Sophomore quarterback Zeon Chriss in his first start for UH on Oct. 4 in Houston, Texas. | Courtesy of UH Athletics
Houston defeated the TCU Horned Frogs 30-19 Friday night in Fort Worth, Texas, their first win against the Horned Frogs since 1992.
The win was much needed for the Cougars after two scoreless outings against Cincinnati and Iowa state.
“I am proud of their resilience and who they kept fighting, scratching and clawing,” said head coach Willie Fritz. “This was a good team win.”
UH’s sophomore quarterback Zeon Chriss got his first start as a Cougar and did not disappoint. Chriss led Houston to an offensive explosion in the first half and was the spark this offense desperately needed.
Chriss passed for 121 yards in the first half and broke away for a 71-yard touchdown run with 2:18 left before halftime.
Sophomore wide receiver Devan Williams caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from Chriss and redshirt freshman running back Re’Shaun Sanford II had a two yard rushing touchdown run for two more Houston touchdowns. The team tallied 260 total yards in the half which propelled the Cougars to a 24-6 halftime lead.
On the defensive side, Junior defensive back A.J. Haulcy made his presence felt as he snagged two balls from TCU’s sophomore quarterback Josh Hoover early. He went on to finish the contest with seven tackles.
Two pass interference penalties capped allowed for a two yard touchdown run for TCU’s freshman running back Jeremy Pane, to give the Horned Frogs the first points of the second half. Houston’s defense stepped up and denied TCU of the two-point conversion which kept the score 24-12.
UH started off the second half with punts on both drives and only had eight yards of total offense with 3:43 left in the third quarter.
On the first play of the following drive, Houston’s senior defensive back Hershey McLaurin forced a fumble and was recovered by junior defensive lineman Carlos Allen.
Houston’s senior quarterback Donavon Smith replaced Chriss who had been dealing with cramps throughout the game. Smith stepped up to the challenge by leading a 14 play, 66 yard drive that resulted in a 27-yard field goal by senior kicker Zack Martin, who was 3/3 on field goals for the night.
The drive consumed 7:27 of the fourth quarter and left the Horned Frogs under two minutes to respond.
Senior outside linebacker Zykeius Strong sacked Hoover which allowed senior linebacker Michael Batton to pick up the fumble. The Cougars won at TCU for the first time in over 30 years, and escaped the scoreless struggles from week four and five.
Fritz shared that he received several text messages of support, “Loyal Coog faithful were telling me not to lose faith and I appreciate each and every one of you, who still believed in us.”
Now the Cougars will take a week off before heading on the road to face Kansas at the Chief’s Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 19.
sports@thedailycougar.com
—
“Houston finds offensive spark in historic win” was originally posted on The Cougar