Memphis vs. Houston, 35-34: Full highlights, final score and more

Houston came from behind with their backup quarterback to stay perfect

Considering their track-record coming into their matchup on Saturday night, it would have been safe to expect an all-offense shootout between the Memphis Tigers and Houston Cougars. However, an early ankle injury to Houston starting quarterback Greg Ward Jr. threw a monkey wrench in those expectations and allowed the Tigers to jump out to an early lead behind phenomenal play from Paxton Lynch and Doroland Dorceus. However, the Cougars had a bit of drama still to add to the game in the form of their emergency backup quarterback, sophomore Kyle Postma.

Postma got things started at the end of the first half with a touchdown pass, then kept the deficit manageable through the third quarter as the Cougars traded touchdowns with the Tigers. The sophomore then started grooving in the fourth quarter as he put together a few key drives that led to rushing touchdowns, including capitalizing off of a Lynch interception. Late in the game, the Houston defense came up with a huge stop against the Tigers and gave Postma and the offense one more shot to try and pick up the improbable win. Postma really got the drive going with a beautiful broken play that he turned into a long run. After a huge defensive pass interference penalty, Postma took the game into his own hands as he ran it in for the score on the option, Houston taking the lead with the extra point. Memphis had one more shot at the win, though, with 1:27 remaining.

Lynch certainly made things interesting with a couple of huge throws for the Tigers as they only needed to get into field goal range. It ultimately came down to a field goal right on the edge of Jake Elliott’s range, but he pushed it wide right with only 19 seconds remaining. With Memphis having only one timeout left, the game was effectively over and Houston moved to 10-0 on the year.

Three stars

With Greg Ward’s injury, Kyle Postma performed quite admirably in his backup role an in getting the Cougars back in this football game. The sophomore finished with 236 yards passing and one passing score to go with 42 rushing yards and the game-winning rushing touchdown.

Despite a fumble that could have been costly Memphis running back Doroland Dorceus was a beast. He finished with 26 carries for 116 yards and a score rushing and an unreal 61-yard touchdown catch.

Demarcus Ayers was huge for the Cougars in the receiving game, emerging as Postma’s most reliable target. He finished the night with 13 catches for 126 yards in the victory.

Highlights

Odds

The Cougars were 5.5-point favorites heading into this matchup, a spread that they failed to cover. The two teams put a ton of points on the board, but still fell below the over/under set at 71 points.

Next Week

Memphis will be on the road again next week for another huge matchup, this time against the Temple Owls.

Houston will be away from home next week as they travel to take on the Connecticut Huskies.