Houston QB Donovan Smith rushed for a season-high 88 yards against Cincinnati in addition to throwing two touchdown strikes. There were several 300-yard outbursts sprinkled in that span with a pair of games featuring four touchdowns and zero interceptions. Prior to the Cincinnati game, the Texas Tech transfer completed at least 73 percent of his passes in four of his last six starts. 1 strength is typically its passing offense led by quarterback Donovan Smith. It comes down to being pitiful in the passing game which is perplexing to me because we’ve been good throwing the ball.” We got some stops and kept it a close game. Defense played good enough to keep us in it. “I felt like we had a real shot and we did. “It was a disappointing loss,” Holgorsen said. 500 on the season, Houston fell to 4-6 as Cincinnati emerged in a 24-14 wire-to-wire victory. The Cougars were fresh off a confidence-boosting win, favored, and facing the only Big 12 team without a conference win. 21 for a matchup with old AAC foe Cincinnati. After defeating Baylor, Houston returned home for the first time since Oct. Things finally appeared to trend in the Cougars’ favor. The lows involved early-season struggles against TCU and Texas Tech, a 41-0 shutout at Kansas State, and coming excruciatingly close to upsetting Texas. The highs involved knocking off West Virginia on a Hail Mary and earning a tough-fought road win at Baylor on an overtime 2-point conversion. Year one of Big 12 membership has been an up-and-down experience with plenty of growing pains for the Houston Cougars (4-6, 2-5 Big 12).

Last meeting: Houston 45, Oklahoma State 35 - September 12, 2009.Time and date: Saturday, November 18 at 4:00 p.m.

Big 12 game times