CUSA Championship Game Preview -
Tulsa at UCF
Courtesy of CUSA
November 28, 2007


IRVING, Texas - By posting victories on Saturday afternoon, UCF and Tulsa have punched their tickets to the third annual Conference USA Football Championship Game. The East Division champion Knights (7-1 in C-USA play, 9-3 overall) will meet the West Division champion Golden Hurricane (6-2 in C-USA, 9-3 overall) on Saturday, December 1 at Bright House Networks Stadium in Orlando. ESPN will televise the championship game live, beginning at Noon EST/11 a.m. CST.

The game represents a rematch of the inaugural Conference USA Football Championship game in 2005, which was played in downtown Orlando at the Citrus Bowl In that game, Tulsa posted a 44-27 victory, as Tarrion Adams had three touchdowns, including two on the ground, while Paul Smith passed for two scores. After a wild first half that saw the Golden Hurricane take a 31-27 lead at the break, TU's defense shut out UCF in the second half to seal the victory and its first conference title since 1985. The game was played in front of a UCF school-record crowd of 51,978.

UCF enters the game on a six-game winning streak and are 9-3 overall, one win shy of tying the school record of 10, set in 1990. Tulsa has won five in a row and is also 9-3, one win away from its highest win total since 1982.

UCF is led by junior RB Kevin Smith, who became the 13th player in FBS history to rush for 2,000 yards in a single season on Saturday when he gained 219 against UTEP to give him 2,164 for the year. He leads the nation in touchdowns with a league-record 26 touchdowns, a figure that ranks 12th in FBS history.

Tulsa's high-powered offense is led by record-setting senior QB Paul Smith, who has passed for more than 300 yards in every game this season. He ranks among the top three in the nation in total offense (4,450 yards), passing yards (4,327), and passing touchdowns (39), breaking all three of those C-USA records on Saturday at Rice.

UPCOMING GAME
Saturday, December 1
C-USA Championship Game
Tulsa at UCF (ESPN) 11:00 a.m.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSE
KEVIN SMITH - UCF
RB, Jr., Miami, Fla. (Southridge)
Smith rushed for 219 yards and a touchdown as the Knights captured the Conference USA East Division title with a 36-20 victory over UTEP. The win was the Knights' sixth-consecutive and Smith took over the FBS lead in rushing yardage with 2,164 yards on the season - that is the fourth highest single-season total in NCAA FBS history. Smith broke his own school record with 46 carries in the game. The 200-yard effort was his fourth of the season and the 11th-time he eclipsed the 100-yard mark in a game (new C-USA single-season record). During the Knights' six-game winning streak, Smith has rushed for 1,259 yards and scored 16 touchdowns (15 rush, 1 rec.). Smith also became the first back in the state of Florida to surpass the 2,000-yard mark in a season and eclipsed Florida's Errict Rhett for the all-time career-rushing yardage total in state history. The junior now has 4,276 career rushing yards (Rhett had 4,057 yards in four seasons at UF).

DEFENSE
CORY HOGUE - UCF
LB, Jr., Naples, Fla. (Naples)
Hogue registered a career-high 13 tackles, including nine solo stops as the Knights defeated UTEP, 36-20, to clinch the C-USA East Division title. The junior's nine solo tackles were also a career-high as helped the Knights' defense limit the Miners to 28 rushing yards on 19 attempts in the contest. Hogue's tackle effort was also the most by a Knight in a game this season as the Miners' offense, who entered the game averaging 34.8 ppg, was only able to score a touchdown and two field goals in the contest. Hogue was also credited with a half-tackle for a loss, giving him 5.5 TFLs on the season.

SPECIAL TEAMS
MATT REAGAN - MEMPHIS
KR, So., Knoxville, Tenn. (Bearden)
Reagan sealed the Tigers' 55-52 triple overtime victory over SMU with his 32-yard field goal in the third OT. For the second straight week, Reagan scored a career-high 13 points. He was 6-for-6 on PATs, which was also a career high for the sophomore kicker. Reagan missed a 32-yard field goal with just 31 seconds remaining in regulation, but video replay showed the snap was bobbled just prior to attempting the kick. Reagan hit his second attempt from 33 yards out in the first OT period and was good on the PAT in the second OT. Reagan came through with the 32-yard field goal to end the 4 hour and 33 minute game with a Tiger victory.

