With a quarterback change and several key defensive stops, Arizona couldn’t overcome a nine-point deficit in the second half Saturday as the Houston Cougars snuck away 19-16 in the final home nonconference game of the season.

One of the swirling questions around the Wildcats heading into Saturday’s contest was can redshirt junior quarterback Brandon Dawkins control the tempo and seek the healthy balance between passing and running the ball.

The Cougars have arguably the most talented defensive player in college football in sophomore defensive tackle Ed Oliver, Arizona had to capitalize on moving the football through the air considering the Cougars had the No. 2 ranked rushing defense last season. And Oliver was at the forefront. 

Oliver finished with 11 tackles, one shy of tying his career high in tackles.

Dawkins showed promise completing 17-of-29 passes for 178 yards, but was replaced by sophomore Khalil Tate in the fourth quarter for two drives before returning to the game.

Arizona’s defense gave the offense multiple chances down the stretch forcing Houston to go 5-for-14 on third down, but the Wildcats couldn’t find the end zone when they got in the red zone forcing Josh Pollack to go 3-for-4 on field goals.

Even when the Wildcats had a pair of interceptions from Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles and Lorenzo Burns in the second half, the offense struggled to move the ball and Houston’s poised quarterback in Texas A&M transfer Kyle Allen completed 25-of-32 passes for 225 yards.

Arizona (1-1) will play at UTEP on Friday. 

THIRD-QUARTER UPDATE:

It appears the Arizona-Houston game will go down to the wire.

The Wildcats trail the Cougars 19-13 through three quarters of their game at Arizona Stadium on Saturday night.

Houston took a 19-10 lead on a safety that concluded a strange sequence of plays.

The safety happened after a Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles interception that he would have been better off batting down; it came on a fourth-and-5 pass from the 31-yard line.

Flannigan-Fowles intercepted the ball at the 3 and returned it to the 8. On the next play, UA quarterback Brandon Dawkins mishandled the shotgun snap. The ball bounded into the end zone, where tackle Gerhard de Beer fell on it for a safety.

Arizona forced Houston to punt, got the ball back and drove to the UH 4-yard line. But on third-and-goal, Dawkins overthrew a wide open Tony Ellison. The Wildcats had to settle for a 21-yard Josh Pollack field goal that made the score 19-13 with 1:48 left in the quarter.

Dawkins is 15 of 23 for 176 yards with two lost fumbles. Counterpart Kyle Allen is 22 of 28 for 222 yards with one touchdown and one pick.

HALFTIME UPDATE:

The Arizona Wildcats trail Houston 17-10 at halftime of their game at Arizona Stadium on Saturday night.

Arizona (1-0) twice rallied to tie the score before surrendering a late touchdown.

Zach Green’s 1-yard plunge with 2:22 left in the half erased a 10-3 deficit. But J.J. Taylor did most of the heavy lifting on the drive.

Taylor showed off all his moves on a 27-yard cutback run, eluding multiple defenders after receiving a pitch to the left. Shawn Poindexter also threw a big block on the play.

The tie didn’t last long. John Leday returned the ensuing kickoff 81 yards to the Arizona 16. Four plays later, Dillon Birden scored from the 3 to give Houston a 17-10 advantage.

The Cougars had taken the lead earlier in the quarter. Kyle Allen’s 49-yard pass to Keith Corbin set up Allen’s 5-yard touchdown toss to Linell Bonner, who powered through Scottie Young Jr. into the end zone with five minutes left in the half

Arizona had a chance to go ahead on the previous possession, but Josh Pollack missed a 30-yard field goal. The absence of snapper Nick Reinhardt, who’s out because of an undisclosed injury, was apparent on that play. Brandon Rutt made the snap, and it was slightly low, leading to a low kick that hit one of Arizona’s linemen.

Taylor has 67 yards on 10 carries. Brandon Dawkins is 8 of 14 for 93 yards. Allen is 15 of 20 for 185 yards.

Houston has outgained Arizona 254-183.

FIRST-QUARTER UPDATE:

The Arizona Wildcats and Houston Cougars are tied 3-3 after the first quarter of their game at Arizona Stadium on Saturday night.

After falling behind 3-0, Arizona (1-0) drove for the tying field goal. Third-down completions by Brandon Dawkins to Shawn Poindexerter and Tyrell Johnson keyed the drive.

Earlier in the quarter, the Arizona defense again showed an ability to rise up in the red zone.

Houston advanced to the 1-yard line on its second possession. But on second and goal from the 1, Tristan Cooper forced Cougars quarterback Kyle Allen to fumble. Houston recovered but had to settle for a field goal.

Dawkins is 4 of 8 for 40 yards. Allen is 4 of 7 for 52 yards.

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