If Kevin Sumlin was coaching Tulane, the Green Wave would have easily beaten the University of Houston.

That should send chills through Sumlin, Houston's coach, and anyone else who cares about a Cougars program that finds itself at a crossroads without an on-field leader.

Tulane coach Bob Toledo made just about every bad move possible Saturday at Roberston Stadium and his team still gave UH everything it could handle before falling 42-23 in a game that wasn't nearly as lopsided as the final score. Toledo started the wrong quarterback. He tried a 51-yard field goal that had no chance even before it was blocked. He went for a two-point conversion way earlier than he should have.

And still, Houston couldn't breathe for the fourth quarter until Bryce Beall ran in his fourth touchdown of the day with 3:58 remaining. This had little to do with the heat on this stifling September day at Robertson Stadium and everything to do with Terrance Broadway's uneven performance in his first career college start.

Despite rolling up a 21-0 lead, the type of advantage that the Cougars are known for snowballing into a runaway rout with their highly-lauded offensive system (at least their system as it ran under Case Keenum), Houston didn't pull away from a middling Conference USA also-ran until the final four minutes when it scored two touchdowns to break open a 28-23 game.

Thanks to the running of Beall (113 yards on 24 carries), the kick returns of Patrick Edwards (he brought Tulane's first punt back 37 yards to set up UH's opening touchdown) and Tyron Carrier (a 41-yard kickoff return), and the two fourth-quarter interceptions by Loyce Means, this wasn't anything close to a disaster.

Broadway even put up decent, if unspectacular passing numbers: 19-for-28 for 174 yards. But the true freshman's three turnovers (two fumbles and an interception) clearly rattled the Cougars' coaches, who showed less and less trust in this Broadway putting on a show as the game went on.

By the fourth quarter, Broadway was basically entrusted with handing off the ball to UH's tailbacks and little else. When's the last time you could say that about a Cougar quarterback?

In fact, the most entertaining thing about this day for many Houston fans came in following the score updates from UCLA's blowout of No. 7 Texas (a game that has to make the Cougars feel better about their lone loss of the season).

This was anything but the same old UH system show. The video-game-worthy, up-and-down-the-field offense has been replaced by an almost ground-reliant game. It doesn't mean that Houston (3-1) still can't win big in Conference USA play. It does guarantee that things will be a whole lot different at Robertson.

Whether it was the heat or the no Keenum kickback, the rollicking, party atmosphere was somewhat muted at UH's home — along with the modest sellout streak. Large swathes of empty seats could be seen in the end zones and despite the closeness of the game, more fans left well before the final four minutes. None of this means that the magic cannot return.

Sumlin now has two weeks before Houston's next game — a Oct. 9 Saturday night matchup with Bowl Championship Series conference team Mississippi State — to work with and gain more confidence in Broadway. Or to work freshman quarterback David Piland more into the mix.

At the University of Houston, where winning with a highly-entertaining style has long been arguably more important than just winning, it all makes for quite a new world though. One where the only thing Broadway about it is the name on an unsure player's back.