ATLANTA -- The 18th-ranked Houston Cougars might not have slipped into this year's College Football Playoff, but they certainly made the most of their New Year's Six appearance against No. 9 Florida State in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. In what turned into a fun, back-and-forth game late, the Cougars (13-1, 7-1 American) held on to beat the Seminoles (10-3, 6-2 ACC) 38-24 Thursday in front of an announced crowd of 71,007 inside the Georgia Dome.
Top-flight dual-threat quarterback Greg Ward Jr., who took a pounding all day, powered an offense that generated 448 total yards and 27 first downs. Meanwhile, Houston's defense held electrifying Florida State running back Dalvin Cook in check all afternoon, as he rushed for a season-low 33 yards on 18 carries.
Florida State survived a scary moment late in the first quarter when quarterback Sean Maguire sustained a lower leg injury after landing awkwardly on a tackle by Houston linebacker Matthew Adams. Maguire was carted into the locker room but returned to the field after two Florida State possessions in the second quarter.
However, Maguire, who threw for 133 yards on 5-of-9 passing before his injury, was clearly limited by his injured leg. His left leg was heavily taped when he returned, and he threw four interceptions after his injury. He was able to deliver a few beautiful throws, though, including a 65-yard touchdown bomb to a wide-open Travis Rudolph in the fourth quarter and a laser of a strike to Jesus Wilson for a 7-yard touchdown to trim Houston's lead to 31-24 with 4:55 remaining.
What the win means for Houston: Coach Tom Herman was reportedly a candidate for a few other bigger head-coaching jobs after his impressive first year at Houston, but he opted to stay with the Cougars. That's good news because this team has a chance to be really good once again in 2016. Most of the offense will return, including Ward, much of his offensive line and leading receiver Demarcus Ayers. There will be some reshuffling in the secondary, but this team should start the 2016 season against Oklahoma as a top-20 team and could be a dark horse for a playoff spot.
What the loss means for Florida State: The Seminoles are set up to have a pretty special 2016 season as well. Maguire, who showed a ton of heart Thursday, is back, along with Cook, who will definitely be an early-season Heisman Trophy candidate. The explosive Rudolph also will return. An offensive line that was inconsistent all season will come back intact but also a year older, which will go a long way toward improving the group's performance. The defense will lose a couple of stars, especially with cornerback Jalen Ramsey possibly turning pro, but there is still a lot of talent returning to make this a fierce unit.
Player of the game: Ward was named the game's MVP, and for good reason. He threw for 238 yards and a touchdown and also ran the ball 20 times for 67 yards and two more scores. Ward was electrifying when he had to be and was able to play through multiple big hits he took from Florida State's defenders. His play off the read-option helped the Cougars slice up Florida State's front throughout the game.
Stat of the game: Cook entered the game averaging 150.7 rushing yards per game. He left the game with just 33 yards against Houston. His longest run of the day went for 9 yards, which marked the first time all season he was held without a rush of 10 yards or more.