Houston Falls to Temple

HOUSTON – The University of Houston Football team dropped its American Athletic Conference contest against Temple on Saturday night by a score of 59-49 inside TDECU Stadium.

Led by junior quarterback D'Eriq King, Houston's (7-3, 4-2 AAC) high octane offense put up 527 yards of offense, marking the seventh time this season such a task has been accomplished by the Cougars.

On the night, King threw for five touchdowns to go along with his one score on the ground and has accounted for 47 touchdowns this season, which surpasses McKenzie Milton from UCF in 2017 for The American record.

Houston took the first punch of the game with Temple (6-4, 5-1) capitalizing on a blocked punt and immediately scoring to take a 7-0 lead. Following another score from the Owls, the Cougars' explosive offense put together a 15-play drive that was capped by a two-yard reception by senior Raleon Singleton for Houston's first touchdown of the night.

With the Cougars trailing by a touchdown after the first 15 minutes of the game, the Owls opened the second quarter with a rushing touchdown to push their lead back to 14. Houston showed its resiliency though, responding immediately with a score of its own thanks to junior running back Patrick Carr carrying in his third touchdown of the season to cut the deficit to 21-14.

After each team forced a 3-and-out of the night, Temple came back and rushed home its fourth touchdown of the game to extend the advantage to 28-14 at the half. To come out of the locker room, Temple continued to put its powerful run on display, carrying the ball across the end zone to make it a three-possession game.

On the ensuing drive, Houston found a rebuttal of its own, as junior quarterback D'Eriq King connected with senior tight end Romello Brooker to bring the score back to within 14 at 35-21. The Owls then muffed the kickoff on the succeeding return, which resulted in the Cougars recovering the fumble inside enemy territory.

Having started its drive on the Temple 13-yard line, King showed off his dual-threat option and took it to the house himself to put Houston back within striking distance, making the score 35-28. The Owls came back to score 14 unanswered points, before King tossed his third touchdown of the game. King's pass to redshirt freshman Bryson Smith marked his 46^th touchdown that he's accounted for this season, which is an American Athletic Conference record.

The Cougars' defense then stepped up big and forced back-to-back scoreless drives to keep the score at 49-35 at the end of the third quarter. To open up the final frame, Temple crossed to goal line, taking nearly five minutes off the clock to stretch its advantage back to three scores.

With its back up against the wall, Houston scored right away courtesy of King finding Smith in the end zone for the second time of the night. After the Cougars recovered the onside kick, Houston kept the momentum on its side and marched down the field for another score, making it a one possession game again.

Temple answered back on its next drive and ended Houston's comeback hopes with a field goal to seal the 59-49 win.

UP NEXT
Houston rounds out its 2018 home slate on Thursday, Nov. 15, when the Cougars play host to Tulane. Kickoff for that contest is slated for 7 p.m. CT inside TDECU Stadium.

Tickets for that game are still available and fans can purchases tickets by calling 713-462-6647 or by visiting uhcougars.com/tickets.

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D'Eriq King

Bryson Smith

Players Mentioned

Romello Brooker

Patrick Carr

D'Eriq King

Bryson Smith

Players Mentioned

Romello Brooker

Patrick Carr

D'Eriq King

Bryson Smith

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