Volume 80 Issue 12

WEEKDAY, MONTH XX 5 WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER

INSIDE PG.XX

Change pace Teaser of here Headline and here and

Say goodbye to the Cougars' high-flying attack that most have been accustomed to seeing, as the slower-paced, revamped running attack is the new identity that has the team in right direction First, second year players INSIDE PG. 4 playing time see extensive PG. XX

Teaser Headline

This is the teaser text. Dolor aut ut ut faciunte et quidus quia quis explist autesto | PG. 6

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2 | Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Overtime is produced by The Cougar, the official student newspaper of the University of Houston. No part of the publication in print or online may be reproduced without the written consent of the Director of the Center for Student Media. To contact the CSM, call (713) 743-5350.

EDITOR Andrew Valderas COPY EDITOR Joshua Cochran

CLOSING EDITORS Jenae Sitzes Cara Smith Christopher Shelton PHOTOGRAPHER Justin Tijerina

ADVERTISING TEAM Jose Salazar J.P. Montgomery Alejandra Leon Elizabeth Murphy Alexander Lacamu

DESIGN TEAM Jose Cruz Alex Tomic Josue Diaz SALES MANAGER Callista Brown

ABOUT THE COVER After a rough, 2-3 start to the season, head coach Tony Levine and his Cougars have turned things around after three straight conference wins, and they are hoping to see their fourth when they host Tulane on Saturday afternoon at TDECU Stadium | Justin Tijerina/The Cougar

5 things to watch for

ANDREW VALDERAS

OVERTIME EDITOR

@THISISDREW2010

UH will enter Saturday afternoon’s game against Tulane seeking its fourth consecutive victory after a 27-3 domination over South Florida last weekend, which put the Cougars in a five-way tie for first place in the American Athletic Conference.

The Cougars have won four of the last five and are playing their best football of the season, largely accredited to an overwhelming defensive unit and a stable offense that has been playing fundamental, turnover-free football.

Tulane has lost four of five and has been inconsistent in all areas. The Green Wave is expected to have a tough time moving the ball against the Cougars’ defense, as well as trying to slow down their potent running attack that has proven dangerous since the insertion of sophomore quarterback Greg Ward.

Here are five things to watch for in the Cougars’ Homecoming game Saturday on ESPNU: 1: UH will try to establish running game early, often

Defenses have had nightmares about trying to slow down the Cougars’ rushing attack, which consists of a myriad of rushing formations and zone reads orchestrated by elusive, yet accurate passing from sophomore quarterback Greg Ward. The Cougars have rushed for seven touchdowns in three games.

Junior running backs Kenneth Farrow and Ryan Jackson have consistently been a step ahead of defensive linemen and linebackers due to Ward’s speedy presence of keeping the ball himself on the zone read plays.

2: Short, high percentage passes from Ward should equate success

The Cougars’ sophomore quarterback has completed 73 percent of his passes, and the offense has completed better than 44 percent of its third downs since Ward took over, compared to just 34 percent before he did.

3: Tulane’s defense is just as tenacious The Cougars’ Third Ward Defense ties the conference lead in turnovers with 24, but Tulane’s is right up there with 21. Tulane freshman defensive back Harry Nickerson

has been the anchor in that department with four interceptions. The Green Wave defense is in the middle of the pack in total defense, but its strength, like UH, has been taking the ball away from offenses.

4: The faster, the better The Cougars are 9-1 after winning the first quarter with Travis Bush as the offensive coordinator, compared to their 1-9 record when they don’t.

Numbers don’t lie, and a good start could provide enough momentum to ride the Cougars to their fourth consecutive win.

5: Short down and distances will be key for Tulane

If Tulane has any chance in this contest, it’ll be important for its offense to gain success on third-down.

So far, it hasn’t. Tulane’s third-down conversion rate is near the bottom in the nation (112th) at just 33 percent.

Also, part of its offensive scoring struggle has been because of unproductive field goal kicking, an area the Green Wave is a dismal 4-10, a percentage that is second to last in the nation.

