Houston Cougars Down 25-11 at Halftime vs No.11 Texas Tech

With multiple turnovers in the first half, the Cougars have looked like a completely different team against the Red Raiders.

Oct 4, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Cougars quarterback Conner Weigman (1) warm up before playing against Texas Tech Red Raiders at TDECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images | Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

In a battle that appeared to be between Big 12 titans, the Houston Cougars entered Saturday's game as two-score underdogs against No.11 Texas Tech. While Houston didn't expect the conference matchup to be a walk in the park, Coog Nation likely couldn't have imagined a worse start.

Early in the game, Houston's defense held strong on multiple occasions, as the Cougars forced the Red Raiders to settle for field goals on three consecutive drives. Behren Morton and the Texas Tech offense began two of their first three drives with decent field position across the 50-yard line.

Texas Tech finally found the endzone late in the first quarter with a 69-yard passing touchdown caught by Cameron Dickey. The Red Raiders continued to pour it on early in the second quarter as J'Koby Williams crossed the goal line on a 5-yard rushing touchdown. Another field goal at the two-minute warning gave Texas Tech a 25-3 lead. Zeon Chriss took over at the quarterback position late in the second quarter and quickly gave Coog Nation life with a 64-yard passing touchdown.

Slow Starts Offensively Remain a Glaring Issue for the Cougars

Oct 4, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Cougars head coach Willie Fritz talks to an official about a call while playing against the Texas Tech Raiders in the first half at TDECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images | Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

The Cougars struggling on offense isn't a new trend that's suddenly shown up. Throughout the season, the Cougars have dominated the later quarters of the game. Against Oregon State, the Cougars only managed to figure things out shortly before halftime, resulting in Slade Nagle's offense quickly scoring 10 points.

Against the Red Raiders, the Houston offense was quickly playing from behind due to early turnovers. On Houston's first drive of the night, a sideways pass intended for Dean Connors resulted in a fumble inside the Houston 20-yard line. Things got even worse for Coach Fritz's offense when Connor Weigman was picked off by the star linebacker for the Red Raiders, Jacob Rodriguez.

With 1:37 left in the first half, the Houston coaching staff made an unexpected change at quarterback as they went with Zeon Chriss to play the remainder of the second quarter. As it turned out, Weigman was sidelined with an upper-body injury, resulting in the change at QB.

Chriss quickly found Amare Thomas for Houston's biggest play of the day for a 64-yard receiving touchdown. The Cougars were successful in a two-point conversion attempt to cut the Texas Tech lead to 14.

Weigman ended his day completing 5 of 12 passes while only rushing for seven yards on six attempts. If the Houston coaching staff goes with Chriss moving forward, the Cougars' offensive scheme could change greatly.

It will take more than just a change at quarterback for the Cougars to get back into this conference matchup. While Chriss and Thomas connecting for the touchdown inspires confidence in Houston's ability to move the ball from here on out, the Cougar defense has been playing on its back foot for 30 minutes.