Joe Flacco watched football from his couch last season before joining the Cleveland Browns in November, leading them to the playoffs and earning the AP Comeback Player of the Year award.

The generational shift at quarterback in the NFL reached a new milestone last week.

Patrick Mahomes saw his first extended action of the preseason, throwing for 105 yards and a touchdown, and the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Arizona Cardinals 38-10 on Saturday night in the second preseason game for both teams.

Clayton Tune connected with Nathaniel Dell for a 12-yard touchdown with 20 seconds remaining, and Houston rallied from a 13-point deficit to beat Louisiana-Lafayette 23-16 in the Independence Bowl.

Three key takeaways from the state’s football scene this past weekend -- and a glimpse at what’s to come next week.

Houston quarterback Clayton Tune leaped over a defender to score on a 13-yard run as the 24th-ranked Cougars escaped with 37-35 victory over UTSA in three overtimes at the Alamodome.

No. 24 Houston opens its season Saturday against UTSA.

Jerome Ford rushed for 187 yards and two touchdowns and Desmond Ridder threw three touchdown passes as No. 3 Cincinnati broke open a close game in the third quarter and rolled past No. 16 Houston 35-20 in the American Athletic Conference championship game.

Clayton Tune threw for 264 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score as No. 17 Houston extended its winning streak to 10 games with a 31-13 victory over Memphis.

Hawaii linebacker Darius Muasau (53) holds up the trophy after the team's 28-14 win over Houston in the New Mexico Bowl NCAA college football game in Frisco, Texas, Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020. All rights reservedFRISCO, Texas – Chevan Cordeiro threw three first-half touchdown passes, Calvin Turner broke the New Mexico Bowl record with a 92-yard kickoff return had another long scoring play to help Hawaii beat Houston 28-14 on Thursday in the New Mexico Bowl. The game was moved to Frisco from its usual location in Albuquerque because of COVID-19 restrictions in New Mexico. Hawaii raced to a 21-0 lead in the first half, with Cordeiro throwing scoring passes of 3 yards to Dae Dae Hunter, 75 yards to Turner, and 4 yards to Jonah Laulu. “They had just scored a touchdown,” Turner said, “so I was thinking I needed to come up with a big play.”Said Houston coach Dana Holgorsen: “I was sick to my stomach.

Down 12, Wilson found Milne for a 2-yard touchdown pass with 53 seconds remaining in the third. Wilson gave BYU the lead back with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Masen Wake with 10:35 left to make it 29-26 following a 2-point conversion pass from Wilson to Tyler Allgeier. Wilson threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Milne with three minutes remaining before Allgeier iced it with a 14-yard touchdown run with 1:40 left. Clayton Tune finished 21 of 31 for 310 yards and two touchdowns to lead Houston (1-1). Trailing by 11 to start the second quarter, Houston scored 23 straight points to take a 26-14 lead with three minutes left in the third.