SMU stuns No. 11 Houston 38-16 by shutting down QB Greg Ward

 A grim-faced Tom Herman could hear the whoops and hollers of SMU players as the Houston coached tried to explain a shocking 38-16 loss to the Mustangs on Saturday night.

Was it hard to listen to that celebration?

"More than you know," Herman said.

Ben Hicks threw for three touchdowns and ran for another score in SMU's first win over a ranked team in five years.

The Cougars (6-2, 3-2 American) lost for the second time after a 5-0 start that included a season-opening win over then-No. 3 Oklahoma that vaulted Houston into the Top 10.

The last time the Mustangs (3-4, 1-2) beat a team ranked 11th or higher, they were No. 4 and finishing off a near-perfect 1982 season (11-0-1) with a 7-3 victory over sixth-ranked Pittsburgh in the Cotton Bowl. SMU tied No. 7 Texas A&M in 1994.

It was SMU's fourth win in 20 tries against Houston since returning from the so-called death penalty in 1989. The first loss was 95-21.

"For us to come in and get a signature win like this is huge," SMU coach Chad Morris said. "And I shared with our players for the last two weeks, `It just takes one (win) to start a revolution. It just takes one win to put some wind in our sails.'"

Greg Ward Jr. couldn't shake a persistent SMU pass rush or find receivers for big plays, finishing with 241 yards passing - almost 100 below his average - and just 3 yards rushing on 17 carries thanks to seven sacks.

One of the sacks was for an 18-yard loss to the Houston 22 when coach Tom Herman went for it on fourth down trailing 28-14 early in the fourth quarter.

Herman got conservative moments later, choosing a 19-yard field goal attempt on fourth down from the SMU 2. Ty Cummings hit the right upright for his second miss.

"Immense introspection when you lose a game like that," Herman said. "We'll leave no stone unturned to figure out why that happened."

Hicks was 16 of 31 for 228 yards, including a 28-yard touchdown to a wide-open James Proche for a 28-7 lead in the final seconds of the first half. SMU appeared content to run out the clock before a 40-yard run byBraeden West, who had 115 yards rushing and a punctuating touchdown late.

THE TAKEAWAY

Houston: Herman figured to be the hottest name in coaching for the offseason searches of LSU and any other high-profile programs that might be looking. Perhaps that doesn't change, but this October isn't helping. Convincing wins over Florida State in the Peach Bowl and the Sooners in this year's opener have lost some luster.

SMU: Morris, the second-year coach who went 2-10 in his debut season, has a good chance to build on his biggest win, and one of the program's biggest since the crippling NCAA sanctions almost 30 years ago. The Mustangs faded in the second half after strong early efforts against two other high-scoring Texas teams, Baylor and TCU. They finished the job this time.

TONE-SETTING TURNOVERS

The Cougars lost two fumbles in the first quarter and never got their high-powered offense going. Houston was outgained 406-303. "When you play a team at their place that's fresh, that's hungry, motivated, to give them life like that," Herman said. "You're playing catch-up the whole game from that point on."

CAREER GAME

SMU defensive end Jarvis Pruitt recovered one of the fumbles and had three sacks in the Mustangs' first win over a ranked team since beating No. 20 TCU 40-33 in overtime in 2011.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Houston: The Cougars could tumble all the way out of the rankings after being at No. 6 for several weeks following the victory over the Sooners. The fall has been sudden for a program coming off its first New Year's bowl in 30 years and the second 13-win season in program history.

UP NEXT

Houston: The Cougars start a stretch of three straight home games against UCF next Saturday. That stretch ends against No. 7 Louisville. They also get a bye after nine straight weeks of playing.

"It's a one-game season to get to that bye week and put everything we've got into protecting our home stadium and preparing and executing better than we did tonight," Herman said.

SMU: The Mustangs visit Tulane next Saturday before a home game against Memphis, which just lost its first conference game against Navy.

In wild finish, No. 13 Houston holds off Tulsa 38-31

No. 13 Houston was coming off of its first loss and the Cougars were close to making it two in a row with Tulsa driving in a tie game late in the fourth quarter on Saturday night.

