University of Memphis Athletics
Post Game Notes and Quotes
Nov 18, 2006 | Football
Nov. 18, 2006
POST-GAME NOTES AND QUOTES
Memphis Head Coach Tommy West
"Well I tell you what, hats off to Houston. They did a nice job. As you can see we are trying every way to win a football game. It does not matter who it is against. We are trying really hard. Today is closer to what we are going to be. For the first time in a long time we played defense. When the best team in the league comes in here and we have won only one game that is a good effort by us.
"Nobody has blitzed them all year and we thought we could come after them and not have to match up man all day. We got some pressure on Kevin Kolb and we had good coverage also. They did run the ball at times but we knew we had to take Kevin Kolb out of the game. He is probably the best player in the conference."
On the final offensive series: "With the offense at the end of the game we thought we had to get 10 yards. And 10 yards would have been close because the wind was in our face. We ran the ball on first down to try and sneak one and then we got the interference call. At the end we had a guy that went in who was not suppose to be in the game. We have to do a better job as coaches at the end of the game. That is embarrassing and I will get that straightened out."
"We would have tried a field goal in the low 40s but if we would have gotten 10 yards, I would have tried it. He (Reagan) is about 45 without wind."
Houston Head Coach Art Briles
"I told the players after the game that this was a dog fight. We have battled so hard this entire season. We haven't had with the exception of one, any easy games this whole season. Our guys just battled and fought, and we knew at some point we were going to run out of energy. We're so thankful that we were able to pull this out today. Now we get a little break and a little bit of rest, going into the championship game. To come back and win after what we had happen at the end of regulation is just a huge victory."
"We should have put them away in regulation. We were down there to kick a field goal, and they had no timeouts left. They blocked it and scored, and then the bad stuff happened in the overtime. They have a good football team, and they have done this to people all year long. They have been on the short end of the stick when it's been all over, but they have battled."
"Our goal was to be the undisputed conference champs. To finish 7-1 in conference play, well I just don't know what to say about it. I'm proud of our players, I'm proud of our fans and I'm proud to be a Houston Cougar."
MEMPHIS GAME NOTES
* Patrick Byrne started at quarterback for today's game as Coach Tommy West started seniors in their final game at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. Also in as a starter for the first time this season was offensive lineman Jared McGowan, who started at right guard in place of Andy Smith. The only senior on defense to have his first start of the season was Michael Spurlock who got the start at middle linebacker.
* True freshman kicker Matt Reagan booted a 22-yard field goal with just over two minutes remaining in the first quarter. It was Reagan's 10th field goal of the season. Reagan is 8-of-9 from a distance of 20-29 yards. Reagan registered a career-high 41-yard field goal in the second quarter to put Memphis up 6-0. Reagan's previous high was a 40-yarder he kicked against UCF last week. He later missed a 32 yarder in the third quarter and missed a 40-yard field goal in overtime. He was 2-for-4 on the day, which makes him11-for-16 on the year.
* Running back Joseph Doss and receivers Duke Calhoun and Ryan Scott all caught passes in today's game, extending their receiving streaks. Doss and Calhoun's streaks are at 11 games and Scott's is at 12 games dating back to the 2005 Motor City Bowl.
* Joseph Doss entered the game ranked 17th all-time in the Tiger record books with 695 yards rushing in a single season. Doss rushed for 133 yards today and now has jumped to 11th all-time with 828 yards. He would need just four yards against UTEP next week to enter the top 10 and tie Punkin Williams who rushed for 832 yards in 1984.
* Junior linebacker Jake Kasser logged his second sack of the season when he dropped UH's Kevin Kolb for a loss of seven yards. Earlier on that same drive, Greg Jackson registered his second sack of the season with a loss of seven yards.
* In the second quarter, Kolb was sacked by Corey Mills for a loss of six yards. It was Mills' third sack of the season.
* The Tigers sacked All-American Kevin Kolb seven times for minus 48 yards in today's game for the most sacks since Memphis logged seven sacks for a loss of 62 yards against East Carolina in 2003.
* Clinton McDonald tallied his first fumble recovery of the season in the third quarter. McDonald picked up the loose ball that was caused by Corey Mills.
* Receiver Ryan Scott caught three passes for seven yards to continue his climb up the Memphis career record chart. He now totals 111 career receptions to rank fifth all-time and 1,493 yards to rank seventh.
* Carlos Singleton caught a 37-yard pass on a 3rd-and-8 situation for his first catch of the game. Singleton has now caught a pass in each of the last seven games.
* Greg Terrell had 2.5 sacks in today's game and continues to lead the Tigers with 6.5 sacks.
*Joseph Doss carried the ball for a career-best 28 times for a career-high 133 yards and one touchdown rushing for his third career 100-yard rushing game. Doss also rolled off 105 yards versus Southern Miss and 112 yards in the season opener against Ole Miss. Doss' one-yard touchdown run marked his fourth touchdown run of the season.
* Brandon McDonald blocked a 24-yard field goal attempted by Houston's Ben Bell and Greg Jackson picked the ball up and ran it 80 yards for a touchdown to tie the score 20-20. The last time the Tigers blocked a field goal was against Southern Miss in 2003.
* Jake Kasser logged his first fumble recovery after picking up a ball that was knocked loose by Michael Grandberry. That recovery led to Memphis getting the ball on the Houston 32-yard line, but Memphis was unable to convert after two costly penalties sent Memphis back to their own 49-yard line.
* The overtime game was the first of the season and the first since Memphis lost in overtime at Tulsa in 2005. In school history, Memphis was 0-3 in overtime coming in to this fourth overtime appearance. Memphis made two appearances in overtime in 2000, falling 33-30 to Houston in triple overtime and falling 13-10 in overtime to Cincinnati.
* The Memphis defense held Heisman candidate Kevin Kolb to just 166 yards passing. It was the first time Memphis held an opponent under 150 yards since Memphis limited UAB to 134 yards earlier this year. Kolb entered the game averaging 249.9 yards per game.
