Houston, Texas--Houston (3-1, 1-0 in the American Athletic Conference) outscored Navy (0-3, 0-1) 21-3 in the second half to pull out a 28-20 victory in front of a crowd of 25,504 in the American Athletic Conference opener for both teams. 

Marcus Jones was the difference maker for the Cougars returning a punt 73 yards for a touchdown in the first half and catching a 47-yard touchdown pass from Clayton Tune with 14:53 remaining to give Houston it's first lead of the game at 21-17.

After the Jones touchdown catch, Navy fumbled the snap on their next offensive play and Malik Robinson recovered the ball at the Navy 25. Houston converted the fumble into seven points, thanks in large part to a third down defensive holding call on Navy when it appeared the Mids would hold the Cougars to a field goal. Three plays later Ta'Zhawn Henry scored from one yard out, his second of the day, to give Houston a 28-17 lead.

Navy closed to within eight point with 6:12 left on a 36-yard field goal by Bijan Nichols and got the ball back with a chance to tie with 3:02 left.  On second-and-seven from the Navy 28, slot back Chance Warren got behind the Houston defense but was unable to hang on to the pass from backup quarterback Maasai Maynor.  Maynor was then sacked on third down and on fourth and 18 completed a pass to Mark Walker for 15 yards ending Navy's hopes.

The MIds dominated play in the first half, jumping out to a 17-7 lead.  Sophomore quarterback Xavier Arline capped off a three-play, 76-yard drive to start the game with a 40-yard touchdown run, Nichols made a 30-yard field goal and fullback Isaac Ruoss scored on a one-yard run.  The Navy defense kept the high powered Houston offense off the board in the first half with the only Houston points coming on the Jones punt return.

Navy rushed for 190 yards on the game with Arline rushing for 64 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries, while Ruoss and James Harris combining for 102 yards on 25 carries from the fullback position.  Arline was 3-6 passing for 83 yards, while Maynor was 1-2 for 15 yards.  Mychal Cooper caught three passes for 83 yards.

Clayton Tune led the Houston offense completing 22-30 for 257 yards and a touchdown.  Jones had three catches for 58 yards and a score, while Christian Trahan had four receptions for 65 yards.  Houston was held to 120 rushing yards with Alton McCaskill leading the way with 74 yards on 17 carries.

Diego Fagot and John Marshall led the Navy defense with nine tackles each, while Derek Parrish had 12 stops and Damarion Williams 10 for the Cougars.

Navy will play host to UCF next Saturday at 3:30 PM at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium while Houston is at Tulsa on Friday night.