It was then that Houston's defense responded with two huge plays to give the Cougars a 38-31 victory .

The game was tied at 31-31 when Emeke Egbule returned a fumble 24 yards for a touchdown with 1:21 remaining. Garrett Davis knocked the ball out of the hands of quarterback Dane Evans. Egbule scooped it up and dashed into the end zone for the score.

"I just knew I had to do something with it to keep us in the game," Egbule said.

Tulsa (4-2, 1-1 American) had a chance to tie it, but Jesse Brubaker was stopped just short of the goal line after a reception on the last play of the game to seal Houston's victory. The play was reviewed and upheld.

"He was really close ... I don't think you can get any closer than what it was," Tulsa coach Philip Montgomery said.

It was a close call for the Cougars (6-1, 3-1) a week after Navy beat them 46-40 after a 5-0 start.

"We got the taste out of our mouth," Houston coach Tom Herman said.

Tulsa never led, but had twice rallied from 14-point deficits to tie the game. The second time came whenJames Flanders scored on a 3-yard run with 3:31 left.

"This is one of those games that's tough to swallow," Montgomery said. "It really didn't feel like we lost the football game, it felt like we just ran out of time."

The Golden Hurricane forced a punt after that, but the fumble by Evans came two plays later.

Houston's Dillon Birden ran for 82 yards and three touchdowns playing in place of starter Duke Catalon, who missed his third straight game with a concussion.

Herman thought this game was another good reminder for his players that they can't take any team lightly.

"You're going to get their best shot. You've earned that," he said. "Everybody on your schedule is going to play you with their `A' game. We've got to understand that and understand that even when we're up 17-3 we can't take our foot off the gas."

THE TAKEAWAY

TULSA: The Golden Hurricane ran out of late-game magic after overcoming a 31-point deficit, which was the largest in school history, to beat Fresno State 48-41 in double overtime two weeks ago before getting a 43-40 win over SMU in overtime last week.

HOUSTON: The Cougars need to start playing more like the team that beat Oklahoma instead of the mistake-prone team that lost to Navy last week and struggled this week to get into the conference title game.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

HOUSTON: The Cougars could move up a couple of spots after No. 8 Wisconsin, No. 9 Tennessee and 12th-ranked Mississippi all lost on Saturday. However, some poll voters might penalize Houston for struggling against an unranked team.

ED'S EFFORT: Freshman defensive tackle Ed Oliver had another big game for the Cougars, piling up a season-high 12 tackles after finishing with 11 last week. He also batted down two passes to give him five for the season, had two tackles for losses and a quarterback hit.

UP NEXT

TULSA: The Golden Hurricane host Tulane next Saturday.

HOUSTON: The Cougars visit SMU next Saturday.

Stunner! Navy snaps No. 6 Houston's unbeaten streak

Navy stunned No. 6 Houston, romping to a 46-40 victory that seriously damaged the Cougars' playoff hopes.

Will Worth ran for 115 yards and threw for two touchdowns Saturday to help the Midshipmen (4-1, 3-0 American Athletic Conference) pull off the upset. Navy hadn't defeated a Top 10 team since 1984, when it topped No. 2 South Carolina in Annapolis.

When it was over, streams of the Navy Brigade stormed the field to surround the players, most of them jumping for joy.

Navy pulled off the win with a precise triple-option attack that shredded the nation's top-ranked rushing defense. The Midshipmen came in as a 17-point underdog.

Houston's sloppiest performance of the season came in a driving rain. The Cougars (5-1, 2-1) committed three turnovers and gave up more points than in their previous four games combined.

Navy finished with 306 yards rushing, many of them on pitches from Worth as he sprinted laterally along the line. Houston was allowing only 42 yards on the ground per game.

Though the game was a sellout, thousands of fans failed to show because of the weather. Those who took their seats realized an upset was possible after first half ended tied at 20.

Navy scored three touchdowns in the third quarter - two of them on passes by Worth, the other on Josiah Powell's 34-yard interceptions return - to take a 41-27 lead.

That proved to be a deficit too much to handle for the Cougars, especially because their defense simply couldn't find a solution for Navy's multi-faceted attack.

