Reversal of fortune
UH’s 4th-quarter flurry erases nine-point deficit against Tulsa
After an embarrassing 28-point loss to Tulsa last season, University of Houston coach Major Applewhite had a message for his team this week.
“They stole your bike. They Deebo’ed you,” said Applewhite, borrowing a line from the movie “Friday.” “Go get your bike back.”
Playing for the first time in 12 days, the Cougars stormed back from a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat Tulsa 41-26 on Thursday night in the American Athletic Conference opener at TDECU Stadium.
The Cougars improved to 4-1 overall heading into back-to-back road games against East Carolina and Navy.
With Tulsa using three safeties, the Cougars traded their up-tempo passing offense that entered the game No. 1 nationally (608.5 yards per game) for a ball-control ground attack that produced a season-high 314 yards rushing.
Meanwhile, a much-maligned UH defense came up with two big third-down stops in the fourth quarter.
“Really proud of our defense for responding and giving our offense opportunities,” Applewhite said.
Down 26-17 early in the fourth quarter, UH watched quarterback D’Eriq King score on a 61-yard run.
That’s when the Cougars’ defense took over.
David Anenih made a stop on Corey Taylor II on third-and-1, and Elijah Gooden sacked Tulsa quarterback Seth Boomer and forced a fumble to set up UH’s goahead score.
Along with an interception by Deontay Anderson, the Cougars turned a two-point deficit into a 15-point lead in the span of six minutes.
During the comeback, King completed TD passes of 9 yards to tight end Romello Brooker and 6 yards to Marquez Stevenson.
After scoring on their first three possessions of the second half, the Golden Hurri-
cane managed just 32 yards and had two turnovers on the final five possessions.
“I felt we had to put our foot down and finish,” said All-America defensive tackle Ed Oliver, who tied a season high with 13 tackles.
Taylor had 33 carries for a game-high 152 yards for Tulsa. Nate Walker added field goals of 28, 32, 27 and 35 yards.
King was 19-of-27 for a seasonlow 165 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. He added 117 rushing yards and two touchdowns. In five games this season, King has accounted for 25 touchdowns.
“It was a bad feeling at first,” King said. “I trust our guys. Our defense saved us all night. I knew we would break through eventually.”
On the opening drive, Boomer, a redshirt freshman, led the Golden Hurricane on a 9-play, 82-yard scoring drive that was capped by a 33-yard TD catch by Keenen Johnson.
Three plays later, King threw the first of two first-half interceptions to set up a Walker field goal to give Tulsa a 10-0 lead less than five minutes into the game.
UH appeared in trouble on the ensuing drive, facing a firstand-30 from their own 35. Terence Williams picked up 15 and 8 yards on consecutive runs and King added a 10-yard gain. On the next play, Keith Corbin made a leaping grab in the corner of the end zone for a 32-yard touchdown.
Tulsa pushed its lead to 13-7 on Walker’s field goal with 22 seconds left in the first quarter. The Golden Hurricane could not extend the lead despite the Cougars committing turnovers on their next two possessions — an interception by King and a fumble after a hard hit to Williams.
Entering the game, the Cougars had three turnovers in four games. They had three in the first 18 minutes Thursday.
UH took its first lead midway through the second quarter when King, under pressure and the pocket collapsing, ducked through a hole and ran untouched for a 19-yard score. Dalton Witherspoon added a 40-yard field goal for a 17-13 halftime lead.
Tulsa regained the lead in the third quarter on Walker’s third field goal and an 8-yard touchdown run by Taylor.
UH ran five plays for two yards and had the ball for less than three minutes in the third quarter.