Houston is still undefeated. Somehow.
After trailing Memphis 34-14 early in the fourth quarter, the Cougars, with backup quarterback Kyle Postma running the show, stormed all the way back to win 35-34 and improve to 10-0.
Postma, filling in for injured star Greg Ward Jr., led touchdown drives of 75, 39 and 77 yards in the final 12 minutes to give the Cougars an improbable win. Postma, who had 24 career passing yards coming into Saturday’s game, went toe-to-toe with Memphis NFL prospect Paxton Lynch, finishing with 236 yards and a touchdown through the air and 49 yards and a score on the ground.
The decisive touchdown came after the Cougars regained possession down 34-28 with 4:00 to play. Postma deftly reeled off a run of 22 yards before hitting Demarcus Ayers (13 catches, 127 yards) for two clutch first down receptions. A pass-interference call on Memphis set up a first-and-goal and Postma finished it off by scooting into the end zone from seven yards out.
Memphis regained possession with 1:27 to go, and Lynch quickly led the Tigers into Houston territory. But when the Tigers dialed up a quick screen to wideout Phil Mayhue, the drive got out of rhythm. Mayhue picked up five and couldn’t get out of bounds, and a rushed Lynch wasn’t on the same page with Tevin Jones on the second down play. Lynch then felt heavy pressure on third down and was forced to throw the ball away, setting up a 48-yard attempt from the reliable Jake Elliott.
Elliott’s kick had plenty of leg, but sailed wide right, sealing a wild win for the Cougars.
The way Memphis dominated the first three quarters made it seem like Houston had no shot to win this game, but the Cougars kept hanging around.
Lynch was at the top of his game from the jump as Memphis jumped out to a 20-0 lead. To make matters worse, Ward, who entered the game with 2,116 passing yards, 829 rushing yards and 29 total touchdowns, went down with an ankle injury.
However, Postma, in the first significant action of his career, was nearly flawless on his first drive in relief of Ward, connecting on four-of-five passes and finding Linell Bonner for a 30-yard score. That cut the Tigers’ lead to 20-7 at halftime and gave Houston some life.
That momentum carried over into the third quarter as Postma led a long touchdown drive to start the half, cutting Memphis’ lead to 20-14.
Memphis then responded, and did so emphatically with back-to-back scoring drives of 68 and 66 yards that took 8:53 off the clock and made the lead 34-14 early in the fourth.
It looked like Memphis had a commanding lead, but Postma and the Cougars offense went back to work and quickly scored, this time on a 10-yard TD run from Kenneth Farrow.
A Dorceus fumble on Memphis’ next drive looked like it would provide the break Houston needed, but the Cougars offense stalled in the red zone, turning it over on downs on a deflating fourth-and-goal incompletion.
Memphis’ goal line stop took the life out of the stadium, but it quickly returned when Lynch made a rare mistake. Lynch failed to see UH linebacker Elandon Roberts on a slant route, and Roberts made a great catch for an interception at the Memphis 39.
A few plays later, Houston was back in the end zone (on a Javin Webb run) and Houston’s lead was down to 34-28.
With all the momentum on its side, the Houston defense quickly forced a three-and-out, setting up for Postma’s clutch, game-winning drive that keeps the Cougars quest for a perfect season alive.
The win is huge in two ways for the Cougars. First, at 10-0 and 6-0 in the AAC, they control their own destiny in the AAC West with games at UConn and No. 20 Navy, the co-division leader, on the horizon. On top of that, UH is firmly in the mix to represent the Group of Five in a New Year’s Six bowl game.
Memphis (8-2, 4-2 AAC) is now out of contention in the west after back-to-back losses to Navy and the Cougars. Wins in those games would have given the Tigers a great shot at a New Year’s Six bowl, especially with a win over Ole Miss on their resume.
For more Houston news, visit CougarsDen.com.
For more Memphis news, TigerSportsReport.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!