Utes lose to Houston Cougars

Houston • The Utes have a new offensive coordinator.

But not much has changed.

Less than a week after Andy Ludwig resigned and was replaced by Mike Bajakian, the Utes faced another low-scoring affair.

Jack Martin's 43-yard field goal as time expired gave the Houston Cougars a 17-14 victory over the free-falling Utes.

Utah (4-4) has now lost four games in a row in the Big 12 Conference.

Even with a new play caller, Utah's offensive woes continued Saturday night. They had 307 yards and just 14 first downs after going 4 of 16 on third downs.

Freshman quarterback Isaac Wilson, who finished 13 of 22 for 171 passing yards and a touchdown, was subbed in for Brandon Rose in the third quarter.

Rose threw an interception late in the fourth quarter, and Houston took advantage by getting into position for Martin to kick the game-winning field goal.

Utah got off to a fast start in the first quarter.

Wilson connected with senior tight end Brant Kuithe on a 71-yard touchdown pass that gave the Utes a 7-0 lead with 12:28 left in the first period.

But after that it slowed down.

Utah's defense helped keep the game within reach. The Utes had two goal-line stops Saturday night. Sophomore linebacker Jonathan Hall forced a key interception in the third quarter.

The Cougars totaled 61 yards rushing but rushed for 228 yards on the night.

Houston still found the end zone twice. The Cougars received a 21-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Zeon Chriss early in the second quarter.

Utah entered halftime tied 7-7 with the Cougars after senior kicker Cole Becker missed two consecutive field goals.

After Hall's interception, Utah running back Micah Bernard scored a 14-yard touchdown to give the Utes a 14-7 lead with 5:57 left in the third quarter.

Houston tied the game with a 28-yard touchdown pass from Chriss midway through the fourth quarter.

Utah next faces BYU (8-0, 5-0) on Saturday, November 9th in Salt Lake City.