GSU drops road tilt against Houston

HOUSTON, Texas | The Grambling State University football team continued to struggle offensively as Houston started slow before pulling away for a 45-0 victory on Saturday night at TDECU Stadium.


Houston (2-1) took advantage of a short field after an Aldon Clark fumble and marched 47 yards in six plays as Nathaniel Dell caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from Ike Ogbogu, giving the Cougars a 7-0 lead with 15 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.

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The Cougars again capitalized on the great field position and after stopping the Tigers offense, Houston’s special teams provided the scoring punch. Marcus Williams returned Garret Urban’s 37-yard punt 48 yards to paydirt as UH increased the lead to 14-0 with 10:40 left in the second.


Houston extended the lead to 21-0 as Alton McCaskill scored on a 17-yard touchdown run, capping an 8-play, 80-yard drive with 5:23 remaining in the first half.


McCaskill added to his day with his second touchdown, a 34-yard scamper, with 11:54 left in the third quarter as the Cougars pushed the margin to 28-0.


Houston put the game out of reach after a 7-play, 56-yard drive as Dell caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from Ogbogu in the left corner of the endzone as the Cougars extended the lead to 35-0 with 7:01 remaining.


The Cougars put together a 6-play, 58-yard as Ta’Zhawn Henry scored on a 1-yard touchdown run, giving Houston a 42-0 advantage with just over two minutes left in the third.


A Dalton Witherspoon 22-yard field capped a 15-play, 62-yard drive as Houston wrapped up the scoring.


CHECKING THE BOX SCORE
– Grambling State (1-2) finsihed with 102 total yards and three first downs

– The Tigers registered 53 rushing yards and 49 passing yards

– Aldon Clark got the start at quarterback and went 4 of 12 passing for 49 yards

– CJ Russell recorded 18 yards on 10 carries

– Darqueze Brutton added 18 yards on nine touches

– Greg White caught one pass for 37 yards

– Garrett Urban punted the ball 12 times for 422 yards, averaging 35.2 yards per punt

– Garrett Urban’s longest punt was 50 yards, with four inside the 20

– Defensively, Blake Thomas had five total tackles, including three solo stops and half of a sack

– Demario Cleaves added five tackles, with three coming on solo stops

– Houston finished with 422 total yards of offense and 24 first downs

– The Cougars registered 258 yards through the air and 164 yards on the ground

– Ike Ogbogu was 14 of 22 passing for 196 yards and a pair of touchdowns

– Alton McCaskill rushed the ball 16 times for 114 yards and two scores

– Nathaniel Dell tallied 134 yards on eight receptions, with two touchdowns

– Donavan Mutin registered seven total tackles, including five solo stops

– The Cougars controlled the time of possession (34:58)


GAME NOTES
– Grambling State fell to 0-3 all-time against Houston

– The Tigers were playing the first of two consecutive games in the state of Texas

– Houston returned a punt 48 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter, its third touchdown return in the last two seasons- GSU dropped to 9-6 during the Fobbs era in games played in the Lone Star State

– The Tigers fell to 14-14 (opening month) during the month of September- Grambling State is 17-19 when the opponent scores first and 13-15 when trailing after one quarter

– The Tigers have not scored in eight quarters

– Grambling State has been shut out twice in a season for the first time since 1976


QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH BRODERICK FOBBS”Tonight we played a very good Houston football team. We played well early on, but when you are playing good teams, you can’t make mistakes. We need to eliminate these mistakes, which will help us be a better football team. We look forward to having a good week of practice and stepping into Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) play next week.”


UP NEXT

Grambling State steps into Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) play on Saturday with the annual trip to the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas as the Tigers meet Prairie View A&M in the State Fair Classic. The Panthers played host to Houston Baptist on Saturday. PVAMU is 1-0 in the SWAC after opening the season with a 40-17 victory over rival Texas Southern. Kickoff on Saturday at the Cotton Bowl is set for 4 p.m.