The Houston Cougars won against Cincinnati 31-24 on Nov. 7.

However, the game got close in the fourth quarter, even though Houston held an 11-point lead at halftime.

Houston head coach Willie Fritz needs to fix this problem before facing off against Colorado on Nov. 13.

Houston's opening drive was nearly flawless, as it went 72 yards to end with a touchdown and took six minutes off the clock. Then, after forcing the Bearcats to a three-and-out, the Cougars came back and went 67 yards to put another touchdown on the scoreboard.

After that, the scoring significantly dropped, as they scored seven in the second quarter, three in the third and seven again in the fourth.

In the third quarter, Cincinnati cut the lead as the Bearcats started to mount a comeback. Additionally, the offense for Houston seemingly disappeared in the fourth quarter.

After the touchdown, the Bearcats held the ball for the majority of the 15 minutes in the last quarter, while Houston only had the ball for three minutes.

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Even Fritz talked about the near collapse when Cincinnati tied up the game.

"Things didn't look quite so good when they tied it up," Fritz said.

However, a 51-yard touchdown run from running back Re'Shaun Sanford II gave the Cougars back the lead and they would eventually close out the game.

Houston finished the game with 468 total yards, with 227 in the air and 241 on the ground. Both parts of the offense were efficient in the game; however, the problem Houston faced was finishing drives.

The Bearcats held onto the ball for 33 minutes because Houston did not answer their touchdowns with long, sustained drives to drain the clock. It kept the Bearcats and quarterback JC French IV in the game despite being down 11 points at halftime.

Additionally, the Cougars drove all the way to Cincinnati's 10-yard line just to settle for a field goal in the third quarter. Houston ended the game the way it should have in the second half after the fumble: by draining the clock out.

Explosive plays are important and can win games, with Sanford's 51-yard touchdown being the ultimate game-ender. With games left against Colorado, West Virginia and Baylor, the Cougars need the offense that appeared in the opening drive to show up in the second half.

These three teams remain unranked, but Houston can not take them lightly. Although West Virginia lost to Texas Tech, the Mountaineers put up 48 points on the Red Raiders.

Baylor is another team the Cougars have to be serious against, as the Bears won against Iowa State 42-31 and have a 4-2 conference record that is third in the Big 12.