Oct. 23, 2007

By Adam Thompson
New Burn (N.C.) Sun Journal

Can anybody stop Tulane's Matt Forté?

Not yet.

The Green Waves running back jumped to the top of the list as the nation's leading rusher. Forté racked up his second 300-yard rushing performance of the season in Tulane's 40-34 overtime win over SMU Saturday.

He moved past Central Florida's Kevin Smith and Michigan's Michael Hart as the top rusher with 180 yards per game.

Forté earned Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week honors following his effort. He set the C-USA single game rushing record and second on the Green Wave's single season rushing list with 1,261 yards.

Forté ran for 303 yards against Southeast Louisiana on Sept. 22.

"He's real fast," said Memphis coach Tommy West. "You can tell on tape. He is really fast. They do a lot of things with him. It looks like they've gone to more of a two back offense that is going to run him and feature him and then play action off of it. He's supposed to be 220-225 pounds, but he is fast. I haven't seen anybody catch him from behind. You don't run for 300-plus yards by accident."

Tulane hosts Memphis on Saturday.

Sharing the award

Houston linebacker Rocky Schwartz was partly the reason the Cougars held UAB to just 224 yards of total offense Saturday. He helped shut down the Blazers' run and pass game. UAB managed just 26 yards on the ground.

Schwartz picked off two pass and tallied three tackles. Both his interceptions set up Cougar touchdowns in the first half.

Schwartz earned C-USA Defensive Player of the Week accolades, along with Central Florida freshman Bruce Miller.

Miller registered a career-high nine tackles and two sacks in Central Florida's win over Tulsa.

Miller helped the Knights slow down the second-ranked offense in the nation to a season-low 379 yards.

Miller also forced a fumble in the game.

They're grrreat

Memphis Tigers kicker Matt Reagan was named C-USA Special Teams Player of the Week after booting three field goals and three extra points in a 38-35 win over Rice on Saturday. Reagan's 12 points were a career high. He leads the Tigers with 38 points.

In the spotlight

For the second-straight week, Southern Mississippi will play in front of a national audience on ESPN on Sunday night.

The Eagles knocked off Marshall last Sunday, 33-24. Damion Fletcher, the conference's fifth leading rusher, recorded 162 yards and three touchdowns in the win.

This week Southern Miss hosts Central Florida at 8 p.m.

"I do not know how many are traveling to the game, but I would not anticipate a lot being (able to) with it on Sunday night," said Central Florida coach George O'Leary. "I think it is a pivotal game in conference. Is it the end of the season? No, but I think it is a pivotal game as far as the division is concerned."

The game will showcase Fletcher and Central Florida's Kevin Smith, the nation's second leading rusher.

"I think Damion had a great freshman year and he has continued on in his sophomore year," O'Leary said. "Anytime you see a running back, just like Kevin, you have an offensive line that is putting hats on people creating lanes in the running game. I think Damion is a good running back that can beat you outside or inside."