LAST WEEK'S STARS
Here's a look at some of the top performers in Conference USA games from Nov. 24:

Rushing Attempts
46 Kevin Smith, UCF (219 yds.)
27 Chris Johnson, ECU (155 yds.)
27 Damion Fletcher, USM (133 yds.)
25 Matt Forté, TLN (120 yds.)

Rushing Yards
219 Kevin Smith, UCF (46 att.)
157 Anthony Alridge, HOU (11 att.)
155 Chris Johnson, ECU (27 att.)
146 Tarrion Adams, TLS (24 att.)

Rushing Touchdowns
2 Anthony Alridge, HOU
2 Terrance Ganaway, HOU
2 Chris Johnson, ECU

Passing Completions
40 Chase Clement, Rice (66 att.)
35 Justin Willis, SMU (48 att.)
30 Martin Hankins, MEM (59 att.)
26 Bernard Morris, MAR (36 att.)

Passing Yards
541 Chase Clement, Rice (40-of-66)
441 Paul Smith, TLS (22-of-39)
375 Justin Willis, SMU (35-of-48)
336 Martin Hankins, MEM (30-of-59)

Passing Touchdowns
5 Paul Smith, TLS
4 Justin Willis, SMU
4 Martin Hankins, MEM

Receptions
13 Emmanuel Sanders, SMU
12 Steven Black, MEM
11 James Casey, Rice
10 Jeff Moturi, UTEP

Receiving Yards
244 Marion Brennan, TLS (7 rec.)
127 Carlos Singleton, MEM (8 rec.)
118 Emmanuel Sanders, SMU (13 rec.)
116 Jeff Moturi, UTEP (10 rec.)

Receiving Touchdowns
3 Emmanuel Sanders, SMU
3 Carlos Singleton, MEM

Field Goals
3 Michael Torres, UCF
3 Justin Estes, USM

All-Purpose
255 Darius Marshall, MAR (60 rush, 32 rcv., 163 kr.)
249 Kevin Smith, UCF (219 rush, 30 rcv.)
244 Brennan Marion, TLS (244 rcv.)
240 Chris Johnson, ECU (155 rush, 85 rcv.)

Total Offense
601 Chase Clement, Rice (60 rush, 541 pass)
489 Justin Willis, SMU (114 rush, 375 pass)
441 Paul Smith, TLS (441 pass)
364 Bernard Morris, MAR (55 rush, 309 pass)
329 Martin Hankins, MEM (-7 rush, 336 pass)

TWO FOR 2,000
Conference USA became just the second conference ever to produce a pair of 2,000-yard rushers in the same season when UCF's Kevin Smith joined Tulane's Matt Forté in accomplishing this rushing feat on Saturday. Smith and Forte' are just the 12th and 13th players in FBS history to reach the 2,000-yard mark and the duo joins Ricky Williams of Texas and Troy Davis of Iowa State in 1996 as the only conference rivals to run for 2,000 yards in the same season.

Both players rushing totals now rank among the top seven individual seasons in FBS history. Smith is currently fourth with 2,164 yards, while Forte' is seventh with 2,127. Smith, who carried a school-record 46 times for 219 yards in Saturday's 36-20 win over UTEP, will have an opportunity to continue to climb the list with the C-USA Championship Game and a postseason Bowl game still on the UCF's schedule.

Forte ran 25 times for 120 yards and a touchdown in Tulane's 35-12 loss at East Carolina on Saturday to close out his record-setting Green Wave career.

WHAT A RUSH
Conference USA boasts the top two rushers in the country in the latest NCAA stats. UCF RB Kevin Smith now leads the nation in rushing with an incredible 180.3 yards-per-game average after he carried a school-record 46 times for 219 yards and a touchdown Saturday. Tulane RB Matt Forté ranks No. 2 at 177.3 ypg.

GOLDEN GUNSLINGER
Tulsa QB Paul Smith has thrown for over 300 yards in all 12 games this season and 13 times in his career. He has thrown for three or more TDs in nine games this year and in 13 career games. He also leads C-USA and ranks third in the NCAA in passing yards per game.

TOTAL OFFENSE
Paul Smith leads C-USA and ranks third in the NCAA in total offense. In addition to his 39 TD passes, he has also rushed for 12 scores.

SMITH IS RESPONSIBLE
Smith leads the nation and also leads Conference USA in points responsible for with a C-USA record 312 through TU's first 12 games.

SCORING THREATS
C-USA features the top three scorers in the NCAA after the first 13 weeks. UCF's Kevin Smith continues to lead the nation, while Tulane's Matt Forté is in second. ECU's Chris Johnson is tied for third place.

