After an early lead, offensive struggles held UH back in the game as Houston fell to UCF in a 44-21 rout on Saturday afternoon at TDECU Stadium.
Although Houston (2-2, 2-1 American Athletic Conference) dominated possession in the first half, the UCF’s (4-2, 3-2 AAC) defense held the Cougars’ offense scoreless for the first 38:44 of the game, forcing punts on four of their first seven possessions and one interception and a missed field goal.
The UH defense got to UCF early, as senior defensive end Payton Turner forced a sack-fumble before it was scooped and returned into the endzone by senior linebacker Grant Stuard to take a 7-3 lead late in the first quarter.