Story courtesy of Conference USA
Photo courtesy of East Carolina Athletics
After passing for five touchdowns in a 41-7 C-USA win over Memphis, East Carolina sophomore QB Shane Carden has been named the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week. The Defensive Player of the Week is being shared by Houston senior LB Phillip Steward, who had 13 tackles and 2.5 sacks vs. UAB, and Tulsa senior LB DeAundre Brown, who registered 14 tackles and three sacks against UTEP. Special teams recognition was given to Houston senior K Matt Hogan, who set school and conference records with six field goals and 21 points in Saturday's victory over UAB. C-USA Football Players of the Week are voted on by a panel of the league's media.
Carden established career highs in passing yardage (308), touchdown passes (5) and completion percentage (75.8) to lead East Carolina to its largest victory margin since 2009 with a 41-7 Conference USA win over Memphis. He completed 25-of-33 passes without an interception against the Tigers and recorded scoring throws of 67, 39, 11, 14 and four yards to match a single-game school record. Carden successfully hit targets on his first seven passes of the contest before finishing the first quarter with a nine-of-11, 176-yard performance to get the Pirates off to a 14-0 lead. In his last two opening periods (UCF, MEM), Carden has completed 17-of-20 passes for 301 yards and three TDs. He has directly accounted for 13-of-14 touchdowns as ECU's quarterback this season and currently leads all Pirate ball-carriers with four rushing scores.
Steward finished Saturday's 39-17 win over UAB with 13 tackles, his fifth double-digit tackle effort in six games this season. Three of Steward's 13 tackles came from behind the line of scrimmage as the senior finished the day with 2.5 of Houston's eight sacks. Steward also picked off his ninth career interception to end a UAB scoring threat. On the season, Steward now has 12.5 tackles for loss after six games after entering the year with 21 in his first three collegiate seasons.
In a 33-11 victory over UTEP, DeAundre Brown recorded a game-high 14 tackles with 4.5 tackles for -20 yards and 3 quarterback sacks for -17 yards. He also added one break-up. With Tulsa holding just a 6-3 halftime lead, Brown led a Tulsa defense in the second-half that forced three turnovers, with eight stops, including three TFLs and two QB sacks of his own after halftime. One of his sacks came on a fourth down-and-7 attempt.
Hogan broke a Conference USA single-game record with six field goals Saturday in Houston's 39-17 win over UAB. Hogan broke a 29-year old University of Houston record for kick scoring in a game with 21 points, as he also had three extra points. One of Hogan's six field goals was a career-long 52-yarder, good for the second-longest in Houston history. This is his second career C-USA Special teams Player of the week award and his first since kicking the game-winning, 51-yard field goal at Tulsa Nov. 9, 2009 as a freshman.