I don't know if it was by design or just by chance, but Houston may have hit on an oddball formula for beating Navy.
In a 52-31 victory on Friday, Houston succeeded in turning Navy into a passing team, and thereby changing the pace of play. The Midshipmen fell into the trap of playing an up-and-down, back-and-forth shootout and came out on the short end of the stick by virtue of fewer defensive stops.
Everyone knows the American Athletic Conference is comprised almost entirely of up-tempo, spread passing offenses. When those schools play each other, it's a track meet with both offenses getting 16 to 18 possessions.