ALL-PURPOSE RUNNERS
Conference USA has four of the top 12 players in the NCAA in all-purpose running. ECU's Chris Johnson continues to lead the nation, while Tulane's Matt Forté is in fourth, UCF's Kevin Smith is in fifth and Houston's Anthony Alridge is in 12th.

THE 300 CLUB
Tulsa senior QB Paul Smith has thrown for more than 300 yards in all 12 games this season, a new C-USA record for consecutive 300-yard passing games and 300-yard games in a season.

DONNIE DOES IT
Houston's Donnie Avery ranks third in the nation in total receiving yards and comes in at fifth in receiving yards per game.

TOTING A THOUSAND
Conference USA finised the regular season with seven running backs that rushed for more than 1,000 yards. That breaks the league record for the most 1,000-yard rushers, set in 2002.

TOP PERFORMANCES
Conference USA players have produced the top individual rushing performance (342 yards by Tulane's Matt Forte' on Oct. 20 vs. SMU) and the top individual receiving performance (346 yards by Houston's Donnie Avery on Oct. 13 vs. Rice) in the FBS during the 2007 season. C-USA is also the first conference in major college football history to have a 300-yard rusher and a 300-yard receiver in the same season.

KNIGHT TIME
UCF clinched the Conference USA East Division title for the second time in three campaigns in the league with its win over UTEP on Saturday. The Knights' nine wins on the year tie for the most since UCF moved to the Football Bowl Subdivision in 1996. The Knights have now won six-consecutive contests. The streak marks just the second time in program history that UCF has claimed six-straight victories (1990).

SMITH HITS 2,000
UCF RB Kevin Smith became the first rusher in the state of Florida history to eclipse the 2,000-yard mark in the season with a seven-yard carry in the second quarter against UTEP. For the game, Smith carried the ball 46 times for 219 yards with one score. His 46 carries were good for a new school record.

The junior currently leads the nation in rushing with 2,164 yards. The Miami native is now fourth in the NCAA single-season annals with 2,164 yards in 2007. He entered the contest 16th on the single-season register.

Smith's 100-yard rushing game was his 11th of the season, which breaks the Conference USA single-season record previously held by DeAngelo Williams, who achieved that feat three times in his career (2003, 2004, 2005).

Smith is now the state of Florida's leader for single-season 100-yard games (11) and career 200-yard games (5).

PAUL SMITH SETS MORE RECORDS
Against Rice on Saturday Tulsa QB Paul Smith established Conference USA single-season records for total offense (4,450 yds.) breaking Louisville's Chris Redman's mark of 4,009, TD passes (39) breaking Shaun King of Tulane's mark of 36 and passing yards (4,327 yds.) breaking Louisville's Chris Redman's mark of 4,042.

Smith threw for 441 yards and five TDs on Saturday. The senior went over 400 yards passing for the second time this year and in his career. His previous 400+ passing game came against BYU with 474 yards in the second game of the year. He has thrown for five TDs three times in 200.

TU'S HIGH POWERED OFFENSE
Tulsa tied the Conference USA record for touchdown passes (38) on its third TD pass of the game against Rice and finished the game with 40 TD passes on the season. The previous C-USA mark of 38 was set by Tulane in 1998.

The Golden Hurricane went over 30 points for the ninth time this season, and the 38th time since the 2003 season. It's also the sixth time this year that the Golden Hurricane has gone over 40 points, including in each of the last four games.

Tulsa tallied more than 500 yards of total offense for the ninth time this season.

COLEMAN IN FIRST
Tulsa LB Nelson Coleman's first tackle of the Saturday's game against Rice made him the school's career tackles leader. He finished the game with a team-high 14 stops (9 solo, 5 assist) and now has 403 career tackles.

TOP TURNAROUNDS
East Division champion UCF and Memphis have been a part of two of the top turnarounds in the FBS season.

WINNING WAYS
With its win over Arkansas State on Saturday, Southern Miss clinched its 14th-straight winning season. Only four programs have longer active winning season streaks in the FBS. Florida State has the longest with 31 straight, followed by Michigan (23), Florida (20) and Virginia Tech (15).

BOWL STREAK
After accepting a bid to the Papajohns.com Bowl Saturday night, the Golden Eagles now will play in a bowl game for the sixth straight season and for the ninth time in 10 seasons.

TOTAL OFFENSE RECORD
With 300 yards of total offense against Arkansas State, the Golden Eagles have now tallied a school-record 4,727 yards on the year, breaking last year's mark of 4,635.

