If fans wanted a Halloween-day thriller, they got it courtesy of the Cougars’ last-minute 50-43 victory over Southern Miss.
Saturday’s game featured a bevy of standout performances for UH (7-1, 3-1 Conference USA), notably Case Keenum’s career-high 559 passing yards and five touchdowns.
But wide receiver James Cleveland turned in a performance worthy of equal recognition.
The 6-2 junior transfer had the biggest game of his career, recording 13 receptions for a career-best 190 yards and two touchdowns.
The man slinging all those passes his way was the first to recognize his impact on the game.
‘James does a good job of getting open. He’s running his routes well and getting open often,’ Keenum said. ‘I like throwing it to guys who like having the ball and who like getting open. If you are open most of the time, I’m probably going to look your way.’
Despite a 21-3 fourth quarter surge by Southern Miss (5-4, 3-2), Keenum found Cleveland for a 17-yard reception on the final drive eventually setting up Patrick Edwards’ 28-yard game-winning touchdown catch.
Even before the game-winning drive it was the Keenum-to-Cleveland show at Roberston Stadium, as the Cougars made the Golden Eagles’ defense look like Swiss cheese.
Cleveland, a junior college transfer who also played at Iowa, is quickly establishing himself as a reliable target after Saturday’s performance.
‘He’s what we looked for in addition to our offense,’ head coach Kevin Sumlin said. ‘He’s an older, mature, stronger guy who has played in big games and big stadiums, and brings a different attitude to our offense.’
Cleveland also tied his career high with two touchdowns, the second coming on a 17-yard catch with 12:25 left in the fourth quarter to give UH a 40-22 lead.
Sumlin was glad to see his receiver show off his speed for a change.’
‘We have lots of speed on the perimeter, but not a whole bunch of size,’ Sumlin said. ‘He’s always in the middle catching the difficult balls. Today, he showed that he could get out and run.’
Cleveland’s 190 receiving yards obliterated his previous career-high of 147, set Oct. 3 at UTEP. Cleveland also collected his third 100-yard receiving game in Saturday’s win.
With both teams combining for 1,358 yards, some fans may be quick to chastise UH’s defense for nearly allowing this win to get away.
Not Cleveland.
He recognizes that for all the mistakes made by both sides, the defense still made plays when it mattered most.
‘A game like this isn’t just won today. It starts months and months ago,’ Cleveland said. ‘The defense didn’t produce the stop everyone was looking for, but they got the stop when it mattered. They stopped the Hail Mary (pass).
‘It shows the weeks of preparation and the camaraderie we built over the summer.’
