The No. 13 Cougars found themselves in a familiar position Saturday – needing a late score to pull out another last-minute victory.
With less than 30 seconds remaining and an 18-point fourth-quarter lead evaporated, Keenum used a hard count to draw the Southern Miss defense offsides and get a free play for the Cougars.
That free play turned into the winning touchdown and capped UH’s latest thrilling victory, a 50-43 triumph over the Golden Eagles.
Keenum hooked up with a wide-open Patrick Edwards, who streaked to the end zone and didn’t have a defender within five yards. The play may have looked easy, but not for Keenum or many other quarterbacks in that situation.
‘Those are sometimes the hardest ones because you get to thinking too much,’ Keenum said. ‘We’ve thrown a million balls to each other. He did a good job of getting open, and I just put it out there for him.’
As exciting as the play was, the Cougars (7-1, 3-1 Conference USA) left the Golden Eagles 21 seconds to make one more big play.
UH further compounded the issue when it drew an unsportsmanlike penalty for excessive celebration after the score, and the Cougars were forced to kick off from 15 yards deeper.
The Golden Eagles (5-4, 3-2) eventually got the ball at the UH’ 45-yard line where quarterback Martevious Young flung two desperation passes into the end zone, but UH’s Brandon Brinkley swatted both away to preserve the victory.
After a first half that saw several big plays by the Golden Eagles and a pair of blocked extra points by the Cougars – one of which was returned 101 yards by Nick Saenz for a reverse deuce – the UH defense buckled down in the third quarter.
By the time the Golden Eagles’ Tory Harrison plunged in from 1-yard out with 8:54 left in the fourth, UH had stretched its eight-point halftime lead to 40-22 and seemed to be cruising.
That score cut the deficit to 40-29, but UH countered with an eight-play, 63-yard drive capped by a Matt Hogan 23-yard field goal to extend the lead to 43-29.
Again, Southern Miss would not go quietly.
Young started the ensuing drive with a 36-yard draw and four plays later hooked up with Gerald Baptiste for a 5-yard touchdown strike to close to 43-36.
The Cougars took their next drive 57 yards to the Southern Miss 23-yard line, but Bryce Beall fumbled with 3:36 left and gave the Golden Eagles another opportunity. It was the second turnover of the game for Beall, who also coughed up the ball on the first play from scrimmage.
As Southern Miss had done before with Beall’s first miscue, it turned this one into seven points with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Young to Baptiste with 57 seconds left, knotting the game at 43.
Although the Cougars wasted away an 18-point lead, head coach Kevin Sumlin had confidence in his offense’s ability and knew it wouldn’t have to change much to score with such little time.
‘Our two-minute drill is really our offense,’ Sumlin said. ‘It’s how you finish that situation. Our guys didn’t panic. We made enough plays to win and that’s the bottom line.’
That bottom line was a drive that saw Keenum complete all five of his pass attempts for 62 yards and yet another game-winning touchdown.
UH got 32 of the 77 yards on the first play ‘- a 17-yard hookup from Keenum to James Cleveland, aided by a 15-yard facemask penalty on the Golden Eagles.
The catch capped a career-game for Cleveland, who hauled in 13 catches for 190 yards and a pair of scores.
Sumlin, for one, was pleased to see the junior transfer from Iowa play such an important role in the victory.
‘He’s an older, mature, stronger guy who has played in big games and big stadiums, and brings a different attitude to our offense,’ Sumlin said. ‘He’s what we looked for (in the offseason) in addition to our offense.’
The Cougars also had a solid performance from another newcomer, freshman Charles Sims, who racked up 95 yards on 14 carries, including a 31-yard touchdown run.
This latest win, along with UTEP’s loss to UAB, moved the Cougars into a tie for first place in C-USA West with SMU.’ UH’s 38-15 victory over SMU allows them to control their destiny with four conference games remaining.
For now, the Cougars can reflect on what Keenum called a’ game filled’ with ‘craziness.’
‘Those are the fun games, when you get to go back and forth,’ Keenum said. ‘Craziness is probably a good word for it.’