Running back Kenneth Farrow and the rest of the Cougars are ready for challenge against the Knights in Thursday's primetime showdown, a rematch from last season's thriller that had conference title implications. Few lineup changes from last season, yet should expect good game— photo by Justin Tijerina

Contact The Cougar thedailycougar.com NEWSROOM 713-743-5360 editor@thedailycougar.com facebook.com/thedailycougar twitter.com/thedailycougar

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Wednesday, November 5, 2014 | 3

WE ARE YO U R B U S I N E S S CO N N E C T I O N

The University of Houston is an EEO/AA institution.

bauer.uh.edu

C. T. Bauer College of Business is an AACSB accredited business school.

4 | Wednesday, November 5, 2014

The Cougars' new groove

After nearly two months of offensive inconsistency, UH has finally found a formula for success that has put it back in the AAC race ANDREW VALDERAS

OVERTIME EDITOR

@THISISDREW2010

The Cougars' offense has gone from OneOfTheFastestUnitsInTheNation to one of the slowest the program has seen in a long time.

Fans can kiss the Cougars' triple-espresso, rapid-scoring offense goodbye (at least for this season) and welcome in a run-heavy regimented offense that moves more like a snail compared to the teams in the past half-decade.

In the past three games, the Cougars' time of possession has averaged nearly 35 minutes, the first time they have averaged more than their opponents since 2007.

Even though the offense ranks100th in the nation in yards per play (5.14) — which might raise some eyebrows compared to a team that ranked in the top five three of the last six seasons — it has still been able to match its scoring average to 28 points per game in the three wins since quarterback Greg Ward took over as the starter.

The sophomore signal-caller has helped his Cougars rip off three straight wins and propelled a team back into the conference championship race after many began to question whether the team with high expectations in the preseason would even reach a bowl game after a 2-3 start.

In this offensive scheme, more runheavy, it is less complex than it was when the Cougars were chucking it more than 40 times a game before Ward was inserted. Ward has been efficient, averaging 26 pass attempts per game, and the Cougars have not turned the ball over in 10 quarters.

Three-headed monster Ward’s elusiveness and speed out of the shotgun formation accompanied by either — or sometimes both — junior running backs Kenneth Farrow and Ryan Jackson, has given defensive coordinators nightmares. All three have split the amount of carries since Ward took over.

Jackson has rushed 41 times, Farrow 40 and Ward 37, combing for seven touchdowns in the stretch.

The varying run formations that

With a stout running game and a strong defense, the Cougars and running back Ryan Jackson have found a winning offensive formula. | Justin Tijerina/The Cougar

include shotgun with zone read plays have confused defenders enough to allow the Cougars to average better than four yards a carry while averaging 45 rush attempts per game; most importantly, gaining positive yardage on first and second down. “(Defenders) have been keying on me a little bit, and me carrying out my fakes have helped open holes and running lanes for our running backs,” Ward said.

Head coach Tony Levine said, “It may not seem like much, but if a linebacker

has to hesitate for just a half second, wondering if he has the ball (or not), it has allowed our offensive line to get a better angle. The motion has hurt their linebackers’ vision.”

Keeping it simple The Cougars have been playing small ball, and most of the passes Ward completes are short and high percentage (the Cougars’ 5.9 yards per pass attempt ties for 115th in the nation), which has put the offense in a good position to move

the chains.

In the Cougars’ first five games, they struggled to sustain drives by converting just 34 percent of their third-downs. Now, the offense has converted 45 percent of them since Ward, who has since completed better than 73 percent of his passes since, took over.

This scheme offensive coordinator Travis Bush has built tailors perfectly to Ward and his versatile skill set, and the team is finally clicking on all and seems to have found its stride.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014 | 5

Sophomore quarterback Greg Ward Jr. and the Cougars will seek their fourth straight win when they host Tulane on Saturday afternoon at TDECU Stadium on ESPNU. | Justin Tijerina/The Cougar

Leading a team to success is nothing new for Ward CHRISTOPHER SHELTON

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

@CHRISSHELTONTDC

Greg Ward had been here before.

The sophomore was the starting receiver and punt returner for UH prior to ascending to quarterback and igniting a slumping offense with 580 yards in three starts. But before Ward joined the Cougars, he was in a similar position in high school.

