Alumni update: Lott has big day for UNT
Posted on 14. Sep, 2009 by Brian Porter in '09 Season
Alex Lott matched some of his best career numbers Saturday and North Texas fell just shy of a 2-0 start to the season in its home opener.
He had one of the best performances among Plano alumni Saturday. Lott matched a single-game career high with seven receptions against Ohio and turned in his second-highest single-game receiving yards total.
Other Plano products who stood out Saturday included Nebraska’s Rex Burkhead in more limited action than last week and Austin College’s Greg Harrell with another three receptions.
Following is a glance at the performances of Plano Wildcat products on college gridirons last week:
Abilene Christian 20, A&M-Commerce 14 (OT)
Dan DeVega continued his streak of consecutive games played as he saw action as the deep snapper Saturday for A&M-Commerce in a 20-14 overtime loss to Abilene Christian at Dallas’ Cotton Bowl.
A&M-Commerce (0-3) will attempt to pick up its first win of the season Saturday at Eastern New Mexico.
Austin College 30, McMurry State 27
Greg Harrell caught three passes and assisted on a tackle Saturday as Austin College defeated McMurry State, 30-27. With the win, Austin College (2-0) remained unbeaten.
Harrell has three receptions in each game this season. He has six receptions for 114 yards.
Holy Cross 52, Sacred Heart 21
C.J. Martin played but was not credited for a tackle Saturday as Holy Cross defeated Sacred Heart, 52-21, in the second game of a three-game homestand to open Holy Cross’ season.
Holy Cross hosts Harvard at noon Saturday in a game of significance for Plano. Ryan Burkhead starts on defense for Harvard, while Martin plays linebacker for Holy Cross. Martin played as a sophomore for Plano in 2005, while Burkhead was a starter at defensive end. The game will be Harvard’s season opener.
Houston 45, Oklahoma State 35
Matt Nicholson recorded two tackles Saturday in one of the biggest upsets of the college football season thus far.
Houston vaulted to a 24-7 halftime lead and held on to defeat then No. 5 Oklahoma State. It was Houston’s first win over a top 25 team in 25 years.
Nicholson has three solo tackles and three assists this season.
Nebraska 38, Arkansas State 9
There was a reduced workload for Rex Burkhead in his second game as a true freshman, but the Nebraska halfback continued to make the most of his opportunities in a 38-9 victory Saturday over Arkansas State.
Burkhead had three carries for 18 yards rushing. He also had a pass reception for 11 yards and returned one punt for 14 yards. He has 91 total yards this season.
The freshman will play as the primary backup to Roy Helu Jr. this week in his first nationally-televised game on ABC as No. 19 Nebraska meets No. 13 Virginia Tech at 2:30 p.m.
Nicholls State 14, Duquesne 7
Aric Flowers started his 12th career game Saturday at right guard as Nicholls State responded from a loss in its season opener with a 14-7 victory in its home opener over Duquesne.
Nicholls State travels Saturday to Louisiana State.
Ohio 31, North Texas 30 (2 OT)
Alex Lott matched a career-high with 7 receptions for 61 yards Saturday as North Texas lost, 31-30, to Ohio in its home opener.
Ohio rallied from a 17-6 deficit and North Texas forced overtime with a field goal with 46 seconds left. A two-point conversion pass in the second overtime lifted Ohio to victory.
Lott now ranks second for North Texas this season in receptions with eight. He has 74 yards receiving on the season. North Texas meets No. 4 Alabama at 11:20 a.m. Saturday.
Oregon State 23, Nevada-Las Vegas 21
Beau Brence saw action in consecutive games to start the season, but was not credited with a tackle Saturday as UNLV fell, 23-21, to Oregon State.
UNLV plays host Saturday to Hawaii.
SMU 35, Alabama-Birmingham 33
Blake McJunkin saw action in his second game this season as SMU held on to defeat Alabama-Birmingham, 35-33, Saturday.
SMU led 28-7 at halftime, but UAB scored 20 unanswered points in the third quarter before SMU put the game away in the fourth quarter.
McJunkin started at center in the final 10 games last season, but is currently playing behind Mitch Enright.
Southern Miss 26, Central Florida 19
Justin Jordan did not see action Saturday in his second game with Southern Miss. The junior college All-American wide receiver became eligible to practice with the team less than two weeks ago and head coach Larry Fedora has said Jordan could expect to see playing time as soon as the team can catch him up on their system. But, Jordan’s teammates already know about his game-breaking speed.
Southern Miss hosts Virginia this week in a game televised on CBS. It might be possible that Jordan could play in the game.
