Houston 31, Temple 10: Greg Ward Jr. went 29-of-33 for 268 yards and two touchdowns as the host Cougars pulled away from the Owls with a pair of quick scores in the third quarter.

Markeith Ambles made six catches for 96 yards for Houston (4-3, 2-1 American Athletic Conference) and Deontay Greenberry had 10 receptions for 63 yards and a touchdown. Ryan Jackson rushed for 75 yards and Kenneth Farrow added 52 yards and a score for Houston, which forced four turnovers.

P.J. Walker went 12-of-29 for 259 yards with one TD and three interceptions for Temple (4-2, 2-1). Walker and Jahad Thomas each rushed for 49 yards, while the latter also made three catches for 150 yards.

Houston's Trevon Stewart returned an interception 29 yards midway through the first quarter for a 10-0 lead, and Farrow's 4-yard score early in the second pushed the advantage to 17-3. Walker hit Keith Kirkwood for a 39-yard touchdown with 34 seconds left in the half to cut the deficit to 17-10, but Walker's fumble at the goal line early in the third quarter gave back momentum to the Cougars.

Ward connected with Greenberry for a 7-yard touchdown late in the third quarter and, after Howard Wilson's interception on Temple's next play, Jackson took a screen pass 30 yards for a TD 51 seconds later. The Cougars stuffed Thomas on fourth down at the Houston 2 with less than 11 minutes left, and Temple never threatened again.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Thomas took screen passes for 72 and 74 yards, but those drives resulted in a field goal for Temple and Walker's fumble. ... Houston, which has at least one takeaway in 30 straight games, has five contests this season in which it recorded at least three takeaways. ... It was Greenberry's 15th career game with at least six catches.