No. 7 Houston pulls away in fourth quarter to beat Cincinnati 40-16

CINCINNATI — Analyzing what many joked was an audition for Big 12 membership: No. 7 Houston’s 40-16 win against Cincinnati on Thursday.

THE BIG PICTURE: Houston’s slim College Football Playoff chances remain alive. But the Cougars, they of Group of Five fame, would need help. They’d certainly need to finish the regular season undefeated, and have more than one power-conference champion with serious flaws by season’s end.

The toughest remaining test for Tom Herman's team will come at home on Nov. 17 against current No. 10, Louisville. Couple a win then with the season-opening victory over No. 3 Oklahoma, and that's a pretty strong résumé considering that a team like Houston can only control what it can control, schedule-wise.

WHAT WE’LL BE TALKING ABOUT: Whether Greg Ward Jr. can survive the season. No one can deny that he's an electric player, and he can put this team on his back. But can his 5-11 frame and injured shoulder keep taking the kind of beating he took Thursday night?

Ward attempted 36 passes and carried the ball 26 times — and took a lot of hard hits. He missed last week's game against Lamar because of a shoulder injury, and he was far from 100% healthy Thursday night. Ward obviously plays with a lot of heart and can will his team down the field at times, but as he showed with two bad interceptions and a few errant throws, there are limits to what he's physically able to do for this team.

KEY PLAY: One snap after yet another poorly timed Houston penalty that backed the Cougars up to the 12-yard line early in the fourth quarter, Ward finally got good protection from his offensive line and waited for a receiver to be open or a hole to develop. Then he scrambled to his right for the go-ahead touchdown, a score that deflated Cincinnati and all but put the game away. Houston got its first takeaway — an interception — on the very next Cincinnati drive, and Ward then converted that into another score.

Two late interception returns for touchdowns made it a lopsided final score.

WEIRD PLAY: This is one of the most ridiculous fumble recoveries you’ll ever see. Seriously, just watch:

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