Houston Cougars become bowl eligible with 38-28 win over Tulsa Golden Hurricane

Greg Ward Jr. (1) caiired the ball eight times for
37 yards and was 17-of-22 for 225 yards in the
air for the Houston Cougars.
Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2014 All Rights Reserved
 

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2014 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (November 22, 2014) The Houston Cougars survived a late comeback by the Tulsa Golden Hurricane and held on for their fourth conference win of the season with a 38-28 win at TDECU Stadium in Houston, Texas on Saturday, November 22, 2014. With the win, the Cougars become bowl-eligible heading into their final two games against SMU and Cincinnati.

Houston jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter on a pair of one-yard runs by running back Kenneth Farrow. Kicker Kyle Bullard, as always, added the extra points for the Cougars to close out the first 15 minutes.

Tulsa cut the Cougar lead to seven when quarterback Dane Evans rushed the final three yards of a 41-yard drive for their first touchdown of the game. Carl Salazar added the kicking conversion to close out the first half.

In the third quarter, the scoring blitz began with both teams scoring 14 points to take the score to 28-21 with 15 minutes to play. Tulsa scored on a two-yard Zack Langer run at the 6:53 mark. They added an addition touchdown when Evans connected with wide receiver Keyarris Garrett on a 17-yard pass. Salazar again added the conversion kicks.

The Cougars scored on a 45-yard Farrow run with 5:28 left in the quarter. They added an additional six points when quarterback Greg Ward Jr. hit Markeith Ambles with a 25-yard pass for the score. Bullard split the uprights on both scores for the conversion points.

Former Houston Cougar swimmer and H-Association member
Kristine Kelly and her  daughter, enjoy their game and throw
their support behind the Cougars.
Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2014 All Rights Reserved

Houston went into the fourth quarter with a 28-21 lead; however the Golden Hurricane quickly cut that lead with an Evans one-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Zach Epps. The score capped a 10 play, 77 yard drive that lasted 4:19. With the touchdown and Salazar’s extra point, a new game emerged with 7:10 remaining in the game.
Houston took the ball at their 11 yard line and began a drive to break the tie and eat up the clock. The 89 yard drive resulted in Farrow carrying the ball the final two yards for the touchdown. Bullard added the extra point to give the Cougars a seven point lead with 3:06 left in the game.

Tulsa began a final drive in an attempt to tie the score, but with 1:42 left in the game, the Cougars picked off an Evans pass on a fourth-and-one play. Houston ran three plays before opting for a 35-yard field goal by Bullard. With the three points, the Cougars secured the win and sixth victory of the season.

Offensive, Farrow rushed for 116 yards on 14 carries and four touchdowns. His four rushing touchdowns ranks his second on the all-time list for a single game. Ryan Jackson rushed for 95 yards on 15 carries with one romp of 56 yards.

Ward, who threw for one touchdown and was sacked twice, connected on 17-of-22 passes for 225 yards. He also rushed for 37 yards.

On defense, middle linebacker Efrem Oliphant continued his stellar senior year, accounted for 16 tackles for the Cougars; four of the unassisted. Cornerback Howard Wilson tallied 15 tackles, seven solo, while linebacker Steven Taylor added 13.

For Tulsa, Evans was 28-of-40 for 258 yards passing, with three interceptions with Lucas catching 14 passes for 97 yards.