Houston Cougars vs South Florida Bulls Box Score on Oct 28, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Oct 28, 2017

TAMPA, Fla. -- Quarterback D'Eriq King converted a fourth-and-24 on the final drive and rushed 20 yards for a touchdown with 11 seconds remaining, leading Houston to a stunning 28-24 upset of No. 17 South Florida on Saturday at Raymond James Stadium.

The Bulls (7-1, 4-1 American Athletic) had taken a 24-21 lead on a 30-yard field goal with 1:46 left, but the Cougars rallied to stun South Florida and end its hopes of a perfect season. Houston got a 50-yard kickoff return from Brandon McDowell, and King converted on fourth down with a 30-yard pass to Courtney Lark. He scrambled from the 20 for the go-ahead touchdown.

The Bulls saw their record streak of 24 straight games scoring at least 30 points come to an end. Houston (5-3, 3-2) won by avoiding the massive second-half collapses they'd had endured in the last two games.

Houston had rallied to tie the game three times in the second half, including a 2-yard run by King to make it 21-21 with 6:20 left. King had a 44-yard run to set up the touchdown for Houston, which rushed for 255 yards.

The Bulls had gone 5-for-19 on third downs when Quinton Flowers converted with a pass to Tyre McCants early in the fourth quarter, then followed with a 38-yard pass to Marquez Valdes-Scantling to the 2-yard line. Two plays later, he shifted to his right and kept it for a touchdown and 21-14 lead.

Houston's defense took away Flowers' run game -- he had minus-9 yards when he scored his second touchdown -- but he still threw for 325 yards, including a career-best 186 to Valdes-Scantling.

Houston took the second-half kickoff and tied the game on a six-play, 75-yard drive, capped by a 39-yard touchdown pass from King to Lark.

USF answered, however, again going for it on a fourth-and-1 and getting a conversion from Darius Tice from the 8-yard line. Flowers kept it on the next play for a 3-yard touchdown run and a 14-7 lead. Houston again tied the game, getting a 46-yard run from Mulbah Car to set up a 4-yard touchdown run, sending a 14-14 tie into the fourth quarter.

Houston had been two very different teams in recent weeks -- it held Tulsa and Memphis to a combined seven points in the first half, but gave up 80 points in the second half of the two games.

Much the same way, Houston was able to hold USF to a 7-0 lead at halftime, helped by the Bulls going for it on 4th-and-short four times and only converting twice.

The Bulls twice went for it inside the Houston 30 in the first half, only to be stopped to turn the ball over on downs.

In the second quarter, Houston went for it on 4th-and-1 from its own 40 and was dropped for a loss. USF then went for it on 4th-and-1 at the Houston 28, with Tice converting with an 18-yard run, and then went for it on the same drive on 4th and goal from the 2, getting a touchdown from D'Ernest Johnson.

NOTES: The two teams combined for 12 punts in the first half, going a combined 4-for-22 on third down and also turning the ball over three times on downs. ... Houston got very little from starting RB Duke Catalon, who was held to 23 yards on eight carries.