Ward rallies Houston to 31-24 win over UCF

HOUSTON -- Greg Ward Jr . ran for two touchdowns and passed for another in the second half as Houston rallied from a 21-point third-quarter deficit to beat Central Florida 31-24 on Saturday. The Cougars (7-2, 4-2 American), who were ranked No. 6 before losing two of their previous three games and tumbling out of the rankings, could find themselves back in the Top 25 after their comeback against the Knights (4-4, 2-2). Matthew Wright 's 41-yard field goal gave UCF a 24-3 lead early in the second half before the Cougars' defense stiffened, holding the Knights to minus-5 yards of offense in the third quarter and 29 for the half. Ward rallied the Cougars with TD runs for 1 and 14 yards and a 6-yard scoring pass to Romello Brooker . Duke Catalon added a 12-yard rushing TD. Two of the scores followed turnovers by UCF, which had four in the second half.