Recap: Houston vs. Louisiana Tech

Houston, TX (Sports Network) - Tevin King ran for 112 yards and three touchdowns as he helped lift the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs to a 56-49 shootout victory over the Houston Cougars in non-conference action at Robertson Stadium.

King carried the ball 13 times for the Bulldogs (1-0), who had their season- opener against Texas A&M postponed due to Hurricane Isaac, as the team rolled up 245 rushing yards and five total touchdowns on the ground. Quarterback Colby Cameron converted 34-of-52 passes for 353 yards and three TDs as well.

The Cougars (0-2) were paced by David Piland who let loose with 77 passing attempts, hitting on 53, for 580 yards and four touchdowns in the setback. Dewayne Peace and Charles Sims both caught 11 balls, the former turning his into 141 yards and one score. Daniel Spencer reeled in seven passes for a game-high 157 yards and a TD.

Needing just three plays to march 44 yards, the Bulldogs posted the first points of the night as King crossed the goal line from 13 yards away. The Bulldogs scored their second touchdown of the evening at the 9:40 mark as the quick-strike offense marched down the field and into the end zone on a nine-yard run by King.

Houston broke through later in the first frame as kicker Matt Hogan knocked through a 30-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 14-3.

Following a stalled drive that was crippled by offensive penalties, Hogan answered the bell for the Cougars once again as he converted a 42-yard field goal with under two minutes remaining in the first.

Early in the second quarter LaTech added to the lead when Cameron connected with Jon Greenwalt on a six-yard scoring strike to make the score 21-6.

Later in the period the Cougars made their first appearance in the end zone thanks to a 32-yard touchdown reception by Ronnie Williams which made the score 21-13 with 4:28 to play before the half.

Houston cut the lead to just a single point with less than a minute remaining before the break as Sims scored on a two-yard run.

Coming out of intermission, LaTech put up back-to-back rushing touchdowns of 59 and two yards by King and Kenneth Dixon, respectively, to lift the visitors to a 35-20 lead.

Bulldogs running back Ray Holley posted a two-yard TD run of his own later in the third, but that was only after Piland hooked up with Spencer on a thrilling 74-yard TD pass play. Heading into the final 15 minutes the Bulldogs maintained a 42-27 advantage.

With a short field Louisiana Tech needed just two plays to come up with yet another touchdown, this time on an eight-yard pass from Cameron to Hunter Lee, extending the Bulldogs lead to 49-27 and seemingly out of reach.

However, the Cougars refused to give in as Sims finished off a 12-play, 75- yard drive with a one-yard TD and the squad closed the gap even more with a successful two-point conversion.

Then again, Tech was quick to respond with a 75-yard drive of its own, capped by a 14-yard TD pass from Cameron to R.P. Stuart to make it a three-touchdown difference yet again at 56-35.

Piland and the Cougars continued to chip away in the waning moments, the signal-caller hooking up with Peace on a seven-yard TD pass play and Deontay Greenberry with a 12-yard scoring strike, the latter coming with just 35 seconds remaining.

The teams combined for 1,291 yards of total offense, but Houston hurt itself with 15 penalties which amounted to 138 yards of lost field position.

The Cougars, losers to Texas State (30-13) in the opener last week, led the nation in total offense (599.1 ypg) and scoring (49.3 ppg) a season ago. Following the loss to the Bobcats, Houston offensive coordinator Mike Nesbitt resigned, the position subsequently being passed to Travis Bush.