The University of Houston Cougars dominated the Lamar University Cardinals, winning the game 42 to 0. The Cougars wanted to build momentum off of the upset win over the Oklahoma Sooners the week prior. The Cougars were able to use the game last week as a stepping stone.
Greg Ward Jr. sat out the game due to a shoulder injury, but even without the talented senior quarterback in the game, the Cougars’ offense did not miss a beat.
Kyle Postma started the game instead, and on the Cougars’ first drive he scampered to the end zone for a 39-yard touchdown. On the next drive for the Cougars, Mulbah Car got loose for a 38-yard run and was brought down at the 14-yard line. The Cougars would come up empty in the red zone after Ty Cummings missed a 31-yard field goal. That was his first missed field goal of his career. The Cougars went for it on fourth down on the Cardinals’ three-yard line, and were unsuccessful. The game went into a lightning delay directly after that play with 3:13 left in the first quarter. The lightning delay lasted over three and half hours.
Linebacker for the Cougars, Steven Taylor, discussed how they handled the weather delay.
“We have a team that’s full of energy and juice,” said Taylor. “We were just having fun conversing, just enjoying the time. We prepare for chaos every day in practice so we were really prepared for what happened today.”
After the delay, the Cougars started on Lamar’s 36-yard line and it took them just four plays to punch it into the end zone. The score was 14-0 Cougars at the end of the first quarter. Car punched the ball in the end zone for his second touchdown of the game. That drive went 91 yards over 13 plays. On the next play, the Cougars’ Terrell Williams recovered the kickoff that landed at Lamar’s 18. UH running back Kevrin Justice and the offense were able to take advantage of the good field position.
Justice expressed how he felt once when he touched pay dirt.
“Just getting in the end zone felt pretty good,” said Justice. “I was like, ‘Wow, this is what it feels like’. I want to get in there again.”
In another possession before halftime, Postma was intercepted at the 15-yard line by the Cardinals’ Xavier Bethany. At the half, the Cougars were in the lead 28-0.
After the halftime break, Postma ran the ball in from the 5-yard line to score on the Cougars’ first drive. The Cougars later drove the ball to Lamar’s 2-yard line but turned the ball over on downs late in the third quarter. The Cougars were ahead 35-0 at the end of the third quarter.
Ty Cummings missed a 25-yard field goal, which was his second miss of the game. On the next play, the Cardinals’ Trenton Swinton fumbled the ball and Dillon Birden recovered it at the Lamar 23-yard line. Four plays later, Josh Burrell barreled into the end zone for the touchdown.
This was the first time since 1974 that the Cougars had three players with over 100 yards on the ground. Those three players were Kevrin Justice, Mulbah Car, and Kyle Postma.
The Cougars’ defense played lights out in the game, without giving up a single point. The defense only gave up 15 yards on the ground.
“Coach always preaches to us that we are going to stop the run no matter what is going on,” said UH defensive end Tyus Bowser.
The Cougars’ next game will be against the Cincinnati Bearcats in their first American Athletic Conference game. Ward Jr. is expected to be back for the game against Cincinnati. Every game for the Cougars is very valuable if they want to make it to the College Football Playoffs.