The University of Houston has been a revelation under Tom Herman all season.
The former Ohio State offensive coordinator has put the underrated, American Athletic Conference champions back on the national stage again.
The Cougars defeated perennial ACC power Florida State, 38-24, to win the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl before in front of a crowd of 71,000 inside the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
This is the second time in three seasons that the American Athletic Conference champion has won either a Bowl Championship Series or a College Football Playoff New Year’s Bowl. Two years ago, UCF defeated Big 12 champion Baylor, 52-42, in the Fiesta Bowl.
It’s time for a little respect here.
“This win means that we’ll play against anybody, anywhere,” Houston’s dual threat junior quarterback Greg Ward Jr. said. “We won’t back down from anyone.”
“It puts our name out there with all the other great programs,” linebacker Matthew Adams claimed.
Houston is no Cinderella. Herman turned Ward loose on the Seminoles’ defense and Ward lit up FSU, completing 25 of 41 passes for 238 yards and one touchdown. He ran for another 67 yards and two touchdowns as the Cougars won their first major bowl since 1980 when they were co-champions of the old Southwest Conference and defeated Nebraska, 17-14, in the Cotton Bowl.
“This was the greatest win of my life,” an emotional Herman admitted afterwards.
It won’t be the Cougars’ last hurrah as long as Herman, who just signed an extension to remain in Houston, stays put.
Ward took a pounding all game but was still the most valuable player on the field, accumulating 305 yards of total offense. He powered the Cougars to 448 yards and 27 first downs. Ward, who started at wide receiver early last season before becoming a full-time quarterback, had touchdown runs of 7 and 6 yards. He left the game briefly after taking a hit in the third quarter, and was shaken up again with four minutes remaining.
Ward returned to take the final snaps of the game, raising his arm in victory before laying on his back and basking in the glory.
The Cougars’ physical defense held FSU’s explosive sophomore running back Dalvin Cook to a season-low 33 yards on 18 carries and a lost fumble. Florida State looked like it could be in trouble late in the first quarter when starting quarterback Sean Maguire suffered a lower back injury when he landed awkwardly on a tackle by Adams. Maguire was carried into the locker room, but returned after two FSU possessions in the second quarter. But he was clearly limited by the injury, throwing four interceptions.
Florida State won the national championship two years ago. But the Seminoles weren’t going to beat anyone of consequence with five turnovers.
The Cougars have raised the bar in The American. Houston’s only loss this season, to UConn, came when Ward was out with an injury. He kept the Florida State defense off-balance by orchestrating a fast-tempo, no-huddle attack.
“We’re not going to match player for player with them,” Herman said. ”We’re just not. We felt we had to use tempo to our advantage.”
Houston could be just as good next year. Most of the offense returns, including Ward and the bulk of his offensive line. Herman will have to reshape his secondary, but the Cougars should be a top-15 team when they face Oklahoma in next year’s opener.
The American -- which had four teams rated in the national polls during the year -- still has some work to do in the postseason, but it was a feel-good moment to see Ken Niumatalolo remain at Navy and elite quarterback Keenan Reynolds put an exclamation point on a wonderful career with three touchdown runs as the Midshipmen defeated Pitt, 44-28, to win the Military Bowl.
Reynolds finished with 88 career scrimmage touchdowns (rushing and receiving), more than any player in FBS history, helping lead Navy to its 11th win of the season. The Midshipmen rushed for 417 yards against Pitt’s defense, which entered the game allowing just 126.1 yards per game.
Herman is convinced that teams from The American can be competitive against any league.
“It can’t be understated the level of competition in the American Athletic Conference now,” he said. “That’s the thing I’m most proud of. We’ve got three teams in the top 25. We’ve beaten three top 25 teams, so it’s exciting for our football team to understand that the American Athletic Conference has separated itself.”