He went from a sophomore receiver to a junior quarterback who then led John Tyler High School to the Class 4A Division I state semifinals in consecutive seasons.

Even though he was a skill position player in high school and college, Ward always wanted to return to his first love.

“Quarterback was my first position since I was 8 years old. It stuck with me all my life, and I’ve dedicated myself to the position. And I work hard,” Ward said.

Only this time he wasn’t taking over a powerhouse program with a full offseason to transition to the position. Ward hadn’t taken snaps at quarterback in practice and didn’t participate with the signal callers in

film study.

Plus, the Cougars were under .500 and headed toward a tough road contest against Memphis and the meat of their American Athletic Conference schedule.

However, Ward said the he didn’t feel the weight of the season on his shoulders — he was embraced by teammates following a 17-12 loss to UCF, where he came inches short of scoring the game winning GREG touchdown.

WARD QUARTERBACK “My team was all behind me.

Everybody was gathering around me and telling me that ‘we’re behind you and we’re family. We’ve got this.’ So that helped me a lot to build my confidence,” Ward said.

The team’s confidence in Ward proved fruitful. In his three games as starter, all wins, he has tossed four touchdowns compared to only one interception and is

completing 76 percent of his passes.

Sophomore defensive end Tyus Bowser wasn’t surprised that Ward came in and succeeded immediately. He had a front row seat while Ward threw for more 4,202 passing yards and 39 touchdowns as a senior and led John Tyler to a 24-6 record in two seasons as starter. Bowser even chased Ward around as a preteen, when the two competed against each other in middle school.

“I know that’s Greg. I’ve been seeing it for so long,” Bowser said.

“It’s really nothing new to me, but it does excite me to see him out there doing it again.”

As Bowser knows, Ward’s success hasn’t been an accident. He provides a different dimension to an offense that was struggling to find a consistent winning formula before he was inserted.

Teams have to commit another defender to stopping Ward. That could mean a safety who would typically double junior receiver Deontay Greenberry or a linebacker committed to covering a running

back out of the backfield is instead used to spy Ward.

Receivers are more likely to see single coverage and running backs have one less member of the opposing front seven to account for.

“You’ll see some runs where the linebackers and defensive linemen may be playing a little slow because they’re watching him, and it helps open up some things on the inside,” said offensive coordinator Travis Bush. “He has put some pressure on defenses, and they got to respect what he can do. Right now, he’s making great decisions with the football. The guys are really rallying around him.”

But the coaching staff is impressed with more than Ward’s physical gifts — his leadership and poise have piqued the interest of head coach Tony Levine.

“There were times on the headset when we would question his decision, and on video when we would question his decision – then when we talked to Greg about it, he gave us a great answer, a veteran answer,” Levine said.

6 | Wednesday, November 5, 2014

STARTING LINE-UP

STEWART (FS) #23

OLIPHANT (SLB) #50

WILSON (CB) #26

STANSBURY (DE) #72

ADAMS (MLB) #9

MBU (DT) #92

MCDONALD (SS) #16

TAYLOR (WLB) #41

SINGLETON (DT) #93

JACKSON (CB) #3

EILAND (DE) #21

DEFENSE OFFENSE CROSS (LT) #68

DEW (LG) #63

REDMAN (C) #58

BEADLE (WR) #84

AMBLES (WR) #21

HARPER (LG) #74

WARD (QB) #1

COOPER (LT) #60

GREENBERRY (WR) #4

AYERS (WR) #10

FARROW (RB) #35

TEAM LEADERS

POLL

2014 stats, UH vs. Tulane starters

WORTHY OF THE FOLLOW

PASSING PLAYER

CMP

ATT

YARDS

CMP%

TD

INT

AVG

Greg Ward

72

100

669

72

4

1

83.6

Tanner Lee

94

177

1119

53.1

9

9

186.5

PLAYER

YPA

ATT

YARDS

LONG

TD

G

AVG

Kenneth Farrow

5.6

98

549

55

5

8

68.6

Sherman Badie

6.47

92

595

90

3

8

74.3

Offensive coordinator Travis Bush

Right guard Rowdy Harper

Defensive coordinator David Gibbs

Receiver Deontay Greenberry

RUSHING

@CoachTBush

@RowdyHarper74

@CoachDavidGibbs

@TayB_DaTruth

RECEIVING PLAYER

REC

YARDS

TD

YPC

RPG

LONG

AVG

Deontay Greenberry

39

466

3

11.9

4.9

67

58.3

Justyn Shackleford

25

351

2

14

3.1

27

43.9

@

Who do you want to see next? use hashtag #tdcunderhelmet or send your suggestions to @thedailycougar

