Although the warm Southeast Texas temperatures remained unseasonably warm, the November air flowed through TDECU Stadium as Houston opened the pivotal final month of a the regular season.
The Cougars entered Saturday ranked No. 17 by the College Football Playoff committee, firmly in contention for a berth in the 12-team field. But Cincinnati had already been a disruptor to playoff résumés this season, two weeks removed from knocking off an undefeated Texas Tech team. The Bearcats, however, arrived in Houston burdened by a 10-game losing streak in the all-important month of November.
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The all-time series between the programs was deadlocked at 15-15, and fittingly, Saturday’s installment came down to the wire. Houston never trailed, withstood a late Cincinnati comeback, and pulled away in the closing minutes for a 31-24 victory, improving to 5-0 at home this season.
“Last year we went 3-3 at home and we were undefeated on the road,” Houston running back Re’Shaun Sanford II said. “We made it an emphasis: when people come to your house, you’re supposed to defend it. It’s a mentality thing. For us to be undefeated so far in this season, it speaks volumes to our maturity and the way we approach it as well.”
Cincinnati knotted the score at 24-24 with 6:21 remaining, storming back from an early 14-0 deficit. However, Houston ensured the game would not be in balance for long. Exactly 71 seconds later, Sanford delivered the defining moment of the evening. The running back found a crease, juked a Bearcat defender out of his shoes, and sprinted 51 yards into the red paint of the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown.
“I had a couple that I wanted back in the first half where I could have just beat the last guy, but unfortunately, that didn’t happen,” Sanford said. “But the o-line and wide receivers did a good job of getting me to the third level, so I knew it was gonna come eventually. It was just the next play mentality. Keep churning away at the small runs and then break through. I knew it was gonna come.”
Sanford reset his career-high with 126 rushing yards, marking the highest single-game rushing total by any Houston player this season. The ground attack also received a boost from Makhi Hughes, who complemented Sanford’s explosiveness by churning out 90 yards on 12 carries.
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“When people see Makhi, they see the bigger back — the hard-nosed, run-you-over type guy,” Sanford said. “But over the course of the season, he’s been working on his sauce. We go to work after practice every day and work on juke moves. Then he teaches me stuff like pass pro(tection) and really lowering my shoulder. It’s almost the sense that we’re the same player in a different body. We’re really starting to teach each other our own traits that make us good and we’ve really been helping each other be better for one another.”
After Sanford restored Houston’s 7-point advantage, the defense put the finishing touches on the victory with an unusual game-sealing takeaway. In fact, the play initially went unnoticed by several players on the field.
With 2:11 remaining, Cincinnati quarterback JC French IV attempted to swing a screen pass to running back Zylan Perry. The pass was initially ruled incomplete, but Houston inside linebacker Christian Brathwaite recognized an opportunity and scooped up the loose ball. Following an official review, French’s screen was determined to be a backward lateral, and Brathwaite was credited with the recovery. Houston’s offense then ran out the remaining clock to secure the victory.
“It was just us locking in,” Houston defensive tackle Quindario Lee said. “We had a few plays down the stretch where we didn’t play good and gave up a few points. So we just had to lock in as a defense, come up with a few corrections, go out there and make that play.”
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Houston needed late-game heroics to eke out a one-score victory, but in the early moments after the opening kickoff, it appeared as if the Cougars were destined for a comfortable win. Houston constructed a 14-0 lead in under nine minutes of action with Conner Weigman delivering two touchdown strikes to Amare Thomas. The reigning First Team All-Big 12 receiver finished with six receptions for a game-high 78 receiving yards, accounting for 69 of his receiving yards after the catch.
“He’s a lot bigger than you’d think. He’s like 205 pounds and he’s got great speed,” Houston head coach Willie Fritz said of Thomas. “I had one of my friends say, ‘What is he, about 190?’ No, he’s a bigger guy. He runs with power and knows when to do a good job of triangulating the ball. He had that happen one time when there were four guys trying to strip him. He’s really good at the yards after a catch, which is huge. Some guys catch it, they catch it at 12 and get 12. He can catch it at 12 and get 16.”
Cincinnati’s offense overcame a three-and-out on its opening series and found a sustainable rhythm, with French orchestrating the comeback. The senior quarterback delivered two touchdown passes and ran in another from the goal line to flip that 14-0 deficit into a 24-24 tie.
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The scoreboard wasn’t the only adversity the Bearcats were required to overcome. They had several personnel setbacks, entering without starting center Taran Tyo. The offense’s health situation only worsened when losing star running back Cole Tabb and leading wide receiver JV Gibson to in-game injuries. Despite the attrition, Cincinnati continued moving the ball effectively until the late turnover.
“We didn’t get off to a great start, down 14 tonight,” Cincinnati head coach Scott Satterfield said. “Our guys continued to fight, loved the fight in them. They came back and battled and ultimately tied the game up there on an unbelievable drive. I think we started our drive maybe on the (4-yard line). 96-yard drive, 16 plays. I mean it was like the whole fourth quarter. It was an incredible drive to put ourselves back in position there to tie the game here on the road against a really good Houston team. Unfortunately we gave the touchdown back up.”
Two troubling streaks continued for Cincinnati in the hard-fought loss. The Bearcats (5-4, 2-4 Big 12) suffered their 11th consecutive November defeat and remained winless on the road this season at 0-3. They’ll get a third opportunity to solidify bowl eligibility next Saturday at Iowa State, with a chance to snap both streaks simultaneously.
Meanwhile, the Cougars (7-2, 4-2 Big 12) kept their College Football Playoff aspirations alive if they can navigate the waters of November. Upcoming matchups against Colorado, West Virginia, and Baylor will determine whether Houston can capitalize on the opportunity it created for itself. After allowing Cincinnati to come back from an early deficit, the Cougars know the key to achieving their goals starts with stronger finishes to second halves.
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“That’s our main goal these last three games is to push and be a second half team,” Lee said. “We gave up 51 points in the first half of this season and 117 on the back end. So we just gotta be that first and second half team. We just gotta push through.”
