Houston 38, Tulsa 24: What We Learned

Greg Ward TD RunHouston improved to 4-0 on the season with a 38-24 win at Tulsa on Saturday. What did we learn about the Coogs? DCTF's Greg Tepper breaks it down.Greg Ward Jr. is one of the best quarterbacks in Texas.Here’s a fun game: who’s the best quarterback in Texas college football? Most would say TCU’s Trevone Boykin or Baylor’s Seth Russell or Texas Tech’s Pat Mahomes. And those are great signal-callers. But it’s time to elevate Houston’s Greg Ward Jr. into that echelon. Just another dazzling performance for the junior from John Tyler, as he threw for 273 yards and ran for 182 more (and three scores). He’s making all the throws, he’s making defenses look silly with his legs, and most importantly, he’s taking care of the ball — he now has just one interception in 119 pass attempts. He’s hardly alone on offense — another workmanlike day for RB Kenneth Farrow, another productive day for WRs Demarcus Ayers and Steven Dunbar — but it’s time to start treating the guy taking the snaps with the respect he’s earned. Houston’s defense just makes plays. Note that I didn’t say that Houston is the best defense. They give up their fair share of yards and a decent amount of points. Before today’s game, the venerable Football Outsiders ranked Houston’s defense as 99^th in their S&P+ efficiency ratings (which seems a bit harsh) and ranked 69^th in the more conventional Total Defense. But when it matters most, the Coogs always seem to come up with the big play. Whether it’s Lee Hightower’s interception, or Tyus Bowser’s forced fumble (picked up by Trevon Stewart) or the fact that the Coogs held Tulsa to just 7 of 19 on third down, Houston just makes plays, and that makes up for some numbers that may not be as indicative of their success. The door is open. Take a gander at Houston’s schedule. They’ll be favorites on Thursday at home against SMU. They’ll be favorites the next Friday at Tulane. They’ll be favorites at winless Central Florida. They may even be favored at home on Halloween at home against the SEC’s Vanderbilt. As it stands right now, Houston is 4-0, and the door is open for bigger, better things. Can they walk through it?