Houston had won 19 of its last 20 games, including a 52-31 blowout of Navy last year. But on this day, the Cougars couldn't get into the end zone often enough despite compiling a whopping 484 yards in offense.

Houston quarterback Greg Ward Jr. went 32 for 50 for 359 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for 94 yards and a score, but the Cougars never led after going up 20-17 in the second quarter.

His two interceptions were also a factor. Navy scored 17 points following Houston giveaways and did not commit a turnover.

THE TAKEAWAY

Houston: The aura of greatness surrounding the Cougars fades a bit. The Cougars are now in second place in the AAC and won't get a chance for redemption until facing Louisville at home on Nov. 17.

Navy: This game should serve as a tremendous boost of confidence for the Midshipmen, who had their spirit shaken last week in a 28-14 loss to Air Force.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

The Cougars should tumble out of the Top 10 in the AP Top 25 poll , which comes out Monday instead of Sunday this week.

UP NEXT

Houston: The Cougars continue play in the AAC West Division, hosting Tulane next Saturday.

Navy: The Midshipmen are on the road against East Carolina, now 2-4 after losing 38-22 to South Florida.

Ward has big game, No. 6 Houston beats UConn 42-14

 The sixth-ranked Houston Cougars were determined to take care of business this year after Connecticut detailed their perfect season a year ago.

Greg Ward Jr. made sure they did just that.

Ward Jr. threw for a career-high 389 yards and accounted for five touchdowns in just more than three quarters to help Houston beat Connecticut 42-14 on Thursday night.

Houston's only blemish last season came in the 20-17 loss to the Huskies when they were 10-0.

"We never use the word revenge," coach Tom Herman said. "The word we used was atonement - to make a wrong a right. We had a chance to atone for the transgressions of last year's team."

Ward didn't start that game because of an ankle injury, and there was a scary moment early in the second quarter when he took a hard hit in the midsection by Junior Joseph on a flea-flicker and had to leave the game.

But he missed just one play before returning and showed no ill effects from the blow, leading the Cougars (5-0, 2-0 American) on three more touchdown drives in the half to leave Houston up 28-7 at halftime.

Herman didn't think missing last year's game against UConn made this one more important to Ward.

"I think Ward's got a chip on his shoulder every week, I don't know that it was any bigger this week," Herman said. "I think the whole team had a juice and a pep in their step knowing what this opponent did to last year's team and they wanted to make sure it didn't happen again."

Ward and Joseph got in each other's faces after another hit by the linebacker on a touchdown throw by Ward later in the second quarter, and it earned Joseph an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

Joseph said the run-in was "totally my fault" before raving about the quarterback.

"He's probably the best player I played against," Joseph said. "He's very electric. That's why he's in the race for the Heisman. Just a great player."

Ward had touchdown runs of 30 and 10 yards and threw scoring passes of 3, 15 and 4 yards. He was replaced by Kyle Postma with 12 minutes remaining.

Ward doesn't like talking about himself and deflected questions about his big game.

"The stats, I don't think about that at all," he said. "The only stat that I worry about is win-loss."

Noel Thomas had a career-high 135 yards receiving and a touchdown for Connecticut (2-3, 0-2), and Bryant Shirreffs threw for 239 yards and ran for a TD.

"Losing is terrible," Bob Diaco said. "We obviously wanted to finish phase one of our season better than 2-3. A play here and a play there, and that would have been the case."

THE TAKEAWAY

CONNECTICUT: The Huskies didn't commit any turnovers after being plagued by them in recent weeks, but they were simply overmatched by the Cougars on both sides of the ball.

HOUSTON: The Cougars continued the dominance they've shown all season, having no trouble putting away the Huskies after last year's misstep. With Ward leading the offense and a swarming defense which finished with four sacks, it's hard to imagine that anyone has much of a chance to beat the Cougars before their Nov. 17 showdown with No. 3 Louisville.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

The Cougars should maintain their spot in the poll after cruising past an opponent they were expected to beat. But they could jump a spot or two if any of the teams above them lose on Saturday.

