better than they found it."

Houston trails 5-4 in the series but has won three of four at East Carolina.

The winner of Saturday's game will likely advance to the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tenn.