Saturday, October 12, 2013

Houston Cougars down Memphis Tigers; go to 5-0 in 2013

Kenneth Farrow (35) carried the ball 15 times for 
33 yards and two touchdowns for the Cougars.
Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2013 All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2013 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (October 12, 2013) In what can only be described as a late offensive assault, the Houston Cougars downed the Memphis Tigers by the score of 25-15 under the threat of rain at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, Texas on Saturday, October 12, 2013.

Showing little of the offensive punch in the first half that has been the mainstay of their previous four games, the Cougars managed only 84 yards of total offense in the first half and took a slim 10-9 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Their first score came at 10:13 in the first quarter when true-freshman quarterback John O’Korn connected with junior receiver Daniel Spencer on a 17-yard pass for a touchdown.

Richie Leone connected for his 19th conversion kick of the season to give the Cougars a 7-0 lead.

Memphis countered with field goals of 33 and 50 yards to cut Houston’s lead to one at the 11:35 mark in the second quarter.

Houston came back with their own field goal three minutes later when Leone split the uprights from 24 yards out.

Memphis cut the Cougars’ lead to one with their own field goal with less than a minute left the half.

Tiger kicker Jake Elliot booted two more field goals in the third quarter to give Memphis a 15-10 lead with 4:34 left in the quarter to take his field goal total to five for the game.

Then the Cougars kicked in their offense when Kenneth Farrow scampered on a one-yard touchdown run with 1:59 remaining in the third quarter.

Houston opted to go for the two-point conversion and Memphis put the pressure on O’Korn.

John O'Korn (5) gets some advice from former
Houston quarterback David Piland
Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2013 All Rights Reserved.
Forced to scramble to avoid the onslaught of Memphis rushers, the spry young quarterback scooted and ducked to the left side and flipped a shovel pass to Farrow, who in turn, rushed into the end zone for the two points.

The Cougars added an insurance touchdown when Farrow again rushed six yard for his second TD and third score of the game with 10:21 remaining in the game.

Offensively, Houston tallied 247 total yards on 61 plays while controlling the ball for only 24 minutes.

On the other hand, Memphis accounted for 349 yards on 81 plays in 35 minutes of play.

Farrow carried the ball 15 times for 33 yards while Deontay Greenberry caught four passes for 76 yards.

O’Korn completed 13-of-30 passes for 198 yards and one touchdown.

Linebacker Efrem Oliphant had eight solo tackles and five assisted tackles to lead the game.

With the win, Houston raises its season record to 5-0 and 2-0 in conference to remain atop of the standings in the American Athletic Conference along with Louisville, who is also 2-0.

The Cardinals, who are ranked number eight in both the AP and Coach’s poll, raised their season record to 6-0 and 2-0 in conference after a 24-10 win over Rutgers on Thursday, Oct. 10.

Houston will next face Brigham Young University on Saturday, Oct. 19 at Reliant Stadium with a 2:30 p.m. CT start.

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