College football: Houston beats Tulsa behind fourth-quarter scoring blitz

D’Eriq King threw for three touchdowns and ran for two scores, helping Houston beat Tulsa 41-26 Thursday night.

Houston, trailing 26-17 early in the fourth quarter, scored 17 points in 91 seconds — during a 24-0 spurt. Dalton Witherspoon kicked a go-ahead field goal with 7:51 to go to make it 27-26. The Cougars led by 15 points seven plays later.

Houst Emeke Egbule recovered a fumble, leading to Romello Brooker’s nine-yard touchdown catch for a 34-26 lead. Tulsa’s next offensive play ended in Deontay Anderson’s interception and Marquez Stevenson scored on a six-yard grab.

King had 165 yards passing, with two interceptions, and 117 yards rushing for Houston (4-1, 1-0 American Athletic Conference). The Cougars, the nation’s leader in total offense at 608.5 yards per game, turned it over three times and gained 477 total yards.

Freshman Seth Boomer made his first start for Tulsa (1-4, 0-2), replacing four-game starter Luke Skipper. Boomer passed for 227 yards with one touchdown and one interception.