Houston Drops Heartbreaker at Tulane

NEW ORLEANS – University of Houston senior quarterback D'Eriq King set a Football Bowl Subdivision record with rushing and passing touchdowns in his 15^th consecutive game, but it would not be enough as Tulane claimed a 38-31 win inside Yulman Stadium on Thursday night.

King threw for 229 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 16-of-33 passing and added another 116 rushing yards and touchdown on the ground. With his scores, he topped Florida quarterback Tim Tebow's previous record.

The Cougars jumped out to a 28-7 lead in the first half before Tulane rallied to take a 31-28 lead in the fourth quarter. Houston tied the game at 31-31 with 21 seconds remaining, and the game appeared heading to overtime.

However, Tulane's Jalen McCleskey's 53-yard touchdown reception from Justin McMillan with just three seconds remaining gave the Green Wave the win.

The Cougars (1-3, 0-1 The American) wasted little time in putting their mark on the scoreboard. Receiving the opening kickoff on a touchback, King rolled to his right and hit Marquez Stevenson for a 75-yard touchdown strike on the Cougars' first play from scrimmage.

After a Tulane punt and a Cougar turnover, the Green Wave knotted the game at 7-7 on McCleskey's 38-yard touchdown catch from McMillan.

However, Tulane (3-1, 1-0 The American) did not hold the lead long. King led the Cougars on a 10-play, 75-yard drive, capped by senior running back Kyle Porter's 1-yard plunge into the end zone with 3:25 left in the opening period.

After a Green Wave punt, King hit Keith Corbin on a 28-yard touchdown pass with 14:35 left in the second quarter to give the Cougars a 21-7 lead.

On the ensuing possession, senior safety Deontay Anderson forced a fumble from McCleskey, and Zamar Kirven pounced on the loose ball to start a Houston drive deep in Tulane territory.

After a pair of incomplete passes, King dropped back to pass and eventually weaved his way through multiple Tulane defenders to race into the end zone on a 35-yard touchdown and put his name in the NCAA FBS records book with 13:16 remaining in the first half.

The Green Wave trimmed the deficit to 28-14 when Stephon Hunderson plunged into the end zone from nine yards out with 10:11 left.

Receiving the second-half kickoff, Tulane moved to within 28-21 when McMillan connected with Darnell Moody on a 48-yard touchdown with 12:53 left in the third.

The score remained that way until early in the fourth quarter when McMillan rushed into the end zone from 15 yards out to tie the game at 28-28 with 14:22 left in the game.

Following a missed Houston field goal, Tulane took over and took the lead when kicker Merek Glover's 44-yard field goal was good with 6:10 left in the game.

King then led the Cougars on a 16-play drive that was capped by kicker Dalton Witherspoon's 24-yard field goal to tie the game at 31-31 with 21 seconds left in regulation.

UP NEXT
The Cougars return to action when they face North Texas at 7 p.m., Sept. 28, inside Apogee Stadium in Denton, Texas. That game can be seen on Facebook Live and heard on KPRC 950 AM.

Houston returns to TDECU Stadium when it meets Cincinnati on Oct. 12. Tickets are available by visiting UHCougars.com/tickets and following the appropriate links or by calling the Athletics Ticket Office during regular business hours, Monday through Friday.

– UHCougars.com –

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D'Eriq King

Players Mentioned

Deontay Anderson

Keith Corbin

D'Eriq King

Zamar Kirven

Kyle Porter

Marquez Stevenson

Dalton Witherspoon

Players Mentioned

Deontay Anderson

Keith Corbin

D'Eriq King

Zamar Kirven

Kyle Porter

Marquez Stevenson

Dalton Witherspoon

Upcoming Events

Recent Results