Texas Tech tops Houston, 27-24

HOUSTON-Nic Shimonek passed for 321 yards and two scores and Texas Tech defeated Houston 27-24 on Saturday, snapping the Cougars' 16-game home winning streak.

Shimonek's favorite target was Keke Coutee, who made 11 catches for 161 yards and a score, which came on a 77-yard pass in the third quarter.

"He's one of the best playmakers, if not the best playmaker in the country," Shimonek said. "I've said on numerous occasions he's one of those guys if I throw the ball behind the line of scrimmage he can take it to the house. That gives me confidence being able to throw it to him.

"He can make something happen with it and he catches basically everything I throw in his direction."

Houston (2-1) owned the nation's longest active home winning streak entering Saturday. The last home loss for Houston was Nov. 8, 2014, against Tulane, 31-24.

The loss snaps a seven-game winning streak for the Cougars against teams from Power 5 conferences. The last loss to Vanderbilt 41-24 in the BBVA Compass Bowl on Jan. 4, 2014.

"It was big, we know that nobody's won here in 16 games," Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury said. "Big time, Top 10 programs come in here and it's a tough place to play. It's hot, they've got a great stadium. I coached here for four years. Not many people beat us here. So I understand the level of pride that team takes, especially when a Power 5 team comes in. You get their best shot and we got their best shot."

This is the first win for the Red Raiders (3-0) against the Cougars in Houston since a 38-26 Southwest Conference game in the Astrodome on Nov. 25, 1995.

Houston quarterback Kyle Allen struggled, finishing 24 of 39 for 217 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.

Kyle Postma replaced Allen midway through the fourth quarter. Postma was 8 of 13 for 100 yards and a score. Postma also had four carries for 52 yards, including a nine-yard touchdown run.

"(Postma) was going to give us the best opportunity at that point when the complextion of the game changed and started to get that way coverage wise," Houston coach Major Applewhite said. "I thought he did a great job. Came in, took care of the football and led us on some scoring drives."

Allen has started all three games this season for Houston.

"Every job is open," Applewhite said when asked about the quarterback position moving forward.

 

West Virginia 56, Kansas 34

LAWRENCE, Kan.-West Virginia did what most people expected it would against Kansas in the first half Saturday, building the kind of lopsided advantage that should have made it an easy afternoon in Memorial Stadium.

Instead, the banged-up Mountaineers blew much of that lead during a stagnant third quarter.

It wasn't until the fourth that Will Grier and Co. got rolling again. The star quarterback scored twice on the ground in the closing minutes, and finished with 347 yards passing while accounting for four scores, to a sew up a 56-34 victory that was far more difficult than coach Dana Holgorsen had envisioned.

"Looked good at times, looked bad at times," Holgorsen said, wiping sweat from his brow. "We were either rolling on offense or we were inept. I don't know what it was."

At least there were enough good times to overcome the bad.

David Sills V had 130 yards and two TDs receiving, and Kennedy McKoy also reached the end zone twice, as the Mountaineers (3-1, 1-0 Big 12) beat Kansas (1-3, 0-1) for the sixth time in seven meetings.

"We just got a little relaxed," Sills said, "and that's something we can't do."

West Virginia overcome a career game from sophomore Khalil Herbert, who ran for 291 yards and two touchdowns. It was the third-most yards by a Kansas player on the ground in school history, trailing only a 396-yard performance by Tony Sands in 1991 and a 294-yard effort by Nolan Cromwell in 1975.

"We've been working on it all week, and the O-Line has been doing a great job. Today we just came out and executed," he said. "Thanks to the big boys up front."

Peyton Bender added 197 yards and a TD through the air, but he also threw a pair of picks, one of which was returned for a touchdown. And a porous defense allowed 40 or more points for the third straight game.

"I thought the quarterback for them played really well today, and their running backs played really well," Kansas coach David Beaty said, "but their O-Line did a pretty good of protecting them."

The Mountaineers looked as if they'd cruise past the Jayhawks again when they put together four straight touchdown drives in the first half. Each covered at least 80 yards, none took more than 3:22 off the clock, and the result was a 28-3 lead midway through the second quarter.

Herbert finally stopped the onslaught with a 67-yard touchdown run, but the Mountaineers' Mike Daniels picked off a tipped pass a couple minutes later, and it was 35-13 by halftime.

That's when the Mountaineers' offense suddenly hit the skids, punting four times and turning it over once during a five-possession span. Meanwhile, a defense that had started to bottle up Herbert became leaky, thanks in large part to a slew of injuries, allowing short touchdown runs a couple minutes apart to make it 35-27.

Suddenly, a sparse crowd that turned out on a hot, sunny afternoon began to think back to 2013, when the long-suffering Jayhawks stunned the Mountaineers 31-19 on a cool November
day.

The teams swapped TDs in the fourth quarter, the Mountaineers getting a second chance at the end zone after an offside penalty on a field goal, and it was still 42-34 with 7:35 left in the game.

Grier answered with a QB keeper then scored again a few minutes later to put it away.

"I am seeing improvement, which is good. Very discouraged about that fourth quarter," Beaty said. "That's not how I felt like that game should've ended up."

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