CAN'T CATCH FLETCH
Southern Miss RB Damion Fletcher recorded 133 yards on 27 carries for one TD against Arkansas State on Saturday.

Fletcher's second quarter touchdown gave him 15 on the year, the third most for a season behind Sammy Winder (20, 1980) and Harold Shaw (16, 1997). It also gives him 26 for his career, tied for fifth all-time with Shelton Gandy (1985-88), Reggie Collier (1979-82) and Doyle Orange (1971-73).

KICKOFF YARDAGE LEADERS
East Carolina RB Chris Johnson broke C-USA's all-time KOR yard record with 26 yards against Marshall on Nov. 10 and now has 2,562 yards. Johnson finished Saturday's game with 240 all purpose yards (155 rush, and 85 rcv.).

CHRIS CRUISES
East Carolina RB Chris Johnson scored three TDs on Saturday against Tulane (5 and 7 run/ 33 receiving). He now has 42 career TDs (31/run, 9 receiving and 2 KOR). He finished the game with 155 yards rushing on 27 carries marking the fourth time this year he has rushed for at least 100-yards and eighth time in his career.

He moved into second place on the school's all-time scoring list with 252 points (35 shy of tying the record held by Jeff Heath-287). With his 155 yards on the ground, he moved into fifth place on the Pirates all-time (2,759) list.

On the season, he has rushed for 1,200 yards and is four yards shy of moving into fifth place on the single-season rushing charts. With his 33-yard TD reception in the fourth quarter against Tulane, Johnson set a new single-season record for receiving TDs (5) passing Jerris McPhail (1993).

COUGARS CRUSH TIGERS
The Cougars' 59-point total was the highest since UH enjoyed an 61-34 win over Rice on Nov. 28, 1992. It also was the most points scored by the Cougars under head coach Art Briles.

The Cougars' 53-point win was the biggest since UH enjoyed a 63-7 win over Louisiana-Lafayette on Oct. 3, 1992. It also was the Cougars' biggest win under head coach Art Briles, topping the previous high of 39 points set during a 49-10 win at Conference USA rival UAB on Oct. 20, 2007.

With 664 yards (377 rush, 287 pass) of total offense, the Cougars recorded at least 500 yards for the seventh time this season. UH tallied at least 600 yards for the second time in 2007.

Following Saturday's win, the Cougars improved to 15-8 (.652) when totaling at least 500 yards.

ALRIDGE IN SECOND
With 163 rushing yards on Saturday, Houston RB Anthony Alridge has posted 1,568 rushing yards to date this season. That total ranks as the second highest in UH single-season history. Alridge recorded his eighth 100-yard rushing game of 2007 and the 12th of his career. The Cougars improved to 10-2 (.833) during games in which Alridge reached triple digits in rushing yards. With two rushing touchdowns, senior running back Anthony Alridge recorded his 13th and 14th rushing scores this season and 18th and 19th TDs overall.

CALHOUN CATCHES
Memphis WR Duke Calhoun extended his receiving streak to 23 games with his seven-yard catch from Martin Hankins on Memphis' first offensive series. Calhoun has caught a pass in each of the 23 career games he has played in. He ended the game wih six catches for 65 yards.

HANKINS HAS A DAY
For the third time this season, Memphis QB Martin Hankins tossed four TD passes. His four TDs gives him 22 on the year and 40 in his two-year career. Hankins completed 30 of his 59 pass attempts for 336 yards against SMU. It was his sixth 300-yard passing game this season. The 22 TD passes this season ranks second all-time in a single season.

CHASING NEW RECORDS
Rice QB Chase Clement set C-USA single game marks with 601 yards of total offense, 84 offensive plays and 66 pass attempts. He also set Rice single game records with 541 passing yards and 40 completions, while leading the Owls to 700 total yards against Tulsa. His record output allowed him to lead C-USA in total offense for conference games, finishing with 3,118 yards of total offense in league play (389.9 ypg.)

Clement became the second Owl to top 3,000 yards passing in a season with and went on to break the school record, finishing with 3,377. With three touchdown completions, Clement finished 2007 with 29. That sets a Rice record.

DILLARD EIGHTH ALL-TIME
Rice WR Jarett Dillard became the eighth receiver in NCAA history to reach 40 career TD passes with his 25-yarder in the second quarter against Tulsa. Dillard is second among active players with his 40 TD catches. He has now scored a touchdown in 17 of his last 18 conference games and in 23 of his last 27 overall.

