HOUSTON -- No. 13 Houston was coming off of its first loss and the Cougars were close to making it two in a row with Tulsa driving in a tie game late in the fourth quarter on Saturday night.
It was then that Houston's defense responded with two huge plays to give the Cougars a 38-31 victory.
The game was tied at 31-31 when Emeke Egbule returned a fumble 24 yards for a touchdown with 1:21 remaining. Garrett Davis knocked the ball out of the hands of quarterback Dane Evans. Egbule scooped it up and dashed into the end zone for the score.
"I just knew I had to do something with it to keep us in the game," Egbule said.
Tulsa (4-2, 1-1 American Athletic) had a chance to tie it, but Jesse Brubaker was stopped just short of the goal line after a reception on the last play of the game to seal Houston's victory. The play was reviewed and upheld.
"He was really close ... I don't think you can get any closer than what it was," Tulsa Coach Philip Montgomery said.
It was a close call for the Cougars (6-1, 3-1) a week after Navy beat them 46-40 after a 5-0 start.
"We got the taste out of our mouth," Houston Coach Tom Herman said.
Tulsa never led, but had twice rallied from 14-point deficits to tie the game. The second time came when James Flanders scored on a 3-yard run with 3:31 left.
In other games involving American Athletic schools, Quinton Flowers passed for two touchdowns and ran for three more and South Florida (6-1, 3-0 American Athletic) beat Connecticut (3-4, 1-3) 42-27. ... Phillip Walker threw an 8-yard TD pass to Keith Kirkwood with one second left and Temple (4-3, 2-1) stunned Central Florida (3-3, 1-1) with a 26-25 comeback victory.
Sports on 10/16/2016