INJURY REPORT

The Cougars weren't slowed by playing without three starters on Thursday. Running back Duke Catalon missed the game with a concussion and linebackers Tyus Bowser and Matthew Adams both sat out after a fight on Wednesday during games meant for team building.

"The two got over competitive," Herman said. "Things briefly got out of hand during one of the games and resulted in a scuffle between Tyus and Matt ... it was a freak accident and the result of the scuffle was a broken bone for Tyus."

Bowser will be out for a few weeks with the head injury and Adams was suspended for Thursday's game but will return next week.

BONNER IMITATES IDOL

Linell Bonner had a highlight-reel play when he stretched out to grab a reception with one hand for a touchdown that pushed Houston's lead to 42-7 in the third quarter. He finished with 12 receptions for 159 yards - both career highs. The one-handed catch was reminiscent of some of the grabs DeAndre Hopkins often makes for the Houston Texans.

Bonner was asked if that catch was a Hopkins impression.

"That's my favorite NFL receiver right now. I really look up to him so I could say yeah," Bonner said before flashing a huge smile.

UP NEXT

CONNECTICUT: The Huskies host Cincinnati on Oct. 8.

HOUSTON: The Cougars visit Navy on Oct. 8.

No. 6 Houston routs Texas State 64-3 to remain unbeaten

Had Houston's season gone as planned, D'Eriq King would have spent Saturday night standing on the sideline as the Cougars' third-string quarterback.

Instead, King caught a touchdown pass, threw for a TD and returned a kickoff for another score and No. 6 Houston cruised to a 64-3 victory over Texas State to remain undefeated.

King is the first Houston player ever to pass, run and return a kickoff for a touchdown in the same game. The freshman was recruited to play quarterback but moved to wide receiver after the Cougars lost two receivers to injuries.

"If I played quarterback, I might have redshirted," King said. "I really like what I'm doing now."

Greg Ward Jr. passed for two touchdowns and ran for one before leaving the game after playing one series in the third quarter. He completed 20 of 26 passes for 289 yards.

King made a mistake by calling for a fair catch on the Houston 5 during a first-quarter Texas State punt. He soon made up for that, however, catching a short pass from Ward on a bubble screen and taking it in for a touchdown from 48 yards out.

Early in the second quarter, King took a handoff from Ward and threw a high pass to the end zone that Steven Dunbarpulled in for a 15-yard touchdown.

King began the second half by returning the kickoff 99 yards for another touchdown.

Regardless of his versatility, Houston coach Tom Herman said King will someday return to quarterback.

"The second the clock hits double-zero in our bowl game he's going right back to the quarterback meeting room," Herman said. "I think the kid has a chance to be a tremendous quarterback."

Houston (4-0) gained 563 yards and limited Texas State (1-2) to 142. Texas State's Tyler Jones completed 17 of 30 passes for 100 yards.

"Houston is a talented team that plays hard," Texas State coach Everett Withers said. "We've got a lot of work to do."

THE TAKEAWAY

HOUSTON: The Cougars , who came in as five-touchdown favorites, have handled two overmatched opponents (Lamar and Texas State) and two tougher ones (Oklahoma and Cincinnati) with aplomb so far. The margin of victory against Texas State was the largest for Houston since beating Louisiana Tech 73-3 on Aug. 31, 1991.

The Cougars scored all seven times they reached the red zone.

"I was really proud of the offense," Herman said. "The last couple of weeks they had a habit of shooting themselves in the foot and not finishing drives."

TEXAS STATE: With the loss to Houston, the Bobcats are 0-5 against Top 25 teams since moving up to the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2012.

Withers said this one stings.

"I want them to feel hurt, and if they don't we have a real issue," Withers said. "It hurts me like someone just stuck a knife in my heart and I hope they feel just as bad. Some guys have that hurt, but not all of them. We have some major stuff to fix."

POLL IMPLICATIONS

HOUSTON: The Cougars are likely to remain at No. 6 . Everyone ahead of Houston this week won.

ATTENDANCE RECORD

Announced attendance was 33,133, a record for Bobcat Stadium since it was expanded to accommodate Texas State's move to the FBS in 2012. The previous record of 33,006 was set against Texas Tech in 2012.

