Jack Martin made a 43-yard field goal as time ran out, helping Houston secure a 17-14 victory over Utah on Saturday night.
A.J. Haulcy intercepted a pass from Brandon Rose with 1:55 left, giving Houston the ball at their own 46-yard line. The Cougars then ran the ball eight times in a row to reach the Utah 25, setting up Martin’s kick.
This marked Houston’s first game-winning field goal since November 7, 2009, against Tulsa.
“That’s a kicker’s dream,” Martin said. “Definitely one of my items I can knock off the bucket list.”
Zeon Chriss completed 6 of 13 passes for 61 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 45 yards for Houston (3-5, 2-3 Big 12). Stephon Johnson caught a 21-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter, and Joseph Manjack IV had a 28-yard touchdown catch with nine minutes left in the fourth.
J’Marion Burnette rushed for 81 yards, and Re’Shaun Sanford II added 72 yards on the ground, contributing to Houston’s total of 228 rushing yards.
“We needed a break,” Houston coach Willie Fritz said. “I don’t know that we’ve gotten one this year.” Fritz, in his first season as Houston’s coach, achieved his 250th career victory.
Isaac Wilson completed 13 of 22 passes for 171 yards and a touchdown before being replaced by Rose with 8.5 minutes left in the third quarter. Rose completed 7 of 15 passes for 45 yards for the Utes (4-4, 1-4), who have now lost four games in a row.
“Trying to get a spark,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said about the decision to change quarterbacks. “Trying to create something. We had only scored one touchdown and just didn’t seem to be gaining any momentum offensively, so we figured it was time to give Brandon an opportunity.”
Whittingham mentioned that the team would decide on the starting quarterback after reviewing the game tape.
Brant Kuithe caught five passes for 113 yards, including a 71-yard touchdown catch on the Utes’ second play of the game.
Micah Bernard rushed for 51 yards, scoring a 14-yard touchdown with five minutes left in the third quarter, giving the Utes a 14-7 lead.
“We can only go one way,” Bernard said. “We’ve lost, what is this, four straight now? Where do we go now? We keep going to try to get a win. … We’ve got to figure something out. We have to put a W in the win column. That’s the only way we can go.”
This was the first game for Utah’s interim offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian, who took over for Andy Ludwig this week. Utah outgained Houston in total yards, 306 to 289.
