Houston Can Accomplish Something It Hasn't Done Since 1974
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The No. 25 Houston Cougars visit Georgia Southern on Sept. 26 with a chance to earn a regular-season win in the state of Georgia.
This would be the first time since 1974 in the Bill Yeoman era where Houston wins in the state.
Here is everything to know about Houston and the state of Georgia.
1974 was the last time Houston won in the state of Georgia during the regular season, beating the Georgia Bulldogs 31-24 under head coach Bill Yeoman. Both teams would meet again in 2001, when the Bulldogs would beat the Cougars 35-7.
Additionally, Houston head coach Willie Fritz returns to the program where he coached in 2014 and 2015. While at Georgia Southern, Fritz went 17-7 and won the Sun Belt title in the program's first FBS season.
Georgia Southern head coach Clay Helton also played quarterback for the Houston Cougars in 1993 and 1994.
Houston enters the game after a close loss to the No. 11 Texas Tech Red Raiders, 28-26. The game was ultimately decided when quarterback Conner Weigman was a couple of inches short of the goal line after a two-point attempt with 49 seconds left.
Additionally, Georgia Southern is coming off a close loss against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks, 31-27. The Eagles held a 27-17 lead entering the fourth quarter before Jacksonville State scored twice to win the game.
According to ESPN, Houston has an 87.9% chance of winning this game and going 3-1 to close out the nonconference schedule. However, Georgia Southern could pull off an upset.
Houston's ground game will test the Eagles' run defense, which is ranked 25th nationally and only allows 88.7 rushing yards per game. This season, the Cougars average 263.7 rushing yards per game and 45.3 points per game.
On the other hand, Georgia Southern will test the Cougars' secondary. Houston ranks second-to-last in the Big 12 in pass defense, while the Eagles are fourth in the Sun Belt Conference in passing yards per game.
This game could resemble the blowout in the Southern game in Week 2 or a close game in the Oregon State game in Week 1. Either Houston relies on the run game that has been working in all three games this season or leans more on the passing game.
If the Cougars take care of business, they can start conference play against UCF 3-1 with momentum. They could also leave Statesboro with the football program's first regular-season win in Georgia in 52 years.
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Micah Clay is a staff writer for the Houston Cougars on SI. He is currently a freshman at the University of Houston and majoring in Sports Administration. He also works for The Cougar organization. You can find Clay on his Instagram(@mcjosh_btw_podcast)