INJURY UPDATE

Freshman Mulbah Car, a backup running back for Houston, suffered a knee injury, but Herman said a preliminary diagnosis indicated it is not too serious. Herman estimated Car would miss a few weeks.

UP NEXT

HOUSTON: The Cougars have their second quick turnaround of this season when they host Connecticut in an American Athletic Conference game on Thursday. Houston had a Saturday-Thursday turnaround against Lamar and Cincinnati for its second and third games of the season. UConn handed Houston its only loss last season, 20-17, in East Hartford.

TEXAS STATE: The Bobcats play host to FCS Incarnate Word from San Antonio next Saturday.

Ward's TDs rally No. 6 Houston to 40-16 win over Cincinnati

Greg Ward Jr. threw an interception in the end zone. Cincinnati responded by going down the field, getting a touchdown and grabbing the lead and the momentum.

For the first time this season, No. 6 Houston was on the road and feeling the pressure. How would the Cougars respond?

Ward ran for two fourth-quarter touchdowns, and the Cougars' fabulous defense returned a couple of interceptions for touchdowns as they pulled away to a 40-16 victory over Cincinnati on Thursday night.

"The fourth quarter exemplified a veteran team that's played in big games," coach Tom Herman said. "They go down and score and we come back and take the lead."

Nobody was under the spotlight more than Ward, who sat out a 42-0 victory over Lamar on Saturday because of a sore shoulder. He came through pregame warmups without an issue, and got treatment on the sideline between series.

"They were keeping my shoulder warm on the sideline," Ward said. "It tends to get tight. I was thankful to be out there."

The Cougars (3-0, 1-0 American Athletic) trailed 16-12 early in the fourth quarter before Ward and the defense took over.

Ward dispelled any worries about his arm with a 39-yard touchdown pass on the Cougars' second series. He was 24 of 36 for 326 yards with two interceptions, and he ran 26 times for 73 yards.

"We put in a defense just for him, some guys that were faster," Cincinnati coach Tommy Tuberville said. "We did a good job in pass coverage and he'd just pull it down and run. That's hard to defend."

Houston's defense took away any semblance of a running game from Cincinnati (2-1, 0-1) and accounted for 16 points on its own - a safety and the two interception returns by Steven Taylor and Howard Wilson.

The Cougars haven't allowed any of their last five opponents to rush for 100 yards. Cincinnati managed only 30 yards rushing, putting too much pressure on redshirt sophomore Hayden Moore, whose two fourth-quarter interceptions allowed the Cougars to pull away.

Moore had never faced a defense so good. He made an impact early with a 61-yard touchdown pass , but the lack of a running game was tough to overcome. Moore finished 21 of 37 for 275 yards with two touchdowns, two interceptions and three sacks.

"You can't beat any good team if you can't run the football," Tuberville said. "They put all the pressure on our quarterback and receivers and they dictated the game to us."

THE TAKEAWAY

HOUSTON: Oh that defense. The Cougars didn't need to get a lot out of their offense - and Ward wasn't at his best - in order to win a tough league game on the road. That's another good sign in a season that opened with a 33-23 win over Oklahoma.

"It was ugly for a long time," Herman said. "I think we'll be OK if we can take care of the self-inflicted wounds."

CINCINNATI: The Bearcats have been overly reliant on a pass-heavy offense the last two years. The defense's showing on Thursday was encouraging - it simply wore down. The defense also looked solid during a 38-20 win at Purdue on Saturday, coming up with five interceptions.

"We got a little tired at the end," Tuberville said. "The defense was out there forever."

POLL IMPLICATIONS

HOUSTON: The Cougars have their highest ranking since they were No. 3 in 1990. Any chance to move up? The top three teams in the poll - Alabama, Florida State, Ohio State - all play road games against ranked teams this week, while Michigan and Clemson are at home.

CINCINNATI: The Bearcats got one vote in this week's poll, and did nothing to suggest they deserve more.

UP NEXT

HOUSTON: The Cougars will be looking for another easy time at Texas State on Sept. 24. Last year, Ward led them to a 59-14 win by throwing for four touchdowns and running for two more as Houston piled up 689 yards.

