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Houston ends 28-year bowl drought

Jan 1, 2009 - 4:34 AM FORT WORTH, Texas (Ticker) -- Notre Dame's recent victory over Hawaii left Houston with the dubious distinction of owning the longest current postseason losing streak in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

However, the Cougars snapped an eight-game bowl slide Wednesday, overcoming a sub-par performance from quarterback Case Keenum to defeat Air Force, 34-28, in the Armed Forces Bowl.

Houston (8-5) won its first bowl game since defeating Navy, 35-0, in the 1980 Garden State Bowl. The Cougars avoided matching Notre Dame's record nine-game bowl losing streak, which the Fighting Irish ended with a 49-21 win on Christmas Eve.

"That bugged me to keep seeing that," Houston coach Kevin Sumlin told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram about the school's bowl drought. They're the group that ended it. They can come back to games with pride. They played that way."

Air Force (8-5) held Houston's high-powered offense in check by dominating time of possession through three quarters. The Falcons put together an 18-play drive in the third quarter to close within 24-20 on Ryan Harrison's 37-yard field goal with 3:51 left in the period.

Keenum passed for a season-low 251 yards, well below his average of 397 yards, which led the FBS. Houston came into the game boasting the nation's No. 1 offense.

Keenum, who completed 22-of-33 passes, still became only the second Houston quarterback to throw for more than 5,000 yards in a season, joining David Klingler, who passed for 5,140 yards in 1990.

Keenum rushed for two touchdowns, including a 4-yard run that gave the Cougars a 24-17 lead with 12:35 left in the third quarter.

The sophomore then threw his only touchdown - a 13-yard strike Andre Kohn that made it 31-20 with just under 11 minutes left in the contest.

However, Keenum's interception allowed Air Force to close within 31-28 on Jared Tew's 2-yard TD run and quarterback Tim Jefferson's conversion run with six minutes to play. Jefferson completed 7-of-14 passes for 98 yards.

Houston converted two early turnovers by Air Force - including one on the opening kickoff - into 10 points. The Cougars grabbed a 17-7 lead on Jordan Mannisto's 22-yard field goal with four seconds left in the first quarter.

"Every chance you have to get points, you've got to convert," Air Force coach Troy Calhoun told the newspaper. "Especially on that part of the field, it's got to be at least three."

However, the Falcons regrouped in the second period and had some surprising success throwing the ball. Air Force tied the contest, 17-17, at halftime on Jefferson's 5-yard TD run and Ryan Harrison's 44-yard field goal.

Houston avenged a 31-28 loss to Air Force on September 13 in a game moved to Dallas due to Hurricane Ike. The Falcons dropped to 0-6 all-time in Fort Worth.

Freshman Bryce Beall paced Houston on the ground with 135 yards on 22 carries, while Tew rushed for 149 yards on 27 carries in his first career start for Air Force.