It’s a football achievement that happens once in a blue moon and on Sunday Houston’s Brandon Wilson did just that.
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Regardless of whether Houston (1-0) ends up in the Big 12, the Cougars’ latest surprising win could have season-long ramifications on the College Football Playoff.
In Ann Arbor, Michigan got started fast against Hawaii halfway through the first quarter with quarterback Wilton Speight lobbing a 12-yard pass to Grant Perry for a touchdown. Wilson, though, provided the key play in the biggest regular-season nonconference game the Cougars have played in 25 years and Houston’s third victory in school history against a top-three team. OU kicker Austin Seibert’s missed 53-yard field goal attempt in the third quarter was a catalyst in the game.
Houston coach Tom Herman knew what I was going to ask Sunday as soon as I said the words, “Now you guys are going to be …” “I saw the green grass and I scored”. That made it 26-17 Cougars with 8:28 left in the second quarter.
“We want to challenge ourselves because quality wins obviously count as well”, Herman said. “I think too, it’s fair to say, that Bake had something there or was waiting on something a little bit more downfield instead of taking what was there”.
Houston’s Brandon Wilson was all over the field Saturday against Oklahoma. Because the best cover guys wouldn’t be able to protect the field goal, you’re in a bit of a dilemma.
It was a questionable decision by Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops to try for the long field goal, particularly because Wilson was waiting in the end zone in case it came up short. “I don’t really second-guess”. OU played well in the first half – scoring 17 points midway through the second quarter – but simply disappeared after intermission. Yet Wilson mashed the Y-button, hurdled his fellow Cougar, and continued his unharried sprint for a touchdown. USC punter Chris Tilbey bobbled the snap on the ensuing drive to set up Alabama at the Trojans 15 and lead to Hurts’ TD run. Ohio State in 2014 and Alabama last season overcame September losses to win the CFP championship. Texas opens against No. 10 Notre Dame on Sunday night.
Knight’s 1-yard keeper on fourth down in the overtime session gave the Aggies (1-0) the lead.
The Aggies sealed the victory when Justin Evans knocked down Josh Rosen’s pass at the goal line on fourth down. Rosen threw three interceptions while working under heavy pressure from a defense led by Myles Garrett.
“I didn’t even see the end of it because I was looking for flags”, he said. “I looked up, it was going straight”. After the 2-point conversion had failed, it was over. The senior returns as the Cougars leading tackler from last season (92 TKL, 18.5 TFL, 10 sacks, 3 INT), and promises to be the leader of a Houston defense that held opponents to 21.8 points per game and limited Florida State running back and Heisman candidate Dalvin Cook to only 33 rushing yards in the Peach Bowl.
Coming off a 13-1 season, UH is considered the best shot among the Group of Five – which includes the American Athletic Conference, Conference USA, Mountain West, Mid-American and Sun Belt – to reach the CFP.
But Holy Cross benefited from a poor snap that ended as a safety and after the two-pointer, the Crusaders travelled 67 yards in nine plays, culminating with Diquan Walker’s 3-yard plunge. Things quickly turned in the second half though, as both their offense and defense fell apart.
Samuel, a junior, caught two of Barrett’s touchdown passes and finished with nine receptions for 177 yards.
The Cougars were almost as impressive last season at the betting window as the Sooners were, covering in nine of their 14 games.
Ward was excellent, throwing for 323 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. Ben Scott was 27 of 47 for 303 yards and had a touchdown run for UC Davis.
Houston outplayed Oklahoma – the defending Big 12 champion and playoff participant – most of the game, but a handful of plays proved pivotal. He had five carries for eight yards and four catches for 17 yards outside of those two major early plays. Wilson took the ball 110 yards for the touchdown, sending the mostly pro-Cougars crowd into a frenzy.
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Ross caught two touchdown passes and returned a kickoff 92 yards for another score, while teammate Dante Pettis added a return touchdown of his own when he took a punt back 68 yards in the third quarter. Expect the Sooners to get tight end Mark Andrews more involved after he caught seven touchdowns as a redshirt freshman.
