HOUSTON – Jack Martin kicked a 43-yard field goal as time expired and Houston rallied for a 17-14 victory over Utah on Saturday night.

AJ Haulcy intercepted a pass from Brandon Rose with 1:55 left, setting up Houston at its own 46-minute mark. The Cougars then ran eight straight runs to the Utah 25 to set up Martin's field goal.

It was Houston's first game-winning field goal since November 7, 2009 in Tulsa.

“It’s every kicker’s dream,” Martin said. “Definitely one of my items to cross off my wish list.”

Zeon Chriss was 6 of 13 passing for 61 yards with two touchdowns and he ran for 45 yards for Houston (3-5, 2/3 Big 12). Stephon Johnson caught a 21-yard touchdown pass in the second period and Joseph Manjack IV caught a 28-yard touchdown pass with nine minutes left in the fourth.

J'Marion Burnette rushed for 81 yards and Re'Shaun Sanford II added 72 yards on the ground for Houston, which rushed for 228 yards.

“We needed a break,” Houston coach Willie Fritz said. “I don’t know if we got one this year.”

Fritz, in his first season coaching Houston, earned his 250th win as a head coach.

Isaac Wilson completed 13 of 22 passes for 171 yards with a touchdown before being replaced by Rose with 8½ minutes left in the third quarter. Rose completed 7 of 15 passes for 45 yards for the Utes (4-4, 1-4), who lost their fourth straight game.

“I'm trying to ignite a spark,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said of the decision to swap quarterbacks. “I'm trying to create something. We had only scored one touchdown and just couldn’t seem to get going offensively, so we thought it was time to give Brandon a chance.”

Whittingham said the team will make a decision on the starting quarterback position after watching the tape.

Brant Kuithe caught five passes for 113 yards and a 71-yard touchdown reception on the Utes' second play from scrimmage.

Micah Bernard rushed for 51 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown with five minutes left in the third quarter, to give the Utes a 14-7 lead.

“We can only go in one direction,” Bernard said. We lost, what are these four now? Where are we going now? We will continue to try to get a win. …We have to find out something. We need to put a W in the win column. This is the only way we can go.”

It was the first game for Utah's interim offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian, who replaced Andy Ludwig this week. Utah outgained Houston in total yards, 306-289.

The takeaway food

Utah: The Utes' defense was again strong, holding Houston to 3 of 15 on third downs. Utah came into the game allowing opponents to convert on 26% of their third down attempts, which ranked fifth nationally.

Houston: The Cougars offense continued to struggle in the red zone. Houston had four scoring chances from the 1-yard line – two chances each in the second and third quarters – and failed to convert.

Next

Utah: Hosts BYU on Nov. 9.

Houston: Host No. 16 Kansas State on Saturday.

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