Wednesday, November 5, 2014 | 7

THE BIG BOARD AP TOP 25

AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

RK

TEAM

RECORD

PTS

1

Mississippi State (45)

8-0

1484

Memphis at Temple (Friday)

2

Florida State (15)

8-0

1452

SMU at Tulsa (Saturday)

3

Auburn

7-1

1345

Tulsa at Houston (Saturday)

4

Alabama

7-1

1281

Connecticut at Army (Saturday)

5

Oregon

8-1

1275

6

TCU

7-1

1275

7

Michigan State

7-1

1120

8

Notre Dame

7-1

1096

9

Kansas State

7-1

1049

10

Baylor

7-1

961

11

Arizona State

7-1

831

12

Ole Miss

7-2

828

13

Ohio State

7-1

780

14

LSU

7-2

717

15

Nebraska

8-1

680

16

Oklahoma

6-2

574

17

Georgia

6-2

465

18

UCLA

7-2

464

19

Clemson

6-2

341

20

Utah

6-2

327

21

Arizona

6-2

325

22

Duke

7-1

288

23

Marshall

8-0

238

24

West Virginia

6-3

159

25

Wisconsin

6-2

83

Others receiving votes: UCLA 110, LSU 67, Duke 45, Minnesota 36, Kentucky 36, West Virginia 27, Washington 22, Georgia Tech 11, Arkansas 10, Louisville 7, Rutgers 7, Iowa 6, North Dakota State 3, Colorado State 3, South Carolina 1, Virginia 1, Wisconsin 1

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"You'll see some runs where the linebackers and defensive linemen may be playing a little slow because they're watching (Greg Ward), and it helps open up some (inside running lanes)... right now, he's making some great decisions with the football"

offensive coordinator Travis Bush, on quarterback Greg Ward's impact on the improved running game

Friday- Saturday

STANDINGS

NETWORK

TIME

ESPNU

6:30 p.m.

AMERICAN

W

L

W

L

East Carolina

3

1

6

2

CBS

11 a.m.

Central Florida

3

1

5

3

ESPNU

2:30 p.m.

Houston

3

1

5

3

CBS

2:30 p.m.

Memphis

3

1

3

3

Cincinnati

3

1

5

3

Temple

3

2

5

3

South Florida

2

3

3

6

Tulsa

1

3

1

7

Tulane

1

3

2

6

Connecticut

1

4

2

6

TV GUIDE Thursday- Saturday

Network

Time

No. 19 Clemson at Wake Forest (Thursday)

ESPN

6:30 p.m.

Utah State at Wyoming (Friday)

ESPN2

7 p.m.

Presbyterian at No. 12 Ole Miss

SEC

11 a.m.

No. 17 Georgia at Kentucky

ESPN

11 a.m.

No. 10 Baylor at No. 16 Oklahoma

FOX Sports 1

11 a.m.

Penn State at Indiana

BTN

11 a.m.

Iowa at Minnesota

ESPN2

11 a.m.

No. 25 Wisconsin at Purdue

ESPNU

11 a.m.

No. 22 Duke at Syracuse

ESPN3

11:30 a.m.

Georgia Tech at North Carolina State

ESPN3

11:30 p.m.

South Alabama at Arkansas State

ESPN3

2 p.m.

Georgia State at Troy

ESPN3

2 p.m.

Texas A&M at No. 3 Auburn

CBS

2:30 p.m.

No. 8 Notre Dame at No. 11 Arizona State

ABC

2:30 p.m.

No. 24 West Virginia at Texas

FOX Sports 1

2:30 p.m.

Michigan at Northwestern

ESPN2

2:30 p.m.

Tennessee-Martin at No. 1 Mississippi State

SEC

3 p.m.

