Houston Cougars Face Off Against Tulane With Terrance Broadway At Quarterback

(Terrance Broadway will be the first true freshman to start for Houston since 2003. Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loco Photography, Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved)

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2010 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (September 25, 2010) On a hot and muggy afternoon in Houston, the conversation in the press box and the stand is “Will freshman quarterback Terrance Broadway be able to fill the shoes of Case Keenum?”

Houston Cougar head coach Kevin Sumlin named Broadway his starting quarterback earlier in the week, in an effort to revamp the offense after the loss of Keenum and backup quarterback Cotton Turner to injuries.

The Cougars (2-1 overall, 1-0 C-USA) face the Green Wave of Tulane (1-1 overall, 0-0 C-USA) at Houston’s Robertson.

The game is the 16th meeting between the two schools. Houston leads the series 11-4 and by a 5-2 margin at home.

UH is riding a seven-game winning streak against Tulane dating back to 2003.

That streak stands as the longest current winning streak between schools in Conference USA. The two teams have played all but one season since Houston joined Conference USA in 1996.

Broadway, who is the only player on the Houston roster from the state of Louisiana, is the first true freshman to start for the Cougars since Kevin Kolb in 2003.

Broadway saw action against UCLA, completing 5-of-8 passes for 84 yards and a touchdown.

UH has put together back-to-back sellout attendance marks of 32,119, the biggest crowds in Robertson Stadium history.

Game time is set for 2:30 pm CT and will be shown on television on CBS-CS.

Houston Cougars Lose Quarterbacks Case Keenum, Cotton Turner For Season

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2010 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (September 19, 2010) It has been reported via the University of Houston Department of Athletic Communications and a teleconference call with head coach Kevin Sumlin that senior starting quarterback Case Keenum will miss the remainder of 2010 with a season-ending torn ACL knee injury.

Additionally, junior back-up Cotton Turner suffered a fractured clavicle also resulting in the end of his play this year.

Both quarterbacks sustained injuries in UH’s game vs. UCLA on Saturday. Keenum left at the four-minute mark of the second quarter, while Turner went down at 4:09 in the third quarter.

“I am very disappointed for both these young men,” said Sumlin. “It’s hard to see them hurting right now. They both are a big part of this team and wanted to be contributors to its success this season. I think they can still do that with their off-the-field leadership.”

Keenum finished the season with 636 yards passing on a 66 percent completion percentage, while also throwing five touchdown passes.
With his 2010 numbers, he ranks among the top-10 in the NCAA in five career categories — 14,448 yards of total offense (7th nationally), 13,586 passing yards (5th nationally), 107 touchdown passes (8th nationally), 1,626 pass attempts (10th nationally), 1,118 pass completions (7th nationally).

Turner played in all three games, completing 74 percent of his passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns.

Turner was scheduled for surgery at 2:30pm Sunday, while Keenum was to be re-evaluated on Monday.

Sumlin indicated that Keenum’s injury was a “plant and slip” and not the result of contact.
He also stated in his Sunday teleconference call that he would name a starter early in the week, with Terrence Broadway and David Piland both in consideration for the job.

Broadway went 5 for 8 for 84 yards and one touchdown against UCLA.

Sumlin indicated that the plan for this season was to redshirt both Broadway and Pilant this season. He stated that like in most things, plans change.

Whoever is given the starting job, they will face a Tulane team that is currently 1-2for the season, coming off a 65-18 loss to Oklahoma State on Sept. 18.

I will post more on this as updated information becomes available.

Houston Cougars Vs. UCLA Bruins: Will Case Keenum Start For The Cougars?

(Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loco Photography, Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved)

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2010 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (September 18, 2010) With less than 24 hours before game time, the question still remains, “Will quarterback Case Keenum start against UCLA on Saturday night?”

The fans want to know. The student body wants to know. The alumni want to know. And probably, Case Keenum wants to know.

The answer to these questions will come at game time; 7:00pm PT as the Cougars take the field at the Rose Bowl to face the Bruins.

Houston head coach Kevin Sumlin stated in his weekly press conference that Keenum’s status is day-to-day, while UH officials said Friday that his status remains a game-time decision.

Keenum left last Saturday’s game against UTEP with a concussion as a result of tackling a Miner ball carrier after throwing an interception.

At the weekly press conference, senior defensive back Jamal Robinson was asked if he had any advice for Keenum on tackling.

“I told him he might want to keep his head up next time. Next time we'll have him walk off the field instead of tackling people.”

Many Cougar supporters agree. If Keenum does not start, the quarterback duties would fall to backup man Cotton Turner.

Turner was the UH Offensive Player of the Week for the Cougars against UTEP. He has played in both UH games this year.

In those two games he went 17 of 21 for 141 yards and no interceptions while connecting for two touchdowns. His longest pass was 26 yards, while averaging 70.5 yards a game.

If Turner does start, he will be facing a Bruin team that is 0-2 for the season and does not want to lose their second home game in a row.

They lost to Kansas State 31-22 on the road in the season opener and dropped a Pac-10 conference game 25-0 to Stanford in the Rose Bowl.

No matter who starts, the Bruins will be bringing a barrage of attacks against whoever is leading the team on the field.

Expect UCLA to try immediately bringing as much pressure possible to see if Turner can make the quick decisions and backup those decisions by quickly delivering the ball.

The Cougars should not take UCLA lightly. They have a fine program with a fine tradition.

However, I don’t think Sumlin will risk losing Keenum for the season if he is not 100% able to perform.

After all, this is a non-conference game and plays no bearing on the Conference USA championship.

Turner is very capable of commanding the Cougars on the field and with the other players backing him up, things should go fairly well.

Keenum needs to take another week off to rest and prepare for Tulane on September 25.

In any case, everyone will know who is starting at quarterback for the Cougars on Saturday evening, about 9:00pm Houston time.