University of Houston
7-1 , 4-0
USF
7-1 , 3-1
King Leads Offense to Win Over No. 21/20 USF
10/27/2018 6:18:00 PM | Football
Junior quarterback combines for seven touchdowns
King accounted for a career-high seven touchdowns and tied his career highs with five passing scores and two scores on the ground. The Manvel, Texas native ignited the Cougar offense to 57 points, which is the most points the Cougars have scored against a nationally-ranked team since its 70-30 victory over No. 25/24 Tulsa on Nov. 15, 2008.
With the win, the Cougars improve to 7-1 on the 2018 campaign and remain undefeated in The American with their 4-0 mark. USF suffers its first loss of the season, dropping to 7-1 on the year and 3-1 in conference play.
The Cougars wasted no time putting one of the nation's highest scoring offenses on display in front of their home crowd, as King quickly put Houston ahead by a touchdown on the game's first drive. With its opening-drive touchdown, Houston has now scored on its first drive in all but one game on the season.
After the Houston defense came on the field and forced one of its three three-and-outs of the game, the Cougars came right back and immediately crossed the end zone with King connecting with sophomore receiver Marquez Stevenson for his seventh touchdown reception of the year. The pass capped off an eight-play, 74-yard drive that lasted just 2:31.
With the Cougars in front 14-0 after the first quarter of play, USF came out attacking to start the second, cutting the Houston lead in half with its first score of the game. On Houston's ensuing drive, the Bulls forced their first turnover of the contest at the Cougar 32-yard line that resulted in a touchdown from USF to knot the score at 14.
Houston had a response of its own though, putting together its second scoring drive of the afternoon under two minutes. Following consecutive first downs from the Cougars, King found Stevenson in the end zone once again, this time for a 38-yard strike to put Houston back ahead 21-14.
Once USF came right back and strung together a scoring drive that tied the game again, Houston compiled its own rebuttal after King tossed his third touchdown pass of the game that found junior receiver Courtney Lark to put the Cougars ahead 28-21 at the half. The touchdown marked the fifth consecutive quarter that Houston has scored at least 14 points in a quarter.
Coming out of the locker room, the Bulls used a 62-yard punt to pin the Cougars on their own one-yard line that eventually resulted in a USF safety. USF then followed that with a 23-yard field goal to trim the Houston advantage to just a pair at 28-26.
With his team's lead being cut into, on the proceeding drive, King continued to pace the Cougar offense, only this time it was on the ground. His 36-yard, videogame-like quarterback keeper that he took to the house helped put his team back ahead by two scores, bringing the score to 35-26.
After USF kept itself within striking distance with a field goal, King threw a 52-yard long ball to lead redshirt freshman receiver Jeremy Singleton into the end zone, making him the first Cougar football player since Kevin Kolb in 2003 to throw for over 300 yards and rush for 100 yards in the same game.
Holding a seven-point edge over the Bulls entering the final frame, the Cougars brought its lead back to two possessions, courtesy of an 11-yard rushing touchdown from junior running back Mulbah Car. From that point, Houston never looked back, as King's seventh and final touchdown of the game, a 27-yard connection to senior Raleon Singleton, sealed the 57-36 victory for the Cougars.
UP NEXT
Houston hits the road and makes the trek down 1-45 for a showdown in Dallas with SMU on Nov. 3. Kickoff for that matchup is slated for 6 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPNU.
The Cougars return home on Nov. 10 to host Temple inside TDECU Stadium for Houston's homecoming game. Fans can purchase tickets by calling 713-462-6647 or by visiting uhcougars.com/tickets.
Team Stats
USF 0, HOU 7
HOU - KING, D'Eriq 47 yd run (WITHERSPOON, Da kick), 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:53
USF 0, HOU 14
HOU - STEVENSON, Marq 15 yd pass from KING, D'Eriq (WITHERSPOON, Da kick) 8 plays, 74 yards, TOP 2:31
USF 7, HOU 14
USF - CRONKRITE, J 1 yd run (WEISS, Coby kick), 15 plays, 79 yards, TOP 5:13
USF 14, HOU 14
USF - FORD, Johnny 32 yd run (WEISS, Coby kick), 1 plays, 32 yards, TOP 0:08
USF 14, HOU 21
HOU - STEVENSON, Marq 38 yd pass from KING, D'Eriq (WITHERSPOON, Da kick) 5 plays, 84 yards, TOP 1:38
USF 21, HOU 21
USF - FORD, Johnny 17 yd run (WEISS, Coby kick), 13 plays, 83 yards, TOP 4:52
USF 21, HOU 28
HOU - LARK, Courtney 30 yd pass from KING, D'Eriq (WITHERSPOON, Da kick) 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:44
USF 23, HOU 28
USF - McGEE, Khalid 0 yd safety
USF 26, HOU 28
USF - WEISS, Coby 23 yd field goal 5 plays, 21 yards, TOP 2:09
USF 26, HOU 35
HOU - KING, D'Eriq 36 yd run (WITHERSPOON, Da kick), 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:22
USF 29, HOU 35
USF - WEISS, Coby 25 yd field goal 11 plays, 67 yards, TOP 4:14
USF 29, HOU 43
HOU - SINGLETON, Jere 52 yd pass from KING, D'Eriq (SINGLETON, Jere pass) 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:28
USF 36, HOU 43
USF - ANTOINE, Deange 39 yd pass from BARNETT, Blake (WEISS, Coby kick) 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:07
USF 36, HOU 50
HOU - CAR, Mulbah 11 yd run (WITHERSPOON, Da kick), 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:49
USF 36, HOU 57
HOU - SINGLETON, Rael 27 yd pass from KING, D'Eriq (WITHERSPOON, Da kick) 13 plays, 80 yards, TOP 3:55