CINCINNATI: The Bearcats host Miami of Ohio on Sept. 24 for the Victory Bell. They've won 10 in a row over their local rival, although Moore had to overcome four fourth-quarter turnovers last year to pull out a 37-33 win in Oxford.

No. 6 Houston beats Lamar 42-0 in 6 hour, 18 minute game

The sixth-ranked Houston Cougars easily overcame the absence of injured quarterback Greg Ward Jr. as well as a 3 1/2-hour lightning delay for a 42-0 victory over Lamar on Saturday.

With Ward on the sidelines nursing an injured right shoulder , backup Kyle Postma ran 39 yards for a score in the first quarter in the game that lasted 6 hours, 18 minutes.

"I'm really proud of the entire team really for handling that kind of adversity," coach Tom Herman said. "We train for that kind of chaos."

The Cougars had three players top 100 yards rushing for the first time since 1974, and piled up 381 yards on the ground. Kevrin Justice had 111 yards and two touchdowns, freshman Mulbah Car added 109 yards and a score in his debut and Postma scrambled for a career-high 106 yards with two TDs.

Dark clouds descended on the stadium soon after Postma's score, and a lightning strike forced the game to be suspended at 11:36 a.m. with 3:13 left in the first quarter.

Multiple lightning strikes followed, pushing the game back again and again. It wasn't raining at the beginning of the delay, and fans remained in their seats despite a warning to move to the concourse. It was a festive atmosphere, with many fans chanting and dancing, and at one point doing the wave.

But it began to rain at about 1:30 p.m. and chased all but a few fans out of their seats. By the time the game resumed at 3:12 p.m., the once mostly-full stands were dotted with many empty seats. The official time of the delay was three hours, 36 minutes.

It didn't take Houston (2-0) long to get going after the marathon delay, and a touchdown dive by Justice made it 14-0 with less than a minute left in the first quarter.

That score was the first of three straight touchdowns, which included a second score from Justice, which pushed the lead to 28-0 at halftime.

"We kind of wore down," Lamar coach Ray Woodard said. "I was proud of our effort, but we just got outmanned today."

Some wondered if the Cougars would suffer a letdown after their huge win over then-No. 3 Oklahoma last week, or be looking past the FCS Cardinals (0-2) toward the American Athletic Conference opener at Cincinnati on Thursday night.

Herman said that Ward would have planned had it been a conference game and that he'd return on Thursday.

THE TAKEAWAY

LAMAR: The Cardinals should benefit from the experience of facing a top 10 team when they open Southland Conference play next week.

HOUSTON: The Cougars did what they were supposed to do against a lesser opponent and were able to give some of their banged-up starters a little bit of a break with a quick turnaround.

UP NEXT

LAMAR: The Cardinals host Sam Houston State on Saturday.

HOUSTON: The Cougars play at Cincinnati Thursday.

No. 15 Houston looks Big 12-ready in 33-23 victory over OU

Houston coach Tom Herman and the Cougars are past the point of proving they are for real.

Shocking the world is for the real underdogs and if a Power Five conference happens to take note of what Houston is doing that's fine.

Whatever.

"We were prepared to win. We expected to win. We train to win," Herman said. "It wasn't about making a statement, it was about going 1-0 the first week of the season."

Greg Ward Jr., Brandon Wilson and the 15th-ranked Cougars looked every bit ready to compete in the Big 12 - or any other conference for that matter - in a 33-23 victory against No. 3 Oklahoma on Saturday.

Houston is one of 11 schools that will meet with Big 12 officials starting next week to make a pitch to the Power Five conference that is pondering expansion.

Regardless of whether Houston (1-0) ends up in the Big 12, the Cougars' latest surprising win could have season-long ramifications on the College Football Playoff.

"We're not your typical Group of Five program," Houston athletic director Hunter Yurachek said.

The elusive quarterback Ward passed for 321 yards and two touchdowns. Wilson, though, provided the key play in the biggest regular-season nonconference game the Cougars have played in 25 years and Houston's third victory in school history against a top-three team.