Washington State at Oregon State

PAC12

3 p.m.

5:30 p.m.

FLASHBACK

File photo

HOUSTON 40 TULANE 17

Virginia at No. 2 Florida State

ESPN

No. 18 UCLA at Washington

FOX Sports 1

6 p.m.

Boise State at New Mexico

CBS

6 p.m.

Hawaii at Colorado State

ESPNU

6 p.m.

Louisville at Boston College

ESPN2

6:15 p.m.

No. 9 Kansas State at No. 6 TCU

FOX

6:30 p.m.

Wave in the final game at Robertson Stadium

Florida at Vanderbilt

SEC

6:30 p.m.

No. 4 Alabama at No. 14 LSU

CBS

7 p.m.

The UH defense forced six total turnovers, including four

No. 13 Ohio State at No. 7 Michigan State

ABC

7 p.m.

Trevon Stewart scooped up a fumble and returned an inter-

Colorado at No. 21 Arizona

PAC12

7 p.m.

ception 53 yards.

UH pulls away against Tulane

On Nov. 24 2012, Cougars running back Ryan Jackson rushed for two second half touchdowns en route to a career-high 136 yards to seal a victory over the Green

interceptions and two fumble recoveries. Defensive back

Louisiana-Lafayette at New Mexico State

ESPN3

7 p.m.

Despite three interceptions from quarterback Crawford

No. 5 Oregon at No. 20 Utah

ESPN

9 p.m.

Jones, the Cougars quarterback's passing attack threw for

San Jose State at Freson State

CBS

9:30 p.m.

368 yards and two first quarter scores to Ronnie Williams — Andrew Valderas

facebook.com/thedailycougar

8 | Wednesday, November 5, 2014

After inserting sophomore Greg Ward as starting quarterback, the Cougars have found a balanced offensive identity. | Justin Tijerina/The Cougar

With Ward at quarterback, Cougars discover their identity CHRISTOPHER SHELTON

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

@CHRISSHELTONTDC

At last, the Cougars have an offensive identity.

A seemingly meaningless quote from head coach Tony Levine during his weekly press conference signified a shift in strategy.

“We’ve got to be balanced – we’ve got to be able to throw it or run it,” Levine said.

Before this week, if you asked Levine if he was looking to get more carries for his running backs? He’d typically respond with something like “we’re just going to take what the defense gives us.”

Ask the offensive coordinator if they’re going to start attacking opponents with the deep ball. You’ll probably get a variation of “it depends on the types coverages we see. We take what we can get from the defense,” as a soundbite.

Question a quarterback on spreading the ball around to different receivers and he’ll probably say “the coverage dictated who got the ball. If the defense gives us certain matchups we’ll take it.”

Good public relations training aside, the

message emanating from UH (5-3, 3-1) was that its offensive playcalling was dependent on the skills and strategy of the opposing defense. Their malleable gameplan meant that even avid fans couldn’t be sure how the Cougars would try move the ball that week.

In other words, the Cougars haven’t had an offensive identity since Case Keenum was piloting the Air Raid.

But that was before sophomore Greg Ward succeeded John O’Korn as starting quarterback during a 28-24 win against Memphis on the road.

Before Ward was elevated to starter in week six, the Cougars’ leading rusher Kenneth Farrow averaged seven rushes and 26 yards per game in losses. In wins, Farrow averaged 13.5 carries and 121.5 yards per game.

O’Korn’s attempts fluctuated too. Though he only played for about one half against Central Florida before he was relieved by Ward, O’Korn put up 26 attempts. During a dominating win over Grambling State, O’Korn tossed it only 24 times.

However, since Ward became the starter the numbers have since stabilized. Even

though three games is a small sample size, the foundation of a balanced offense that can dictate its terms to teams in the American Athletic Conference has formed — a notion that’s not lost on Farrow.

“We’ve been getting better at doing what we do, and hopefully we can get to that point where it doesn’t matter what the defense does and just do what we want to do,” Farrow said. “And as long as we keep preparing we should be able to do that.”

Sure, Farrow traded one cliche (taking what the defense gives) for another (we’re going to do what we do), but it symbolized the change that the numbers proved.

