3 Bold Predictions for Houston Cougars vs. Arizona State
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In the last game a collegiate program from Texas visited Tempe, Arizona, to take on Arizona State, the No. 7 team in the nation, Texas Tech got knocked off in the final minute of regulation.
Houston hopes this time around that won't happen, even if it is the underdogs going into the matchup. Regardless of what the experts are projecting, one thing is for certain: the Sun Devils have a hostile environment to play in after coach Kenny Dillingham earned his team a playoff berth one season ago, which brought back excitement for the football program.
When coach Willie Fritz is welcomed to Mountain America Stadium, his squad must be locked in and ready to go because the stakes in this game are extremely high, as both programs still have outside shots to make the Big 12 Championship Game and even the College Football Playoffs. These are predictions of what will occur on Saturday night.
Conner Weigman Has His Best Game As Passer
Against Arizona last week, the offense led by quarterback Conner Weigman had enough in the tank to pull out a 31-28 win after being up by two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
Arizona surprisingly came storming back to tie the game with under five minutes to go, but Weigman led the game-winning drive to kill any chance Arizona had of winning with the winning kick drilled by the reliable kicker, Ethan Sanchez.
Luckily, Weigman wasn't required to be a huge threat in the pass game, with only 164 yards in the air on a morning where the run game was reliable enough to lean on. Before the injury that sidelined Weigman for a majority of the game against Texas Tech, he was on track to gradually improve his passing numbers in each game he had participated in.
Starting the year off, the native from Cypress, Texas, began with throwing only for 159 yards, but those numbers increased steadily in each of the next three games before only having 71 against the Red Raiders. His best game came after he came out of concussion protocol with 306 yards passing and two touchdowns.
All the signs are pointing toward Weigman having a game where he breaks a previous best on the season. With one of the best tight ends in the nation, Tanner Koziol, along with wide receiver Amare Thomas, who has been one of his other favorite targets, the missiles thrown deep down the field will be evident in an offense that relies heavily on a balanced attack with mixed looks, including a ton of QB keepers.
Sam Leavitt Lets Emotions Get To Him
No disrespect to quarterback Sam Leavitt, but after he went in front of the media saying he bawled because he wasn’t able to play with his teammates in the game against Utah due to an ankle injury, defenses see that and might believe they can take advantage of the emotions of the game.
Houston’s defensive players might have seen the interview and thought to themselves that if it creates havoc, perhaps the quarterback might have another emotional day.
Everyone has those days when their emotions get the best of them. It shows how deeply and passionately Leavitt is for his teammates, but it can spread the wrong message to other programs looking into his comments that went viral.
With a Cougars’ defensive line that is able to beat blockers, getting to the QB will be an issue for the Sun Devils. The Cougars already have 17 sacks this season, with linebacker Brandon Mack Ⅱ leading the team with three sacks. Three other players are tied for the second best on the team with 2.5 sacks, including defensive lineman Eddie Walls Ⅲ, linebacker Corey Platt Jr. and defensive back Wrook Brown.
Another interesting stat line is that the Sun Devils have allowed 17 sacks, which matches how many the Cougars have had. Since the Sun Devils are No. 64 in the nation in total offense and the Cougars' defense is No. 31 in the nation, only allowing 4.81 yards per play and giving up 16 touchdowns to opponents, expect the Cougars’ defense to stand on business and limit the dynamic play-making abilities that Leavitt can create.
Ethan Sanchez Keeps On Rolling
The senior from Dallas, Georgia, has already earned two Big-12 Special Teams Player of the Week accolades. On the season, Sanchez has drilled every extra point attempt he has kicked, going 21 of 21. To add to his 2025 season, Sanchez has been the only kicker to have four multiple 4+ field goal games. Pretty impressive.
Against Colorado, Sanchez showed why he was the perfect guy for the job, making five kicks. When he traveled to Stillwater, Oklahoma, he also showed the strength of his leg when he went a perfect 4-for-4 on the day, with his longest attempt going 48 yards.
When looking at the numbers, the kicker had accumulated 66 points this season, with a season-long of 52 yards. Eight of the 14 off the leg have also been from 40+ yards, so under pressure, Sanchez knows how to respond and provide energy to the sidelines.
This week, the Sun Devils get a “kick” from how special Sanchez is, with the Cougars relying on him to make every extra point and field goal he can. Expect to see three or more field goal attempts from Sanchez in an environment that doesn’t welcome the away team well with what’s at stake.
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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