Quick strike lifts No. 17 Houston to win as Cougars avert upset bid by Cincinnati

The  University of Houston went 40 minutes between offensive snaps late in the second half Saturday.

Re'Shaun Sanford II only needed eight seconds.

Sanford broke loose for a 51-yard touchdown run with 5:10 remaining to lift the No. 17 Cougars to a 31-24 victory over Cincinnati before a crowd of 32,372 at TDECU Stadium.

"It just kind of looked like he was going to break it a few times already," defensive lineman Quindario Lee said. "We were just waiting for it."

Conner Weigman hooked up with Amare Thomas for a pair of first-quarter touchdowns as the Cougars improved to 5-0 at home this season.

"In my head every time I touch the ball I'm trying to score," said Thomas, who has eight touchdowns this season and 20 the past two years. 

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Four days after being 17th in the first College Football Playoff rankings , UH (7-2, 4-2) built a 14-0 lead before holding off the Bearcats to keep pace in the Big 12 race.

The rest of the way wasn't easy.

Cincinnati tied the score at 24 on a 1-yard run by JC French IV with 6:21 left in the game, capping a 16-play, 96-yard drive that took nearly nine minutes off the clock.

The game was delayed 16 minutes on the drive when Cincinnati wide receiver JV Gibson took a hard hit  from safety Jordan Allen while attempting to make a catch at the goal line. A family member gave a thumbs-up as Gibson was taken off the field on a cart and transported to Memorial Hermann Hospital. Cincinnati coach Scott Satterfield said after the game that Gibson had movement in his arms and legs.

The delay led to a long wait between snaps for the Cougars' offense, which hadn't been on the field since the final seconds of the third quarter.

On UH's second play after the Cincinnati touchdown, Sanford juked cornerback Zay "Gravy" Johnson and sprinted 51 yards for his third TD of the season. Sanford finished with 15 carries for a career-high 126 yards.

"Right before the touchdown, I told myself, 'I'm going to go make this play,'" Sanford said. 

"We felt like he needed more carries," coach Willie Fritz said of Sanford, who had only three carries in the Oct. 24 loss to Utah .  

On the Bearcats' ensuing possession, UH linebacker Christian Braithwaite recovered a loose ball on a lateral attempt to seal the Cougars' win with 2:11 left.

"We talk about game of inches," Fritz said. "It was a lateral but probably by six inches. We'll take it."

NO. 17 UH 31, CINCINNATI 24

First Quarter

HOU_A.Thomas 8 pass from Weigman (Dimas kick), 9:04.

HOU_A.Thomas 31 pass from Weigman (Dimas kick), 6:23.

Second Quarter

CIN_Tabb 17 pass from French (Rusnak kick), 14:16.

CIN_FG Rusnak 28, 5:55.

HOU_Weigman 2 run (Dimas kick), 2:30.

Third Quarter

CIN_G.Grover 34 pass from French (Rusnak kick), 10:02.

HOU_FG Dimas 28, 5:13.

Fourth Quarter

CIN_French 1 run (Rusnak kick), 6:21.

HOU_Sanford 51 run (Dimas kick), 5:10.

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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING_Cincinnati, Payne 11-71, Tabb 12-60, French 13-24, Perry 4-12, (Team) 1-(minus 5). Houston, Sanford 15-126, Hughes 12-90, Weigman 6-30, (Team) 2-(minus 5).

PASSING_Cincinnati, French 19-30-0-217. Houston, Weigman 17-24-0-227.

RECEIVING_Cincinnati, Henry 6-65, Gibson 5-54, Tabb 3-34, G.Grover 2-41, Fenner 2-18, I.Johnson 1-5. Houston, A.Thomas 6-78, Overmyer 4-66, T.Walker 4-57, K.Young 1-13, Hughes 1-7, McGary 1-6.

MISSED FIELD GOALS_None.

UH took a 21-10 halftime lead after Weigman connected with Thomas on touchdowns of 8 and 31 yards on the Cougars' first two drives and Weigman added a 2-yard keeper for another score. 

Jonathan Dimas added a 28-yard field goal to push the lead to 24-17 lead for the Cougars, who next play at Colorado on Friday.

UH snapped a five-game losing streak to the Bearcats (5-4, 2-4 Big 12).

French IV threw a 17-yard touchdown to Cole Tabb and Stephen Rusnak added a 28-yard field goal for the Bearcats.

Two Cincinnati drives stalled because of a pair of bad snaps and a key holding penalty.

With the Bearcats down 14-7 in the second quarter, French ran for a 16-yard gain and UH safety Kentrell Webb was called for pass interference, giving Cincinnati the ball at the 4-yard line. Evan Tengesdahl, who moved from guard to center because of injuries, sailed a snap that French recovered for a 5-yard loss. A holding penalty on left tackle Joe Cotton wiped out French's touchdown run, and the Bearcats had to settle for a field goal. Cincinnati entered the game third in FBS in red-zone touchdowns, scoring on 81.3% of trips inside the 20.

The Bearcats were driving again just before halftime but another bad snap led to a 10-yard loss and Lee added a sack to force a punt. 

Lee said the Cougars learned a lesson from the loss to Utah when the Cougars allowed quarterback Devon Dampier to run for 150 yards and two touchdowns.

"We had a plan coming into the game at stopping the quarterback," Lee said. 

Tabb, who had three consecutive games with at least 100 rushing yards, was injured with 12:36 left in the third quarter and did not return. He finished with 12 rushes for 60 yards. 

Cincinnati was held to 162 rushing yards, well below the 229.4 that was seventh nationally entering the game. 

Weigman was 17-of-24 passing for 227 yards and two touchdowns, increasing his season total to 22.

Thomas had six catches for 78 yards and Patrick Overmyer added four catches for 66 yards in his return after missing most of the Utah loss with an upper-body injury.

Makhi Hughes added 90 rushing yards as the Cougars finished with 241 for the game.

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This article originally published at Quick strike lifts No. 17 Houston to win as Cougars avert upset bid by Cincinnati .