Houston changes QBs after back-to-back shutout losses, knocks off TCU 30-19

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Zeon Chriss ran 71 yards for a touchdown on a quarterback draw in his first start with Houston coming off back-to-back shutout losses, and the Cougars knocked off TCU 30-19 on Friday night.

Chriss started in place of Donovan Smith and ended Houston's eight-quarter streak without points on an 8-yard scoring pass to Devan Williams just shy of 10 minutes into the game.

The Cougars (2-4, 1-2 Big 12) ended a nine-game losing streak against the Horned Frogs, who were 16 1/2-point favorites, according to BetMGM.

Houston's drought started in the Southwest Conference more than 30 years ago, continued in a four-year stint together in Conference USA and finally ended in the second Big 12 meeting between the schools.

“It’s been a tough couple of weeks,” first-year Cougars coach Willie Fritz said. “And I’m just proud of their resilience and how they kept fighting and scratching and clawing.”

Smith replaced an apparently injured Chriss for just one play in the third quarter but came back in the fourth after TCU (3-3, 1-2) had pulled within eight.

The Texas Tech transfer led a 14-play drive that consumed almost 7 1/2 minutes and ended with Jack Martin's third field goal for a two-score lead with 1:58 remaining.

Chriss had returned after leaving when he was crunched by several defenders, and had his helmet on with Smith leading the clinching drive.

“Had a good week of practice,” Fritz said about starting Chriss. “Wanted to see how he did, give him a few series, and he played really, really well. Donovan was ready. He went out there and played extremely well. Had some huge plays for us.”

Chriss' scoring sprint up the middle came after Josh Hoover's 21-yard TD pass to Savion Williams got the Horned Frogs within 17-6 late in the second quarter.

The first of A.J. Haulcy's two interceptions of Hoover set up Re'Shaun Sanford II's 2-yard scoring run for a 14-0 Houston lead.

Hoover, who also lost a fumble as TCU had four turnovers without a takeaway, has six picks in three games after throwing 143 passes without one to start the season.

The Horned Frogs have 12 turnovers and are minus-10 in that category over those three games.

“That was a total ... disaster of a football game,” TCU coach Sonny Dykes said, sighing in the middle of the sentence during a pause that lasted several seconds. “We got down early. We just had a hard time ever getting back in the game. Just couldn’t do it.”

Hoover threw two touchdown passes, including a 29-yarder to Jack Bech that cut Houston's lead to 27-19 early in the fourth quarter. He finished 23 of 37 for 233 yards.

The Cougars had lost to Cincinnati 34-0 and Iowa State 20-0 — their first consecutive shutout losses since 1994 — when Fritz decided to replace Smith with Chriss, a Louisiana transfer.

Chriss, who played in four of the first five games, completed 11 of his first 12 passes and finished 15 of 18 for 141 yards passing with another 97 yards on the ground.

The takeaway

Houston: The Cougars came in having lost seven of eight Big 12 games going back to their 2023 debut in the league. Fritz appeared in for a long year after going 23-4 in the last two of his eight seasons at Tulane. Things suddenly look brighter after stealing TCU's momentum when the Horned Frogs had answered consecutive losses with an 11-point win at Kansas.

TCU: The Horned Frogs gave up the first Houston score in three games not long after safety Abe Camara was ejected for targeting on a hit that jarred the ball loose from Stacy Sneed. Instead of facing fourth down, the Cougars had a first down at the TCU 13-yard line and scored three plays later. It was one of three first-half fumbles for Houston, but the Cougars recovered all three.

Up next

Both teams have a week off before playing on the road Oct. 19. Houston is at Kansas, and TCU visits No. 18 Utah.

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Schuyler Dixon, The Associated Press