Dillard extended his streak of catching at least two passes in a game to 36. With his 89 receiving yards, he reached the 1,000 yard receiving plateau for the second straight year. He finished the 2007 season with 1,056 receiving yards.

TULANE'S FORTE AND UCF'S SMITH ON WALTER CAMP PLAYER OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST
The Walter Camp Football Foundation has announced 15 "Players to Watch" for its 2007 Player of the Year award, the fourth-oldest individual college football award in the nation. Conference USA has two of the players in Tulane senior RB Matt Forte' and UCF junior RB Kevin Smith.

HELMET STICKERS
A total of nine C-USA players have earned helmet stickers this season from the crew of ESPN's College GameDay Final:

September 8
Patrick Pinkney, East Carolina
(21-of-31, 406 pass yds., 3 TDs vs. North Carolina)

September 22
Case Keenum, Houston
(18-of-22, 254 total yards, 4 TDs against Colorado State)

October 13
Anthony Alridge and Donnie Avery, Houston
(633 all-purpose yards, 6 TDs vs. Rice, First 200-yard rusher and 300-yard receiver on the same team in the same game in FBS history)

October 20
Matt Forte, Tulane
(342 yards, 4 TDs vs. SMU)

November 3
Chase Clement, Rice
(498 total yards, 8 TDs vs. UTEP)

Chris Johnson, East Carolina
(301 rush, 408 all-purpose yards, 4 TDs vs. Memphis)

November 10
Kevin Smith, UCF
(320 rush yards, 4 TDs vs. UAB)

November 24
Brannan Marion, Tulsa
(7 receptions, 244 yds. 2 TD vs. Rice)

TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE
In a high scoring affair, Tulsa downed division rival Rice 48-43 to win its fifth consecutive game and clinch the Conference USA West Division title on Saturday. The Hurricane will travel to Orlando, Florida, next Saturday to face the UCF Knights in the C-USA Championship Game at 11 a.m. CST. UCF won an earlier meeting at home against Tulsa 44-23 on October 20. Tulsa senior QB Paul Smith set Conference USA single season marks for total offense, touchdown passes and passing yards, all coming in the first half. Smith completed 22-of-39 passes for 441 yards and five TDs, while junior WR Brennan Marion had the sixth-best receiving performance in school history with 244 yardsand two TDs. Junior RB Tarrion Adams had his fifth 100+ rushing game of the year with 146 yards. In addition to totaling 91 points, the two teams combined for 1,292 yards, as the Owls had 700 yards of total offense on 104 plays and Tulsa racked up 592 yards for a 7.8 yard average per play. With senior LB Nelson Coleman's first tackle of the game, he became the school's career tackles leader. He finished the contest with with a team-high 14 stops (9 solo, 5 assist) and now has 403 career tackles. Tulsa scored more than 40 points for the sixth time this season, and for the fourth straight game. For the third time this season Smith has now thrown for five touchdowns in one game. He also had five TD passes against BYU and Houston.

UCF KNIGHTS
The Knights defeated UTEP, 36-20 on Saturday to win the East Division of Conference USA for the second time in three seasons. With a league-best 7-1 record, UCF will host the C-USA Championship Game for the second time in three years when it welcomesTulsa on Saturday at Noon EST. The Knights have won six games in a row, marking the second time in program history that it has done that (1990). Junior RB Kevin Smith carried a school-record 46 times for 219 yards and a touchdown. He also became the 13th player in FBS history to run for 2,000 yards in a season, finishing the game with 2,164 yards, the fourth-highest total ever. Senior QB Kyle Israel was 18-of-26 for 261 yards with a career-high-tying three touchdown passes. Freshman WR A.J. Guyton equaled his season-long catch on his 39-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter. His previous catch of 39 yards also went for his only other TD of the season (vs. East Carolina on Oct. 6). Guyton finished the contest with four catches for a career-best 96 yards. Junior DB Sha'reff Rashad picked off his fourth pass of the season in the second quarter, stalling a UTEP drive on the Knights' two-yard line. Rashad's interception was the ninth of his career, which moves him into a tie for third on the UCF career charts. Junior DB Joe Burnett intercepted his league-leading sixth pass of the season in the third quarter, which is the second most by a Knight in a single-season. Burnett has four interceptions and at least one pick in three-consecutive games. Rashad achieved that feat earlier this season. Senior K Michael Torres was 3-for-3 on field goal attempts and has now tied the school record with 12 straight field goals.