The road ends here for 17 UH seniors today. (Sam Khan/Chronicle)
DALLAS — Tyron Carrier has heard the questions quite a bit in the last week. No doubt that virtually all of the 17 seniors on the Houston Cougars roster have also fielded the same questions in the last week regarding today being their final game in a UH uniform. Carrier has tried not to focus on it, saying it hasn’t quite hit him, but acknowledged that he’s given it some thought.
“It hasn’t hit me yet,” Carrier said. “I’ve been hearing it a lot though. It is my last game. I’m just trying to make it the best last game ever.”
Senior quarterback Case Keenum said last week that he was in denial about it. Carrier concurred with that assessment.
“Yes (I’m in denial),” the senior receiver and kickoff return dynamo said. “Just the other day I was talking to (senior receiver) Justin Johnson and I was like ‘Man, what are we going to do after this? We don’t have spring ball. We just have to train for the next level.’ You don’t know what’s at stake. We graduated. It’s just iffy. It’s crazy that you really don’t know what your future holds after graduation. We’re just going to ride this ride until the wheels fall off.”
The ride comes to an end today as No. 20 UH faces No. 24 Penn State in the TicketCity Bowl at 11 a.m. at the Cotton Bowl.
Those seniors were among the ones head coach Tony Levine was thinking of the moment he broke down into tears the day former head coach Kevin Sumlin left to take the Texas A&M job and Levine was subsequently named interim head coach. In a way, he too has been in denial about the end of a career for guys like Keenum, Carrier, Johnson, linebacker Marcus McGraw, center Chris Thompson, receiver Patrick Edwards and many more.
“It was a whirlwind Saturday afternoon and I was sitting by myself at a table with cameras in my face and being asked…about what emotions were going through my head and I was thinking about Case Keenum, Justin Johnson, Chris Thompson, Marcus McGraw, I was thinking about these seniors,” Levine said. “When you say (that today), Case Keenum, Justin Johnson, Chris Thompson, Marcus McGraw, they’re done playing at the University of Houston, that brings a whole different dimension and meaning to this week….But to say it’s in the back of their minds, I think it’ll be closer to the front of their minds.”
In the last four seasons, the Cougars have won 35 games and gone 35-17 (.673 winning percentage). In the years that span the playing career of Keenum, who first hit the field in 2007, the Cougars are 43-22 (.661). This will be their third bowl game in the last four years. A lot has taken place in that time. Among the accomplishments:
- The Cougars ended a bowl drought in 2008, winning their first bowl game since 1980 by beating Air Force in the 2008 Armed Forces Bowl.
- They set a school record for wins this season with 12 and reached the top 10 in the national rankings for the first time since 1991.
- They have played in front of record crowds at Robertson Stadium, perhaps the most memorable coming on Sept. 26, 2009 in a 29-28 win over Texas Tech, which came a week after a road win over then-No. 5 Oklahoma State.
- ESPN College GameDay visited the campus when the Cougars were 10-0 and hosting SMU.
- They ranked No. 1 in total offense in the country two of the last three years and in the top two nationally three of the last four.
Individually, the stories are endless. Keenum has set numerous NCAA career records upon recovering from a torn ACL suffered in 2010. His comeback has been one of the bright stories of the 2011 college football season. Edwards endured a horrific leg injury against Marshall in 2008, one that made several question whether he’d play football again. Not only did he play again, but he returned in time for the 2009 season opener and has since become UH’s and Conference USA’s all-time leader in receiving yards and appears to be a safe bet to be an NFL draft pick this spring. Carrier, who has been overlooked because of his size, overcame a broken ankle his senior year at Worthing High School and has overcome asthma throughout his career to become a go-to guy and tie the NCAA career record for kickoff returns for touchdowns (seven). McGraw found a way to regroup and play a game in his freshman season just hours after discovering that his mother had died. Johnson has gone from a four-phase special teams dynamo to a go-to guy for Keenum this year. Linebacker Sammy Brown, a junior-college transfer, has become one of the best playmakers in the nation, leading the country in tackles for loss. Running back Michael Hayes went from being without a home after South Florida informed him they had no room for him to becoming a big-time playmaker for the Cougars. And several more seniors have been significant contributors, including running back Bryce Beall, defensive end David Hunter, safety Nick Saenz, backup quarterback Cotton Turner, kickoff specialist Jordan Mannisto (who also was a relief pitcher for the baseball team last season) and special teams ace John McIntyre.