During the team’s 31-10 victory against Temple and road win over Memphis, UH’s top two rushers Farrow and junior Ryan Jackson have 28 and 27 carries respectively while Ward has 29 carries, including a 64 yard touchdown run. The Cougars are also keeping Ward’s passing attempts around 30.

For the Cougars, inserting Ward at quarterback provided a repeatable offensive formula that couldn’t have come at a better time.

Before Ward, the Cougars were 2-3, and a season that began with a lot of hype was

withering away — even a bowl appearance was in doubt. Now, the Cougars have the foundation of an offense that can match their ballhawking defense.

With the triple threat of Ward, Farrow and Jackson out of the backfield, UH has the ability to protect its defense by controlling the football with the running game and not turning the football over.

This version of the Air Raid is different, and it should be, because the current cast of characters is different. Instead of a plethora of quick passes that put UH’s receivers in space, the Cougars have a physical running game and a quarterback that can improvise and create big plays.

With a defense that is fifth in the country in points allowed with 16 per game, that’s a winning formula.

“In my seven years at the University of Houston, I don’t remember time of possession in a game being 43 minutes,” Levine said. “It was good to see. We were very productive on offense, did not turn the ball over. We ( forced turnovers) four times defensively and on special teams. We played a solid game.”

This isn’t your father’s Air Raid, and that’s a good thing for UH.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014 | 9

POWER RANKINGS

1

2

EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY

3

UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA

UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON

Photo courtesy of ECU Athletic Media Relations

Photo from Justin Tijerina/The Cougar

SHANE CARDEN'S POTENT PIRATE OFFENSE

KNIGHTS' ABILITY TO WIN CLOSE GAMES

THE COUGARS ARE ARGUABLY THE HOTTEST

AND TEAM'S STIFF DEFENSE HAS KEPT THEM AT

COMBINED WITH SOLID DEFENSE KEEPS

TEAM IN AAC, HIGHLIGHTED BY THREE STRAIGHT

TOP SPOT DESPITE LOSS AT TEMPLE LAST WEEK

DEFENDING AAC CHAMPS AFLOAT IN RANKINGS

CONVINCING WINS WITH TWO ON THE ROAD

4

5

5

6

7

8

Photo from Justin Tijerina/The Cougar

9

10

11

10 | Wednesday, November 5, 2014

The opposition: Tulane

2014 SCHEDULE

The Green Wave will look to take away some positives from last weekend's loss and use it Saturday against the Cougars

VS. UTSA

L 27-7

VS. GRAMBLING W 47-0 AT BYU

L 33-25

VS. UNLV W 47-14 VS. UCF* L 17-12 AT MEMPHIS* W 28-24 VS. TEMPLE* W 31-10 AT USF* W 27-3 VS. TULANE* FRIDAY TDECU STADIUM, 2:30 P.M.

VS. TULSA* SATURDAY, NOV. 22, 2014 TDECU STADIUM, TBA

AT SMU* FRIDAY, NOV. 28, 2014 GERALD J. FORD STADIUM, TBA

AT CINCINNATI* SATURDAY, DEC. 06, 2014 NIPPERT STADIUM, TBA * DENOTES CONFERENCE GAME

Tulane has endured a 2-6 season, lowlighted by inconsistancy on all three phases. The only two wins were agaisnt Southeastern Louisiana and Connecticut, but quarterback Tanner Lee and the Green Wave will seek its third win Saturday afternoon against the Cougars. | Photo credit from Ashley Easterly

MATT COLEMAN STAFF REPORTER

Editor’s note: This article previously appeared in Tulane University’s student newspaper, The Hullabaloo Tulane is coming off a 38-14 home defeat to Cincinnati for its fourth loss in the last five games.

The Greenwave are not in any serious conversation for the American Athletic Conference championship, yet are still mathematically still alive for a bowl game.They will more than likely have to win the rest of their remaining schedule to accomplish that, which will be a tough task.

In their loss to the Bearcats, they took away some positives, which may be valuable when they meet up with UH on Saturday afternoon at TDECU Stadium.

Here are 10 things Tulane can look to build off from its loss as it moves forward.

