Late game turnovers blow Houston Cougars past Tulsa’s Golden Hurricane, 41-26

Houston – A fitting ending to a sloppy but entertaining game seemed appropriate as the Houston Cougars scored three times, twice off turnovers, within 1:31 in the final period to topple the stubborn Golden Hurricane of Tulsa, 41-26.  In a game marred by 17 penalties, rapid-fire turnovers, easy catches dropped, fourth down failures, fourth down fantasies, boos directed at the home team, and some confusing penalties, the final result came about as much about one team’s mistakes more than the other team’s vast superiority.  For Collegefootballfan.com, the Cougars’ venue built in 2014 became our 61^st FBS Stadium, 149^th overall.  On the U of H campus, it will be remembered for some of its unique plays.

Frantic First

Making his debut replacing Luke Skipper who started their last game we attended in their loss to Temple, Tulsa drew first blood with frosh QB Seth Boomer .  On fourth and four at the Houston 33, he targeted wide open WR Keenan Johnson on his way into the end zone for the game’s first score.  LB Cooper Edminston intercepted his third pass of the season including two we saw against Temple to put the Golden Hurricane back at the Houston 13.  However, Tulsa settled for Nate Walker’s 28-yard FG instead of six.

The Cougars retaliated with a 32-yard pass from D’Eriq King (19 of 27, three TDs, 2 INTs) to Keith Corbin to cut the early Hurricane lead to 10-7.   On Houston’s next possession, on fourth down at the TU 33, King put the ball into Corbin’s hands once again. However,  the sure six points went right through his fingertips. Tulsa drove down to the 16 and Walker added three more to Tulsa’s lead.  The first quarter was frantic throughout.

Two was for Turnovers

Turnovers dominated the second quarter.  Houston fumbled the ball away at TU’s 48.  Tulsa fumbled it back at Houston’s 37.  Just when play became sloppy but entertaining to watch, WLB Zaven Collins picked off a King pass to take back over on his team’s 46.  An incomplete pass on fourth and four at the 40 put Houston back on offense on downs.  King put an end to the offensive ineptitude with a 19-yard QB draw play for a 19-yard touchdown up the middle to give U of H a 14-13 lead.  The Cougs got on track again on offense resulting in a 46-yard FG by Dalton Witherspoon to give U of H a 17-13 lead as time expired at halftime.

Tulsa Time

The third period turned into Tulsa Time.  The Golden Hurricane put together a sustainable drive for the first five minutes with a grinding ground game before settling for another Walker FG, this time from 27.  The Canes’ D forced Houston to punt from the 19.  On offense, they stayed on the ground.  Corey Taylor (33 for 152 yards, 1 TD) converted a first down on fourth at the Cougar 20.  He followed up to get seven on the board with his nine-yard TD run to give Tulsa the lead, 23-17.  The boos came loud from the 29,823 announced in the red-clad crowd totally dissatisfied with their team’s effort against the 1-3 Canes.

Cougars climb back

Finally, the fourth period looked like the Hurricane had its sights set on putting the Cougars away on their home turf.  They concluded another drive with Walker’s 35-yard FG to extend their lead, 26-17.  King came up big though.  On a sweep right, he sped around right end and streaked up a straight seam along the sideline outracing the Hurricane secondary for a 61-yard touchdown jaunt. He narrowed the gap down to two.   With 7:51 remaining, Houston surpassed the TU lead by one on Witherspoon’s 33-yard FG. Plenty of time remained though for both teams to score more points,  so I thought.

Tulsa Turnover Time

However, Tulsa turnovers turned the tide against an anticipated see-saw battle down to the wire.  Starting from his 15, Boomer (13 for 31, 227 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) fumbled to put the Cougs in easy scoring position on the nine.  On the first play, King threw to TE Romello Booker for the quick score to post a 34-26 lead.  Overtime if Tulsa scores and goes for two with 6:48 remaining to go.  No such Golden Hurricane luck.  Boomer rolled right and got picked off by Deontay Anderson (Ole Miss transfer) to put Houston with the ball at the TU 23.  With 6:20 left, King rolled right and connected with Marquez Stevenson at the six to put the game out of reach, 41-26. The Golden Hurricane morphed into a mild breeze punting away late from its 30.

Approaching the mid-season mark

The clash entertained throughout the evening.  Tulsa looked better than it did against Temple when they last played. Both teams made mistakes and played relatively even until the last seven minutes of the game.  Later this season, we will see both teams both play Navy in Annapolis in more West Division American Athletic competition.  Both teams return to action this upcoming weekend.  Tulsa (1-4, 0-2) returns home to play No. 23 South Florida (5-0, 1-0) on Friday night.  Houston visits East Carolina (2-3, 0-2 AAC) Saturday before its hitch a week later at Navy.

A two-fer weekend again for us

CFF.com will pick up after sitting out Saturday for a family wedding with some D-3 action on Friday night when the FDU Florham Red Devils (4-1, 2-1 MAC) host the Wilkes College Colonels (3-3,2-2) in a Middle Atlantic Conference battle in Madison, NJ.  The last time the Red Devils won four games was in 2005 with a 4-6 record.  The last time they won five was in 1999.  This is a record-setting pace at FDU. Offensively the Devils average 36.8 ppg. QB Jagger Green has passed for 1,611 yards and 20 TDs. Wilkes is 3-3, 2-2 MAC. Their losses have been by two, four, and 11 points.  They average 31.7 ppg.  QB Jose Tabora has passed for 1,710 yards and 15 TDs.  This should be a wild, high-scoring affair.

On Saturday at 3:30, we will be at Newark, DE for an FCS game between the 3-2, 1-1 CAA Delaware Fighting Blue Hens and the No. 6 4-1, 2-0 CAA Elon Phoenix.     Last week, Elon knocked off No. 2 James Madison on the road, 27-24.  Elon’s lone loss is to FBS No. 23 South Florida. Last year, the Dukes fell to North Dakota State in the FCS national championship game. Earlier this season, the Blue Hens lost at No. 1 NDSU, 38-10.   The Hens will be fighting for sure to win this to earn a shot at an FCS playoff bid.  Elon edged them out of the playoffs last year.  Curt Cignetti coaches the Phoenix in his second year after leading them to an 8-4 record last season.

Extra points:

Tulsa HC Scott Montgomery has to be on the hot seat now in his forth season.  His charges seem to be heading in the wrong direction. He took them to 6-7 after taking over a 2-10 squad. The next year, his team won the Miami Beach Bowl with a 10-3 record.  They dropped off to 2-10 a year ago and are off to a paltry 1-4 this season.  The seat may be on fire if he continues to struggle in the win column.

The Cougars have a lot of horsepower in their backfield with two Cars, Patrick and Mulbah, both juniors. Patrick  had 91 yards on 13 carries. Mulbah gained 74 yards on 11.  King led his backfield with 117 yards on ten carries that included two TDs.

Great ad by Plucker’s Wings, a local establishment, on the TDECU video board: “If you don’t like our wings, we’ll give you the bird.”