Jackson Arnold throws 2 TD passes, No. 15 Oklahoma holds off Houston 16-12

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Jackson Arnold threw two touchdown passes and No. 15 Oklahoma held off Houston 16-12 on Saturday night.

The Sooners (2-0) struggled to move the ball and punted eight times. The Cougars (0-2) outgained Oklahoma 318-249 in total yards, including 260-174 in passing.

Oklahoma got a late interception from Robert Spears-Jennings to end one drive and a late safety from Gracen Halton to extend a slim lead.

“We did enough things wrong to deserve to lose,” Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said. “We were fortunate to find a way to win. Overall, our body of work on offense not very good today. I’m really proud of the guys that stepped up when they had an opportunity."

Arnold, a sophomore, completed 19 of 32 passes for 174 yards with an interception and rushed 11 times for 40 yards. He was sacked three times.

“A win is a win, no matter how ugly it was," Arnold said, “and believe me it was was ugly, but we'll take it.”

Arnold was outperformed by Houston starter Donovan Smith, who rebounded from a poor performance against UNLV in a 27-7 home loss to complete 24 of 28 passes for 260 yards and a touchdown with an interception.

“I thought out guys played extremely hard, they were very competitive, from the beginning of the game to the end,” Houston coach Willie Fritz said. “That was a big step forward. When you're playing the No. 15-ranked team in the country you've got to play smart though, too, and we made some mistakes at critical points of the game."

Oklahoma led 14-6 at the half. The Sooners punted on their first two possessions, but led 7-0 after converting a muffed punt by Houston's Mekhi Mews into points when Arnold found receiver Brenan Thompson for a 10-yard touchdown pass on the next play.

The offense got going on the next possession, driving 81 yards in eight plays. Arnold threw to tight end Jake Roberts for an 11-yard touchdown strike to make it 14-3. Houston's Joseph Kim kicked a 43-yard field goal as time expired to pull the Cougars closer.

Houston scored quickly on its first possession of the third quarter. Smith found Joseph Manjack behind the defense for a 44-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-12. The 2-point conversion failed.

A promising Oklahoma drive followed but fell short of the end zone when Arnold's pass intended for Deion Burks was intercepted by Jeremiah Wilson at the 7. It was Arnold's first pick and the team's first turnover of the season.

THE TAKEAWAY

The Sooners continued to struggle offensively and had to rely on their defense to bail them out. The Cougars needed a bounce-back performance after getting embarrassed at home by UNLV and they got one against Oklahoma even though they came up short.

FIELD POSITION

Venables praised punter Luke Elzinga, who dropped two of his eight punts inside the 5-yard line and three inside the 10-yard line.

“That was a big part of the game in a field position game,” Venables said.

FURTHER REVIEW

Replays of the punt mishandled by Mekhi Mews that was recovered by Oklahoma's Lewis Carter early in the game, appeared to show Mews didn't touch the football. The play was reviewed, but officials didn't overturn it.

SECRET WEAPON

Oklahoma has thrown as many touchdowns to tight ends in its first two games than all of last year. Arnold threw a scoring pass to Bauer Sharp in a 51-3 win against Temple, found Jake Roberts for an 11-yard TD on Saturday.

UP NEXT

Houston: Hosts Rice on Saturday.

Oklahoma: Hosts Tulane on Saturday.

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Tim Willert, The Associated Press