Tom Herman had everything he wanted. All that he'd begged for and demanded, pleaded for and requested since his takeover began.

Thick traffic backed up on Interstate 45, stalling before the exit even appeared.

Sold-out TDECU Stadium buzzing and roaring, tightly wrapping 42,159 in sharp red while standing room only meant exactly what it said.

J.J. Watt in the flesh, just feet away from the Cougars' bench and inching as close as he could to an electric field. The Texans' famous No. 99 joking and laughing with teammates DeAndre Hopkins and Charles James. Watt even pumping up UH's athletes in the middle of the school's biggest game since Case Keenum and Kevin Sumlin were still Coogs.

On a crisp mid-November night when No. 16 Houston somehow clawed back to suck the life out of No. 25 Memphis via Katy's Kyle Postma and 35-34 on national TV, Herman finally had it all just 10 games into his first-year reign.

College football was the biggest thing in the fourth-largest city in the country on a magnificent Saturday night.

The Coogs - with 11 NFL teams scouting the show and scalpers outside looking for tickets - were more important than James Harden's Rockets.

Watt's Texans, two days away from "Monday Night Football," were a total afterthought.

It was all UH.

It was a beautiful, still-perfect 10-0.

"What an unbelievable atmosphere tonight. … For the city of Houston, the casual fan, I'm sure there was a lot of them there," Herman said. "Hopefully, they didn't leave after the first quarter."

Lynch the real deal

It was all there at the start: extended lines, packed concourses, Roger Clemens' name dropped by the university's Twitter account, and Watt wearing an old-school "Houston Cougars" T-shirt in this new world Herman has built so fast.

And the game itself?

It was an absolute blast, too.

The scouting eyes came out for Tigers quarterback Paxton Lynch, who's every pound of his 245 listing and each inch of his 6-7 frame. Through three quarters, the potential No. 1 QB in the 2016 NFL draft was clearly pro-ready. Lynch went 16-of-22 for 227 yards and two touchdowns. Memphis was just as nasty, ripping open a 34-14 early fourth-quarter lead that left the Coogs' shot at touching continued perfection much more dead than alive.

"He's a bona fide dude," Herman said. "He is a great college football player."

Then there was this kid from Katy.

Seven Lakes. UH walk-on. Tried living as a wide receiver. Went to Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, 200 miles away. Became a Cougar again. Watched Greg Ward Jr. get a Heisman letter this week. Saw Ward go down late in the first half Saturday, with TDECU dead silent as the Coogs' do-everything dual threat could do nothing but roll around on the ground in pain.

So Postma was everything Herman needed. A lifeline to 10-0. New breath after 34-14, with the sophomore QB connecting on 21 of 33 passes for 236 yards and a TD like he was really Lynch and all the scouts showing off their flashy NFL logos were there to watch him.

"In that locker room, we've got a bunch of guys that love each other," Herman said. "And when you love somebody, it's impossible to give up."

So there was no quit. There was just Postma.

With 12:56 to go, he pulled the Cougars within 13.

With 5:49 left, Postma started to shock Memphis' system, 34-28.

With 1:27 stuck on the board and the Houston skyline silhouetted in UH's end zone, the kid from Katy tucked the ball, ran right, slid across a white line and placed his 6-3, 205-pound body straight between the painted-in image and the city it represents.

It was 35-34 Coogs, 35-34 Herman and 35-34 Postma over Lynch.

It was pure UH perfection through 10 games and a shot to the jaw of the snobby, snotty College Football Playoff rankings.

A last-gasp Memphis kick with 19 seconds left went 48 yards for nothing. Then the Coogs were running toward their fans and band and screams, dancing and swaying as 10-0 became real life.

"It's indescribable," Postma said. "I still don't know how to put this all into words. … It's just crazy."

Great night for coach

It was it.

Why Herman came here.

What he started begging for as soon as he took the job.

Everything he wanted and believed could truly happen, before anyone else outside the UH faithful even cared to pay attention.

It hasn't been this good on Cullen Boulevard since 2011. It hasn't felt this right beneath the lights since Keenum and Sumlin were still in red. And Herman did it all Saturday with a fill-in kid from Katy in front of the biggest crowd TDECU's ever seen.

You don't have to go to College Station for college football anymore. You already know you don't have to waste your time in Austin.

It was big and real and alive Saturday night in Houston.

It was everything Herman dreamed.