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Hill, BYU hold off Houston

Sep 12, 2014 - 7:44 AM Provo, UT (SportsNetwork.com) - Taysom Hill threw for 200 yards and a touchdown and added another score on the ground as 25th-ranked BYU defeated Houston, 33-25, on Thursday.

Hill completed 21 of his 34 passes and threw two interceptions while rushing for a game-high 160 yards on 26 carries. Jamaal Williams ran for 139 yards and two touchdowns.

Jordan Leslie caught six passes for 79 yards and Mitch Mathews hauled in a touchdown pass for BYU (3-0), which amassed 523 total yards.

"I'm glad that we continued to battle, continued to fight. We had some offensive momentum in the first half, and we moved it when we needed to," BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "Overall, it was a hard fought win."

Houston quarterback John O'Korn threw for 307 yards on 30-of-52 passing with three touchdowns in the setback. Deontay Greenberry caught two touchdowns passes and Daniel Spencer had a game-high 133 receiving yards on 10 catches with a score.

Houston (1-2) was limited to just 10 total rushing yards by BYU's defense, which has allowed just one rushing score and 163 yards on the ground through its first three games.

Scott Arellano's 33-yard punt pinned Houston down at its own 4 to start its second drive of the game. On 2nd-and-10, Ryan Jackson took the handoff and was stuffed inside the end zone by Zac Stout for a safety.

BYU added to its lead on the next drive. Hill found Leslie, who took the ball down to Houston's 24 on a 35-yard pickup. Williams found a hole on the left side and raced in for an 11-yard score and a 9-0 lead.

After a Houston punt, BYU took over at its 30. Williams opened the drive with a 16-yard dash, and Hill ran for 14 yards on third down and completed two straight passes to Leslie before taking it in from five yards out late in the opening quarter.

Less than a minute into the second, Houston lined up for a 38-yard field goal. The ball was snapped, but the holder fumbled the snap and Kyle Bullard's kick skipped through the mass of players in front of him, resulting in BYU taking over at its own 13.

Hill completed three straight passes before breaking loose on a 23-yard sprint to Houston's 44. BYU continued to march down the field and Mathews hauled in a six-yard pass in the right corner of the end zone for a 23-0 score.

Houston got on the board after Bullard's field goal completed a 17-play, 82- yard trek down the field with 3:12 to play in the first half.

Hill's pass on the first play of the ensuing drive was deflected and picked off by Joey Mbu. O'Korn later connected with Greenberry for a 7-yard touchdown in back of the end zone. Bullard missed the extra point.

On BYU's next drive, Hill launched a 38-yard pass deep down the left sideline to Mitchell Juergens, but Adrian McDonald knocked the ball loose and returned it to BYU's 45 with three seconds left in the first half.

O'Korn scrambled and aired out a bomb to Spencer, who made a leaping catch around a group of defenders and spun into the end zone as time expired. Bullard missed another extra point, but Houston got within, 23-15, heading into the break.

Trevor Samson's 26-yard field goal with less than a minute remaining in the third quarter accounted for the stanza's lone scoring.

BYU took over at its own 44 to start its next drive. Hill's rushes of six and 15 yards placed his team at the opponents' 32. After another first down, Hill broke free for a 24-yard dash to Houston's 7. Williams's 2-yard plunge capped the quick 2:50 drive and increased BYU's lead to 33-15.

Houston responded with 10 straight points. Greenberry caught a 15-yard catch for a touchdown on the next drive, and Stewart clawed a pass away from Mitchell for an interception that set up an eventual 36-yard field goal from Bullard.

Houston received the ball on its 12 with 2:49 to play. O'Korn threw three straight incomplete passes, and BYU took over and ran out the clock to ice the game.

Game Notes

Hill leads the nation with seven rushing touchdowns ... BYU has a nine-game winning streak when scoring first ... Houston, which forced three turnovers, has 26 straight games with a takeaway ... BYU had 32 first downs compared to Houston's 18.