Cougars ‘stamp’ out Tigers
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Confetti shot in the air and fans began chants of “Whose House?” — the appropriate response is “Coogs’ House” — as the University of Houston “put the stamp,” coach Dana Holgorsen said, on one of the best football seasons in the program’s 75-year history.
“This was going to be a good football season, no matter what,” Holgorsen said after the No. 20 Cougars put together a fourthquarter comeback — the go-ahead touchdown coming on a 26-yard catch by Jake Herslow from Clayton Tune with 3:27 left — to beat Auburn 17-13 on Tuesday afternoon in the Ticketsmarter Birmingham Bowl.
“You want it to be great. Go win against Auburn. In SEC country. In Birmingham, Ala., in front of their crowd. That would be a great win and put the stamp on a great season, and I think we did that.”
The Cougars (12-2) finished with at least 12 wins for the third time in program history, joining 13-1 finishes in 2011 and 2015. After a season-opening loss to Texas Tech, UH won 12 of its final 13 games, the only loss to fourth-ranked Cincinnati in the American Athletic Conference championship game.
“Last year I had a bad taste in my mouth because we went out with a loss (to Hawaii) in the New Mexico Bowl,” said Tune, who was 26-of-40 for 283 yards and two touchdowns with an interception to earn the game’s Most Valuable Player.
“This was kind of the revenge tour to come out and have the season we did and finish with a bowl win.”
Like most of the season, the Cougars struggled in the third quarter, found offense when they needed and leaned on a defense to come up with stops late in the game.
Auburn (6-7), which ended the season with five straight losses for the first time in 71 years, had a chance to put the game away when Chandler Wooten intercepted tight end Seth Green’s pass on a trick play near midfield with less than eight minutes left. The Tigers, however, went three-and-out, taking only a minute off the clock to give the Cougars another shot.
Tune began the drive with three straight completions. On first down from the UH 34, Tune scrambled and was hit in the helmet as he slid by cornerback Jaylin Simpson, who was the second Auburn player ejected from the game for targeting.
“I was trying to get yardage,” Tune said. “It was big to get that first down.”
Tune followed with a 20yard completion to Christian Trahan. On secondand-10 from the Auburn 26, Tune and Herslow hooked up on a play that had been “tweaked” since the AAC championship game.
“We figured out a way to make it better,” Tune said.
With Nathaniel Dell in motion as “window dressing,” Tune said the play developed perfectly as cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett came across and safety Bydarrius Knighten went deep. That left the right side of the field open. Dell
finished the game with 10 catches for 150 yards.
For the season, Dell led the Cougars with 90 catches for 1,329 yards, the fifthhighest single-season total in school history.
Herslow, a walk-on who emerged as a favorite target for Tune this season, came across the middle and got a step on safety Devin Guice, making the catch to end the Cougars’ four-game bowl losing streak.
“That’s kind of been our offense this whole season,” Tune said. “When we needed to make plays, we do.”
Auburn’s final drive ended with three straight incomplete passes by quarterback T.J. Finley, the last falling harmlessly to the turf with 2:42 left as the Cougars began to celebrate.
After allowing Auburn to take its only lead 13-10 on a 12-yard touchdown catch by Kobe Hudson late in the third quarter, UH’S “Third Ward Defense” held the Tigers to 57 yards on their final four possessions.
“That’s what we take pride in, coming up when we need it the most,” defensive end David Anenih said. “When the tensions are high that’s when you need your best players to make plays.”
UH took a 10-0 lead on a 5-yard touchdown catch by Alton Mccaskill on the game’s opening drive and a 53-yard field goal by Dalton Witherspoon, which matched the Birmingham Bowl record.
UH went cold in the third quarter, managing only 46 yards, as the Tigers rallied to take a 13-10 lead. UH did not run an offensive play in Auburn territory from the 6:58 mark of the second quarter until the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. During that span, the Cougars had a fourth-down try fall short and threw two interceptions.
Auburn had its share of missed chances, settling for 27- and 35-yard field goals by Ben Patton.
“We had our opportunities,” Auburn first-year coach Bryan Harsin said. “What it comes down to is execution.”
Like most of the season, the Cougars won’t get any style points. But they will gladly take an important win over a Power Five program that could serve as a springboard for next season.
“We’ve said all season we want the game to be in our hands at the last second — and it was,” Mutin said.