Last season in American Athletic Conference play, Houston had the ball in a 1st and goal situation with a minute to go, down 5 points, with a chance to win the game on the road against UCF. On 4th down, the pass was incomplete and UCF held on (barely) on their eventual run to the Fiesta Bowl. SURELY, if Houston had a chance to redeem themselves … they would redeem themselves.
So here we are a year later, this time in Houston’s brand new TDECU Stadium, and low and behold it’s the same situation. UCF up 5 points, less than a minute to go, and Houston has a 1st and goal following a pass interference penalty. SURELY, Houston would take their revenge at home and punch this one in. But while this time they were closer, they still couldn’t finish it off.
How close? Inches. Houston QB Greg Ward Jr. made a great scramble play out of nothing to set himself for the heroic leap into the endzone. But UCF’s Brandon Alexander knocked the ball loose on the one and the home fans watched as the ball flew out of the endzone for a touchback. UCF would kneel down just once to secure the win, 17-12.
Ouch. I’d reallllllllllly hate UCF if I was a Houston Cougar fan.
You can also enjoy UCF’s radio call of the deciding play…
[Photo Credit: UCFSports.com]
Brad Epstein’s day job is being a marketing guy in Atlanta. He is also an American Outlaw and college dodgeball champion. You can follow him on Twitter @BradMEpstein