The versatile senior defensive back went end line to end zone to score a touchdown with a short 54-yard field goal attempt to give Houston 26-17 lead with 8:28 left in the third quarter.

Wilson reached up to catch the ball, barely keeping his feet in bounds. Reminiscent of Auburn's Kick Six against Alabama in 2013, Wilson went flying out of the end zone and hurdled a fallen teammate to score what went into the books as a 100-yard return.

"I thought I stepped out, but I didn't," Wilson said. "I just saw the green grass and I scored."

Herman said he was looking for penalty flags.

"I was thinking this is too good to be true, surely there's a flag somewhere," Herman said.

Oklahoma called a timeout before trying the kick, which Herman said allowed Houston to see the Sooners' personnel and set up for the return.

"You know you have to cover it, but the personnel on the field isn't the best cover guys because the best cover guys wouldn't be able to protect the field goal. So you're in a little bit of a dilemma," Sooners coach Bob Stoops said. "I don't really second-guess. I've seen Austin (Seibert) make that quite a few times."

THE TAKEAWAY

Oklahoma: The good news for the Sooners is they have plenty of time and opportunities left to make another playoff run. But they need to get things fixed quickly with No. 6 Ohio State in two weeks and No. 13 TCU on Oct 1.

Baker Mayfield threw for 323 yards and two scores for the defending Big 12 champions Oklahoma (0-1). He was 9 for 9 for 162 yards in the first half, but ended up being sacked five times and fumbled once.

Houston: After finishing last season 13-1 with a Peach Bowl victory against Florida State, the Cougars have consecutive victories against top-10 ranked opponents for the first time in school history. Playing outside the Power Five in the American Athletic Conference, Houston still will likely have little margin for error if it wants to force its way into the playoff. But this certainly makes it look possible.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Oklahoma: The Sooners can expect to tumble when the new rankings come out Tuesday, but remember: Oklahoma looked done when it was upset by Texas last season and went on to make the playoff.

Houston: The last time the Cougars were ranked in the top five was 1990, when they reached No. 3. It wouldn't be shocking see them get there again soon.

UP NEXT

Oklahoma: The Sooners get a break next week with a home game against Louisiana Monroe.

Houston: The Cougars face FCS Lamar next Saturday at home, but they might get a little work done for Cincinnati this week, too. The Cougars have a Thursday night road game on short rest against the Bearcats on Sept. 15.

Houston Cougars Season Preview

STORYLINES
Houston coach Tom Herman is in his first year on the Cougar sideline after he helped Ohio State to the 2014 College Football Playoff National Championship as the Buckeyes’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. The Cougars closed last season by beating Pittsburgh, 35-34, in the Armed Forces Bowl. Houston trailed 34-13 with less than four minutes left before scoring three touchdowns and recovering two onside kicks.
OFFENSE
QB Greg Ward Jr. went 6-2 as Houston’s starting signal-caller last season. Ward completed 67.0 percent of his passes (175 of 261) and accounted for 18 touchdowns (12 passing, six rushing). RB Kenneth Farrow led the American Athletic Conference with seven 100-yard games last season. Farrow has been named to the preseason watch lists for the Maxwell Award, the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award and the Doak Walker Award. WR Demarcus Ayers, who was The American’s Special Teams Player of the Year in 2013, is the top returning receiver for 2015. Ayers had 33 receptions for 335 yards and two TDs last season.
DEFENSE
Houston, which led the nation in takeaways in 2013, finished 11th nationally in 2014 with 30 turnovers gained. S Adrian McDonald had a had in eight turnovers last season. He had five interceptions and three fumble recoveries and was a first-team allconference selection last year. McDonald leads a secondary that returns all four starters from last season.. CB William Jackson had 12 passes defended last year on his way to second-team all-conference honors. LB Steven Taylor is the lone returning starter at linebacker. Taylor was second on the team with 76 tackles to go with four sacks, nine tackles for loss and three forced fumbles in 2014.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Houston returns both of its kicking specialists from 2014. K Kyle Bullard was fourth among American Athletic Conference kickers in scoring last season (6.9 points per game). P Logan Piper averaged 39.5 yards per punt in his first year as the Cougars’ punter.