Houston provided itself a reprieve from talks of a complete 2022 collapse with a 33-32 comeback win over Memphis to pull even at 3-3 overall and 1-1 in AAC play. The Cougars rallied from a 19-point fourth-quarter deficit by scoring 26 points in the final 15 minutes of game play. 

Down 26-7 with 14:50 left in the game, Houston went on a six-play, 75-yard drive that was capped by a Nathanel Dell touchdown reception from Clayton Tune. It was the Cougars’ first touchdown since midway through the second quarter. 

Houston’s defense forced Memphis into field goals as the Cougars offense found its gear. Jayce Rogers returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown with 7:47 left in the game to cut the game to a 10-pont deficit. Tune would throw two more touchdown passes down the stretch, including the game winner to KeSean Carter with 18 seconds left in the game. It was the first and only lead for Houston in the contest. 

THREE THINGS 

Passing diversity: Tune completed 36 of his 57 passes for 366 yards and three touchdowns to just one interception. He also ran for a score and 20 yards on seven carries. Dell was his usual self with 81 yards and a touchdown on a team-high 10 carries. But the difference in the second half for Houston was the emergence of playmakers at the wide receiver. The same players I was critical of through the first five weeks of the season, and even in the first half of the Mempis game.

Sam Brown had a breakout performance with nine catches for 116 yards. Christian Trahan added five grabs for 73 yards from his tight end position. True freshman Matthew Golden had four receptions for 55 yards. And Carter scored on four of his touches. Being able to spread the ball around makes everyone’s job easier, and it should eventually allow Dell to see 1-on-1 coverage in the slot. For too many weeks, the passing attack was Dell, dump offs to running backs, and screens. The second half against Memphis should allow those new guys to build confidence.  

Touchdowns vs. field goals: The four traditional stats I care about the most are third/fourth down conversion rates, turnover margin, average starting field position, and red zone efficiency. Provide me with those stats and I’ll predict the outcomes of games at an 80 percent clip, and that’s modest. The teams were about even on third/fourth down conversion rate. Add in the three fourth-down conversions by Houston and both teams were essentially on possession-altering plays. Each team committed one penalty. And both teams started drives within four yards of each other on average. 

The outlier was red zone success. Houston scored on four of six trips to the red zone, but the Cougars were much more efficient despite five scoring drives in five attempts within the red zone for Memphis. The difference was the touchdown rate. Houston scored four touchdowns in six red zone trips. Memphis scored one touchdown and kicked four field goals. That 8-point swing was more than enough to be the difference. 

Houston can use this as a launching pad: Adversity can bring teams together. Mix in a thrilling us-against-the-world win on the road when you only lead the game for the final 18 seconds and it isn’t impossible that this Houston squad is galvanized moving forward. The Cougars needed some good vibes to bring back to Third Ward and quiet some of the outside noise. A 3-3 start wasn’t the plan, but the goals are still in front of the Cougars. 

Houston gets a bye week before a trip to Navy and a home game against South Florida to close out November. Those two teams are a combined 2-7 entering Week 6. Houston is 5-3 with those wins with SMU, Temple East Carolina, and Tulsa remaining. All four of those programs enter Week 6 with a 2-3 record identical to the one the Cougars had before beating Memphis. 

Can we really say 9-3 isn’t possible?