SMU's 38-16 upset victory over No. 11 Houston on Saturday night in Dallas allowed the host Mustangs to match their win total of three games the previous two seasons.

SMU coach Chad Morris and his program also evened the score against Houston coach Tom Herman, who took a jab at the Mustangs before this season when explaining the growth of the Cougars' program after finishing 13-1 with a No. 8 ranking last season.

In May, Herman said the Cougars were no longer content with a 7-5 record as a program before stating, "I hear there's a private school in Dallas that's really trying to get to seven wins."

SMU, downtrodden at 3-21 the previous two seasons, is still in search of seven victories this season at 3-4 overall. But one of those victories is against Herman and his bewildered Cougars, who have lost two of their last three games to fall to 6-2, 3-2 in the American Athletic Conference.

"This is what it's all about right here," Morris said among jubilant fans on the field. "The thing about us, our guys are ready for this. Our guys are prepared for this moment. We just needed to stay the course and stick to the process and it happened tonight."

SMU quarterback Ben Hicks threw three touchdown passes and rushed for another, and the Mustangs' defense sacked Houston quarterback Greg Ward Jr. seven times en route to the upset.

"It seemed like we did not play with the kind of confidence we're accustomed to playing with," Herman said. "Give them credit. We have to go back and work very hard to get things back on track."

The Mustangs (1-2 AAC), had lost 12 straight against ranked teams, losing by an average of 27.6 points in that span since upsetting No. 20 TCU 40-33 in overtime in 2011.

Houston, held to only 62 yards rushing on 35 carries, had its six-game streak snapped of scoring at least 35 points by an aggressive SMU defense. SMU linebacker Jarvis Pruitt had a team-high three sacks for a defense that held Houston to 303 yards of total offense, 202.1 under its average. Fellow linebackers Demerick Gary and Justin Lawler each had two sacks.

"I learned a lot about all of our guys," said Morris when asked about subduing Houston's potent offense with Ward at quarterback. "I knew they wouldn't give up. I know this win will shock a lot of people. It doesn't surprise us.

"It just takes one (win) to start a revolution, one win to put a wind in our sails. This is it. We move forward from here."

The Mustangs capitalized on Houston's failed fourth-and-5 attempt at their own 40 with 14:15 remaining in the fourth quarter to build on their lead. Ward was sacked for a loss of 18 yards on the play by Lawler.

SMU was stopped on three plays and Josh Williams made a 26-yard field goal with 12:27 remaining as the Mustangs took a 31-14 lead.

A 19-yard field goal attempt by Ty Cummings on Houston's next possession bounced off the right upright and was no good with 9:50 left.

The Cougars failed to take advantage of a 51-yard pass from Ward to receiver Duke Catalon on that possession. Catalon was forced out at the SMU 4.

Houston's offense averaged 86 plays before Saturday. The Cougars only had 12 in the first quarter when they fell behind 7-0, due in part to two lost fumbles.

"We started the game poorly and that's on me," Herman said. "We got into a hole we couldn't climb out of."

Hicks accounted for all four of the Mustangs' touchdowns in the first half when they mounted a 28-7 lead.

Hicks rushed for a 1-yard touchdown run, capping an 11-play drive in SMU's first possession. In the second quarter, he completed touchdown passes of 31 yards to Jeremiah Gaines, 2 to Courtland Sutton and 28 to James Proche.

NOTES: The Mustangs averaged only 23.2 points before Saturday, which ranked 104th among the 128 FBS teams. ... Houston's six-game streak with 35-plus points was the fourth-longest active streak entering the game. The Cougars were 11th nationally in scoring offense (42.7 points per game) and 16th in total offense (505.1 yards). ... SMU was tied for fourth in the nation in takeaways with 15 (including two fumble recoveries) before Saturday. Last season, SMU gained 10 turnovers all season. They had two fumble recoveries against Houston in the first half.