2 Games Houston Cougars Fans Need To Keep Eyes on in Week 10
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Not many outlets had the Houston Cougars being relevant and making this much noise late in the season, especially after the Halloween holiday.
It’s come to that point in the season where coach Willie Fritz has created conversation about whether there’s a possible opportunity to see the Cougars in the Big 12 Championship Game in Arlington, Texas, but that doesn’t happen unless the roster continues to stay healthy and win out.
When Houston welcomes West Virginia this weekend, it will be a fight until the end, given the Big 12's competitive nature his season. Anything is possible, including getting upset against a program that has no business winning at TDECU Stadium on Saturday morning. While the path to the title game is challenging to navigate, these two conference games increase the chances of reaching it, making them likelier than they were earlier in the year.
No. 13 Texas Tech at Kansas State
Houston’s only loss on the season came to Texas Tech, and it was with the starting quarterback, Conner Weigman, out with a concussion. This loss might come back to haunt Fritz & Co. due to the magnitude of success that coach Joey McGuire has achieved in Lubbock, Texas.
Unfortunately, the Red Raiders received terrible news that their backup quarterback, Will Hammond, would be out for the rest of the season due to an injury. That raised questions about the status of QB Behren Morton, who is dealing with an injury of his own, causing him to miss time on the field.
This might be beneficial for the Cougars if the Red Raiders are without both athletes who are highly capable of taking McGuire’s program to the Big 12 Championship Game. Many outlets believed that the Red Raiders had the easiest path to the title game, but it isn’t looking good right now.
Kansas State is sitting at 4-4 and is looking to become bowl eligible, so it will have something to play for. The offense features junior QB Avery Johnson, who has been careful with the ball. Notably, the game is in Manhattan, Kansas, so he’ll want to perform better in front of his fans. Sounds like a possible trap game for Texas Tech, and it could hurt them if the program struggles to win with a game against BYU the following week.
No. 17 Cincinnati at No. 22 Utah
College Gameday is hosting its show at the destination for this matchup, and it will undoubtedly be a thriller. One of the biggest surprises of the season has been Cincinnati's remarkable bounce back after losing the opening game to Nebraska. The junior quarterback, Brenden Sorsby, has been the storyline with the success he has been bringing to his team, and he might be the missing piece that the program has been searching for to get over the hump for years.
Meanwhile, Utah’s QB, Devon Dampier, has been trying to create momentum for his fan base after two disappointing conference losses to Texas Tech and BYU, which took a hit to its conference championship hopes. With a chance to knock off a team that hasn’t had a conference loss this season, it might spark a light that fuels the roster the rest of the season.
If you are a Houston fan, you have to ask yourself that, looking at the standings, Cincinnati needs to lose this game to create more drama that brings in tiebreaker scenarios and other determining factors, such as its schedule and head-to-head matchups, to see which teams have the upper hand.
Scheduling-wise, this is one of at least two games that the Bearcats could drop, with Utah and BYU still on the schedule. Also, no one can count out TCU, which might make a statement of its own. Observe how both coaches call the game, as that could be the determining factor in who wins this game.
Kolton Becker is a journalist for Texas A&M Aggies and Houston Cougars On SI from Port Lavaca, Texas. He is a graduate from Texas A&M University with a degree in agricultural communications and journalism and a minor in sport management. As a former sports reporter with TexAgs and The Battalion, he has covered Texas A&M football, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, track & field, cross country, swim & dive and equestrian. In his spare time, he loves to hunt, fish, cook, do play-by-play announcing at high school sporting events, spend time with family/friends as well as be involved with his local church.
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