1. Tulane freshman Parry Nickerson recorded another interception against Cincin-

nati, his No. 4 of the year. Nickerson is tied for No. 12 in the FBS in interceptions and has the most of any freshmen in the nation.

2. The Wave committed 4 penalties against the Bearcats, the lowest total all season. The team is now No. 8 in the country in penalties per game.

3. Despite the loss, Tulane forced three turnovers and surrendered one. The only game this season when the Wave allowed more turnovers than they forced was in a blowout loss at Duke on Sept. 20.

4. Against Cincinnati, Tulane fell behind 24-0 at halftime and converted 1-of-8 third down attempts in the first half. Only 15 teams in the country convert on third downs less often than the Wave.

5. Four of the team’s six losses this year have been deficits of 17 or more points.

6. No Wave player, with the exception of quarterback Tanner Lee, has accounted for more than 4 touchdowns. Four players, however, have found the end zone at least 3 times this year.

7. Tulane is tied No. 116 out of 125 qualifying teams in the country for average points scored and No. 102 in offense yards per game.

8. The Green Wave defense, meanwhile, ranks No. 56 in average yards allowed and No. 84 in points given up per contest.

9. The defense has also forced 21 turnovers, which ranks No. 9 in the nation. The top eight teams in the category have a combined record of 46-22 while the Wave is 2-6.

10. Just as the defense has forced 12 total interceptions, Tulane quarterbacks have thrown for a combined 12 interceptions, which ranks in the bottom 15 nationally.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014 | 11

Running backs Kenneth Farrow (left) and Tyler McCloskey enjoying some laughs during a mid-week practice as they prepare for Saturday's contest against Tulane . | Photo by Caitlin Hilton/The Cougar

Taking it all in THE COUGARS OVERCAME EARLY-SEASON ADVERSITY AND CURRENTLY SIT TIED FOR FIRST IN THE AMERICAN

Quarterback John O'Korn (left) and receiver Wayne Beadle during a Cougars' practice. The team will go for its fourth consecutive win Saturday against Tulane . | Photo by Caitlin Hilton/The Cougar

Linebackers coach Vernon Hargreaves and his players are looking to be sharp when the Cougars host Tulane on Saturday afternoon at TDECU Stadium . | Photo by Caitlin Hilton/The Cougar

12 | Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Be you. Belong.

CALLING ALL TOO-SMART-TOPASS-UP-$300-CASH COUGARS. We are offering all University of Houston students, faculty/staff and alumni the opportunity to open a FREE TDECU personal checking account with a recurring direct deposit and get $1501. And if you refinance your auto loan from another lender with TDECU, we’ll give you another $1502 and an annual percentage rate as low as 1.99%. We don’t have to tell you what a great value that is. You’re a Houston Cougar, after all!

Open your FREE TDECU checking account today and get access to more than 55,000 surcharge-free ATMs and 20 convenient branch locations in the Greater Houston area, including our new branch on the U of H campus. No opening deposit is required — in fact, we’ll cover it for you! Your account will even earn interest!

It’s time to start expecting more.

So Be You and Belong.

TDECU.org 800.839.1154

Offers valid through December 31, 2014. TDECU membership required. For full terms/conditions, contact TDECU. Federally insured by NCUA. 1To receive the $150 bonus, you must establish a recurring direct deposit in the amount of $100 or more within 60 days following the new primary checking account opening date. The bonus will be paid to your new checking account the month after a recurring direct deposit has been established on your account.

Bonuses are considered interest and will be reported on IRS Form 1099-INT. 2APR and benefits are accurate as of October 1, 2014, and are subject to change without notice. To receive $150 bonus, you must refinance your auto from another lender with TDECU and have or open a new primary checking account with a recurring direct deposit. Rate includes 0.25% discount for auto pay. Credit approval and proof of income required. Final rate will be based on your credit score. Required minimum loan amount is $3,000. Offer valid for postcard recipient only and does not apply to existing TDECU auto loans or business auto loans. $150 bonus will be deposited into your new TDECU primary checking account once loan has been funded. 1014-A7600 5033-COUGAR-FPFC-OCT22C

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10/24/14 4:10 PM