Nov. 12, 2007

MEMPHIS, TENN. - University of Memphis senior quarterback Martin Hankins was named the Conference USA co-Offensive Player of the Week as announced Monday afternoon by the league office. Hankins shared the honor with UCF running back Kevin Smith, while Tulsa linebacker Chris Chamberlain received defensive honors and Rice kicker Clark Fangmeier earned special teams recognition.

Hankins returned home to Hattiesburg, Miss., and had a strong showing in leading the Tigers to a come-from-behind 29-26 win at Southern Miss on the road. For the second straight game, he threw for four touchdowns, including a pair on the final two drives of the game, as the Tigers erased a 26-14 deficit. Hankins was 35-of-48 for 396 yards, the third-highest single-game yardage total in school history, while his 35 completions were the second-most in U of M annals. The victory marked only the fourth win in Hattiesburg and was the first time the Tigers have beaten the Golden Eagles in back-to-back road games in school history.

Hankins put Memphis up 7-0 to start the game with a 65-yard touchdown pass to Duke Calhoun for his longest pass play of the season and secured the victory with a 52-yard pass to Carlos Singleton with just over a minute remaining. He also completed the two-point conversion to give Memphis a three-point advantage.

A week ago against East Carolina, Hankins passed for a school-record 416 yards and four touchdowns. In the last four games, which include wins over Rice, Tulane and Southern Miss, Hankins has passed for 1,473 yards and 13 touchdowns. He is averaging 368.2 passing yards per game and has completed 64.6 percent (115-178) of his passes in that four-game span. The last four contests have moved Hankins up in the national rankings as he currently is tied for 14th in passing and ranks 16th in points responsible for. In addition, he is 26th in the country in passing efficiency and 22nd in total offense. In Conference USA, Hankins ranks second in passing yards per game and is in the top 5 in efficiency and total offense.

Smith broke the UCF single-game record with 320 rushing yards in a 45-31 victory at UAB, extending the Knights' winning streak to four games. Smith's 320 rushing yards also broke the UCF single-season mark held by Marquette Smith (1,511 in 1995) as he finished the night with 1,768 yards through 10 games. Smith's four rushing touchdowns against the Blazers tied a program record and increased his season total to 23 (22 rush also lead, 1 rec.), which leads the FBS and tied both of DeAngelo Williams' C-USA records for total touchdowns (23) and rushing touchdowns (22), set in 2004. During the Knights' four-game winning streak, Smith has rushed for 853 yards and 11 touchdowns (12 total). Smith now has eight multiple-touchdown games this season and nine 100-yard rushing efforts (both tops in the FBS).

Chamberlain led a Tulsa defense that kept the nation's fourth-ranked offense of the Houston Cougars to 198 yards below its season average as well as 30 points under its season scoring average in a 56-7 victory. Chamberlain had a career-high 20 tackles, including one quarterback sack for -4 yards. He also intercepted a Houston pass in the third quarter.

Fangmeier, who saw his consecutive PAT streak to start his career end at 68 with a miss on his first attempt of the day, converted his next four and then kicked the second game-winning field goal of his career, a 31-yarder as time ran out to defeat SMU.