Houston 27, South Florida 3: Kenneth Farrow rushed for 117 yards and scored twice as the visiting Cougars ran away from the Bulls to join the logjam at the top of the American Athletic Conference.

Ryan Jackson added 62 yards and a pair of touchdowns for Houston (5-3), which joins four other teams at 3-1 in AAC play. Greg Ward Jr. went 15-of-19 for 84 yards and a touchdown and rushed for another 26 yards to win his third straight start.

Steven Bench went 12-of-25 for 147 yards for South Florida (3-6, 2-3). Freshman Marlon Mack had 47 yards on the ground while Deonte Welch's three catches for 55 yards led the Bulls.

A personal foul during a punt and Ward's fourth-down pass to Markeith Ambles extended Houston's first scoring drive, setting up Farrow's 1-yard score late in the first quarter. The Bulls' offense never got going, missing a field goal, muffing a punt in the end zone and getting stopped on fourth-and-1 near midfield just before halftime.

Jackson scored from 1 yard out in the third quarter and followed Farrow's 8-yard TD catch in the fourth quarter with a 24-yard run. Adrian McDonald's interception in the end zone with 2:28 left extended Houston's streak to 31 straight games with a takeaway.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Houston, East Carolina, Memphis, Cincinnati and Central Florida are all 3-1 in league play. ... Mack now has 828 yards on the season, good for fifth place on South Florida's single-season list. ... Farrow has scored a rushing TD in three straight games.