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| Greg Ward, Jr. rushed for 109 yards and two touchdown to lead the Houston Cougars to their third win of the 2016 season. Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography Copyright 2016 All Rights Reserved. |
Copyright 2016 TexSport Publications
CINCINNATI, OHIO (September 15, 2016) The No. 6 Houston Cougars scored 28 points in the fourth quarter to come from behind and down the Cincinnati Bearcats by the score of 40-16 in front of 40,015 fans at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio on Thursday, September 15, 2016. The win was the third for the Cougars in 2013 and began their conference record at 1-0. Quarterback Greg Ward Jr. rushed for two of the fourth quarter touchdowns while Steven Taylor and Howard Wilson both intercepted passes late in the game for touchdowns.
The Cougars and Bearcats traded TDs in the first quarter to
tie the game at seven after 15 minutes of play. Ty Cummings booted a 32-yard
field goal to give the Cougars a 10-7 lead with 2:58 remaining in the first
half. Bearcat kicker Andrew Gantz countered with a 37-yard boot of his own to tie
the score at 10 at the half. Houston came back and scored a safety after 3:30
of play in the third quarter to give the Cougars slight 12-10 lead. The safety
was the second time in two years that the Cougar defense picked up two points
on the Bearcats. Cincinnati responded three seconds into the fourth quarter on
a pass from Hayden Moore to Nate Cole to cap a 78-yard, five play drive to a go-ahead
touchdown. At that point the Cougars score four touchdowns in 8:05 to secure
the win.
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| Houston head coach Tom Herman have the Cougars 3-0 in 2016. Photo by Darla Tamulitis, La Vita Loca Photography Copyright 2016, All Rights Reserved |
With the victory, Houston improved to 15-10 in the all-time series
against the Bearcats, and was the second straight win against their AAC rival.
In their most recent meeting, the Cougars claimed a 33-30 win at TDECU Stadium
on November 7, 2015. That victory broke a five-game losing streak against Cincinnati
dating back to October 9, 1999. Prior to Thursday’s win, Houston had not
recorded consecutive wins against Cincinnati since 1972-1974. The Cougars moved
to 5-6 on the road at Cincinnati, snapping a four-game losing streak. With 506
yards of total offense, Houston now has back-to-back games of over 500 yards of
offense after collecting 511 yards against Lamar in their previous game.
Houston’s defense held the Bearcats to 30 yards rushing in
the contest, marking the fifth straight opponent that the Cougars have held
under 100 yards on the ground. Houston held Lamar to 15 yards last week and
Oklahoma to 70 yards in their opener. To close out the 2015-16 season the
Cougars held Temple to 98 yards in the American Championship Game while keeping
No. 9/8 Florida State at 16 in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.
Houston returns to action at 6 p.m., Saturday, September 24,
2016 when they travel to San Marcos, Texas, to face Texas State.
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