Zeon Chriss rushed 71 yards for a touchdown on a quarterback draw in his first start for Houston, helping the Cougars beat TCU 30-19 on Friday night after two straight shutout losses.
Chriss took over for Donovan Smith and ended Houston’s eight-quarter scoreless streak with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Devan Williams just under 10 minutes into the game.
The Cougars (2-4, 1-2 Big 12) snapped a nine-game losing streak against the Horned Frogs, who were 16.5-point favorites according to BetMGM.
Houston’s scoring drought began over 30 years ago in the Southwest Conference, continued during a four-year run in Conference USA, and finally ended in this second Big 12 matchup between the teams.
“It’s been a tough couple of weeks,” said first-year Cougars coach Willie Fritz. “And I’m just proud of their resilience and how they kept fighting and scratching and clawing.”
Smith briefly replaced an injured Chriss for one play in the third quarter but returned in the fourth when TCU (3-3, 1-2) closed the gap to eight points.
The Texas Tech transfer guided a 14-play drive that took nearly 7.5 minutes, ending with Jack Martin’s third field goal, extending the lead to two scores with 1:58 left.
Chriss returned after being tackled by multiple defenders and had his helmet on while Smith led the final drive.
“Had a good week of practice,” Fritz said about starting Chriss. “Wanted to see how he did, give him a few series, and he played really, really well. Donovan was ready. He went out there and played extremely well. Had some huge plays for us.”
Chriss’ touchdown run came after TCU’s Josh Hoover threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Savion Williams, making it 17-6 late in the second quarter.
