Houston and No.16 Oklahoma battle it out during a week two matchup in Norman, Okla. | Courtesy of UH Athletics
Houston football took on the No. 15 ranked Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday, Sept. 7 at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
Following the major upset loss against UNLV, Houston looked to bounce back against an impressive Sooner team.
UH came out swinging by forcing a three-and-out on their first defensive stand.
Houston’s junior wide receiver Mekhi Mews muffed the punt, and the Sooners recovered the fumble on Houston’s ten-yard yard line.
With 12:59 left in the first, OU star sophomore quarterback Jackson Arnold threw a strike to junior wide receiver Brenen Thompson for the first score of the game.
The Cougars followed with a twelve-play, 63-yard drive.
Redshirt freshman kicker Joseph Kim kicked a 43-yard field goal, cutting the lead to four. This was Kim’s first field goal as a Cougar.
Houston’s defense continued to impress and forced the second OU punt of the game.
The Cougars had a huge 40-yard pick, which put Houston right back in field goal range, but due to a holding penalty, it set up a third and long scenario, which they did not convert.
Houston trailed OU 7-3 at the end of the first quarter.
Oklahoma’s Arnold launched a 33-yard completion to Thompson on the first play of the second quarter. After a few strong plays by the Sooners, they capped off their 81-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Arnold to graduate transfer tight end Jake Roberts to take a 14-3 lead.
The Cougars continued their offensive struggles with a three-and-out on their first drive of the second quarter.
A 33-yard punt put Oklahoma in great field position with only 1:42 left until halftime.
An impressive drive led by two breakaway rushes by junior running back Stacy Sneed and a huge 23-yard reception by junior receiver Stephon Johnson pushed the Cougars into field goal range.
Freshman kicker Joseph Kim finished the drive with a 44-yard field goal as time expired, Houston trailed the Sooners 14-6 at halftime.
Houston received the second-half kickoff.
The Cougars stopped playing conservatively and came out on fire, capping off a six-play drive with a 44-yard touchdown reception by junior wide receiver Joseph Manjack IV.
With 9:53 remaining in the third, an Oklahoma drive ended with an interception by Houston’s junior defensive back Jeremiah Wilson. The Cougars began their second drive of the half on their eight-yard line. UH failed to capitalize on the interception and freshman punter Liam Dougherty sent a booming kick to OU’s 33-yard line.
UH’s defense stepped up huge once again and forced OU’s fifth punt of the game. On a third down and 14 for the Cougars, OU’s junior defensive back Robert Spears-Jennings intercepted Smith’s pass. Houston’s defense made up for the interception and forced a 45-yard field goal that was missed wide right.
After an empty drive for each team, UH had another shot to take the lead, with 1:48 remaining in the game. A crucial broken first play led to a safety, giving OU the ball back and a 16-12 lead.
It seemed the game was out of reach for Houston. After a couple of first downs from the Sooners, the UH defensive made a huge stop, but time was not on their side. The Cougars had only around seven seconds to go the distance of the field, but due to an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Sooner, the Cougars had 30 seconds to score.
Houston ran several quick plays and stepped out of bounce to march up the field, but this was not enough to get past Oklahoma’s stout defense. The Cougars comeback fell short as they lost 16-12.
The game ultimately was decided by many crucial penalties and defense. Houston made critical errors on crucial parts of the game, which killed their momentum on several drives. Star senior linebacker Danny Stutsman led both teams with an impressive 15 total tackles and had the most significant impact defensively for Oklahoma.
Houston’s Manjack IV and Smith’s impressive efforts kept the Cougars in the game. Smith was 24-28 on completions and passed for 260 yards with a touchdown. Manjack IV had three catches for 72 yards and a touchdown, averaging an eye-popping 24 yards per catch.
Houston looks to get their first win of the season on Sept. 14 as they host Rice in the annual Bayou Bucket Classic at 7 p.m.
Author: Ashton Grissom