There’s one thing this class hasn’t done — win a Conference USA championship — that has been and will undoubtedly be a little hard to swallow. But considering where the Cougars’ program is headed, it appears this group did plenty to influence the upward direction.
“This is a tough team in my eyes,” Carrier said. “You have guys who probably would question if they’d ever play the game again…We’ve been through a lot of ups and downs….I’m going to love this team and I’m pretty sure it’s like how I feel, everyone’s ready to go out there and put everything on the line for one another.”
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Some things to keep an eye on for both teams today:
FIVE THINGS TO WATCH: HOUSTON
STOP THE RUN: It has been UH’s defensive mantra all season. Sometimes the Cougars have been successful, sometimes they haven’t, ranking 78th nationally in rush defense (171.7 yards per game). It’s better than they were a year ago (114th, 208.7) and you can bet that Penn State intends to feed Silas Redd and chew up clock.
PROTECT, PROTECT, PROTECT: In the Cougars’ only loss, Southern Mississippi got after quarterback Case Keenum, sacking him twice and hurrying him seven times. The UH offensive line has done a solid job of keeping Keenum clean this year and must return to that form if the Cougars’ offense is to hit on all cylinders.
RECORD TIME? Senior receiver and kick return specialist Tyron Carrier has one final chance to break the NCAA record for kickoff returns for touchdowns. He is tied with former Clemson star C.J. Spiller with seven in his career. Carrier’s last scoring return came Oct. 27 against Rice.
CHUCK ‘N MIKE: The Cougars offense is at its best when the running game is effective and that means the Cougars have to find a way to get sophomore Charles Sims and senior Michael Hayes going. Both have been effective throughout the season but the Cougars rushed for a season-low 55 yards in their lone loss.
EMOTIONAL HIGH: UH feels disrespected nationally after dropping far in the rankings upon their loss to Southern Mississippi. Expect the Cougars to try to ride that emotion to a fast start against Penn State, another nationally-ranked team. And it’ll be the first game for new head coach Tony Levine, whom the players love.
-SAM KHAN JR.
FIVE THINGS TO WATCH: PENN STATE
BOLDEN GETS THE NOD: Starting quarterback Matt McGloin, who has played reasonably well when not challenged by elite secondaries such as Alabama’s, can’t go because of concussion-like symptoms from a locker-room scuffle. The junior will be replaced by sophomore backup Rob Bolden, who is a steep drop-off. He has shown zero confidence in bit-part time.
PENN STATE’S RUNNING GAME?: If the Cougars can load up the box and prevent 10-play, smashmouth drives, PSU is in big trouble. Nits don’t want to get in a back-and-forth shootout with these guys.
FORGET STILL; WATCH HILL: Though massive All-America DT Devon Still (No. 71) gets the national pub and certainly has had his moments — like driving Trent Richardson straight back three yards on one play — his DT partner Jordan Hill (No. 47) actually had the better season. Hill plays disciplined football and his motor doesn’t wind down late like Still’s.
HOW DOES FERA FARE?: Penn State PK/P Anthony Fera can be erratic. But he has the leg to boom KOs deep into the end zone and launch punts over returners’ heads. which would be advisable with home-run hitter Tyron Carrier lurking.
DO NITS COME TO PLAY?: Bowls like this one are all about who wants to be there. A lot of complaining and whining greeted slotting of PSU in Big Ten’s No. 8 bowl. Players say they’ve shaken off the initial feeling of disrespect. They’d better have or the motivated Coogs could house them good.
— David Jones, Harrisburg Patriot-News
