College Football No. 24 Houston escapes with 37-35 victory over UTSA in 3 OTs
Dana Holgorsen would prefer Clayton Tune not run the ball out of concern for his health. The college football Houston coach knew he could not stop his senior quarterback from doing so, though. And neither could UTSA.
Per NCAA rules for a third overtime, Tune’s winning run was a 2-point conversion. The Roadrunners were unable to match the score as their final pass floated out of bounds.
Houston rallied from a 14-point deficit in the second half at the Alamodome to snap UTSA’s 10-game home winning streak.
“They’ve got that 12th man on their side,” Roadrunners coach Jeff Traylor said. “He’s the best player in college football. His name is Mo — Mo Mentum. We gave it to them, and you can’t give Houston momentum.”
“Nothing that happened surprised me,” Holgorsen said. “I knew it was going to be a tough game. I knew we were going to have to fight hard.”
UTSA was called for an illegal substitution penalty with 4:12 remaining in the third quarter that resulted in a first down instead of a turnover on downs. The penalty was called after the Roadrunners stopped the Cougars for no gain on fourth-and-1. Houston was able to score on that drive, cutting UTSA’s lead to 21-14.
“The mistake is one that I will never forgive myself over the rest of my coaching career,” Traylor said.
“We had such a great opportunity here at the Dome. The head ball coach let it slip away.”
