FORT WORTH – By halftime, TCU’s Amon G. Carter Stadium was filled with boos as a Houston team that had been eliminated in two straight games before playing the Horned Frogs on Friday scored 24 points in the first half and went 30- 19 wins over TCU.

Here are five lessons from the game:

Zeon Chriss dominates, controls the attacking tempo

In the last eight quarters, Houston has scored zero points. They entered the matchup with three straight losses.

That narrative changed when Zeon Chriss showed no sign of fighting against TCU.

Houston racked up 139 rushing yards in the first half alone, with Chriss’ 71-yard rushing touchdown boosting the tally to end the first half.

The offense finally found success in the passing game after going two games without scoring. Chriss went 15 of 18 for 141 yards and led the team with 97 yards on 11 attempts. He averaged 8.8 yards per carry.

Houston’s defense torches the TCU offense

The No. 27 defense rattled TCU’s offense.

Defensive back AJ Haulcy was the force that limited TCU in the first half.

Haulcy was on the receiving end of Hoover’s two interceptions. He also recorded seven tackles, five solo and one pass breakup. With the success of WR Jack Bech this season, Haulcy’s aggressiveness limited his dominance in TCU’s offense.

The unit held TCU to just six points in the first half.

Run game has success, Cam Cook leads for TCU

There aren’t many positives to TCU’s performance, but the run game is one. After struggling to get the unit going this season, RB Cam Cook has been great on the floor.

True freshman Jeremy Payne had TCU’s only rushing touchdown, but Cook put up strong numbers.

He led TCU’s RB room with 77 yards on 14 attempts. His longest was a 19-yard gain in the second quarter.

Josh Hoover’s inconsistency and turnovers kill momentum

Tonight’s game was Hoover’s third straight game with an interception. It is his second with two.

Despite the success he has had, mistakes have plagued his performances over the last three games. Against Kansas, the offensive unit had three turnovers despite the win.

Tonight the offense had four turnovers, bringing the total to twelve over the last three games.

Hoover still passed for over 250 yards with two passing touchdowns, completing 23 of 37 passes.

Improved run defense, struggling secondary for TCU

The defense made meaningful stops against Houston’s run game, but the secondary struggled to stop the Cougars.

On Houston’s first drive of the game, TCU’s Abe Camara was ejected on a targeting call. This gave Houston 15 yards of free time and a first down, which was the fuel they needed to score.

Although Chriss’ 71-yard rushing touchdown boosted the stat line for Houston, TCU’s defense limited RB space. Aside from Chriss, RB Re’Shaun Sanford II had 38 yards on six attempts and an average of 6.3 yards per carry.

On the line, LB Nambi Obiazor led the defensive unit with 11 total tackles, six solo, one sack, two TFL and one forced fumble.

Twitter: @sarsmithsports

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