Four Takeaways From Houston Cougars' Win In Final Bayou Bucket
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Houston football became the last to hoist the Bayou Bucket trophy and bring it home to Cullen Boulevard with a comfortable and convincing 35-9 victory over Rice, moving the Cougars to their first 2-0 start since 2018.
Despite the offensive output looking bleak until the final drive of the first half for Houston, three Cougars each saw drastic changes in output from the season opener nine days earlier, which ultimately helped four of the last five possessions result in touchdown drives and tallying 392 total yards on the night, after ending the first quarter with only 49.
To highlight select areas of Houston's win in the final Bayou Bucket, we empty the notebook with postgame takeaways around who made it possible, along with a retrospective of the matchup.
The Dean's List
There was no doubt that senior running back Dean Connors had himself quite a homecoming, having played on both sides of the Bayou Bucket. After rushing for 50 yards last week in Houston's season-opener against SFA, Connors began a torrid stretch for himself and all the Cougars' offensive efforts with a 54-yard touchdown run with just 40 seconds remaining in the first half.
Connors also became the one to put the cap on those efforts with a dagger 42-yard house call with 3:40 left that ultimately set his rushing tally at 132 yards on the night, good enough to average 10.2 yards per carry.
Although fans may consider it a "revenge game" for Connors, he took advantage of his homecoming and cherished the moment in connecting with his former teammates and program friends, yet still feeling accomplishment with capturing the Bayou Bucket.
"I was glad this game was early on in the season because I want to root for those guys," he said. "A lot of history there, a lot of guys that I'd like to have at my wedding, be at their wedding, stuff like that. But I'm a Cougar, and it feels great to get that bucket."
Boogie Bomb
Nine days earlier, senior wide receiver Stephon Johnson began his 2025 season without a target from junior quarterback Conner Weigman, leaving Weigman to give him words of encouragement and advising him to "stay the course."
Johnson's campaign would officially set foot in explosive fashion in Week 2. With 8:19 remaining in the game, Weigman hurled deep a 74-yard touchdown pass to Johnson on of his three targets, which alone put him atop receiving leaders and helped Weigman tally 188 yards on the night on 15-of-22 in completions.
An electric return for Corey Platt Jr.
Sophomore linebacker Corey Platt Jr. saw his first game action back at the weakside since Tulane's 2023 season-opener against South Alabama, where from that point on, he would suffer two season-ending ACL injuries in the span of 10 months in his journey of following coach Willie Fritz to Houston.
With 4:37 remaining in the game, Platt sacked redshirt sophomore quarterback Chase Jenkins for a loss of three yards on 4th & 7, putting an exclamation on his long-awaited return to the field.
"I wanna cry for Corey Platt," senior defensive back Latrell McCutchin Sr. said. "You talk about a guy that attacks the work no matter what it is, regardless, everyday, exact same way. He's a natural-born playmaker as you saw today."
Don't cry that it's over, smile that it happened
Though the fan consensus remains split on whether or not the Bayou Bucket is a true rivalry due to the head-to-head matchup disparity, the technical terms of these two programs being crosstown opponents dating back to the Southwest Conference, along with the pageantry of the matchup itself being based around the city of Houston, confirm the matchup's place as a true rivalry.
Due to scheduling conflicts from both programs, Saturday's matchup, which saw Houston secure its second straight win head-to-head and put its all-time series lead over Rice at 35-12, was the last Bayou Bucket contest to have been scheduled for the foreseeable future.
However, the possibility of the rivalry getting its renewal will never be out of the question. Connors, having played both sides of it, expressed its impact on him in the present and what it would mean to him in the future, holding out hope for its revival.
"I'd love to see these teams keep playing," Connors said. "When I'm 50 years old you know, I gotta root for the Coogs right? But I'll see both sides and it'll be cool."
Michael Carrara is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He attends the University of Houston, where he is a journalism major and a marketing minor. He is also a sports writer and reporter for the Daily Cougar, having covered baseball as an NCBWA member. You can find Michael on all major social media channels, including X on @michaelcoalec.