Houston Football: 3 takeaways from Thursday night survival against Tulsa

2. D’Eriq King strugged passing the ball for the Cougars but proved clutch

Houston quarterback D’Eriq King has been a big reason why the Cougars entered October 4-1 at this point of the season. King took over this year as the starter, and he has provided a spark both in the air and on the ground for the Cougars. Over the course of Thursday night against Tulsa, King proved to have both positive and negative impacts on Houston’s roller-coaster ride to their first AAC win of 2018.

King threw an interception on the second drive of the game, allowing the Golden Hurricane to open up a 10-0 lead in the first quarter. But the quarterback came back on the field for the next drive and showed an ability to shake off the turnover. Moving the Cougars into Tulsa territory, he then found Keith Corbin in the endzone for an acrobatic 32-yard touchdown catch.

Three drives later, he tossed another interception. King finished the first half 13-of-21 for 117 yards with the Corbin touchdown and two picks. He kept drives alive several times with his legs, and punched in a 19-yard touchdown to give the Cougars their first lead of the game in the second quarter.

After the intermission, King adjusted and began to turn up the pressure on the Golden Hurricane secondary. Though Major Applewhite and the offensive staff opted to mostly call runs in the second half, King made the most of his opportunities when passing plays were called. The quarterback didn’t throw a single incompletion as he threw two more touchdown passes as the Cougars staged their comeback.