Houston Cougars Senior Ends Season With Exclamation Point in Texas Bowl
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For the first time since 2021, the Houston Cougars ended a season with a double-digit number in the win column as the Coogs wrapped up their much-improved 2025 season with a 10-3 record after defeating the LSU Tigers in a high-scoring affair 38-35 in the Kinder Texas Bowl on Saturday night.
The Cougars received a huge performance from multiple key pieces of the offense, with the biggest contribution coming from starting quarterback Conner Weigman, who passed for 236 yards and four touchdowns without an interception.
Elsewhere, it was the usual big games from the Cougars' top two pass catchers in tight end Tanner Koziol and wide receiver Amare Thomas, with the pair combining for 16 catches, 142 yards, and three touchdowns. However, it was the fourth key piece of the Cougars' offense that was able to cap off his collegiate career with one of his best performances of the season.
Dean Connors Caps Off College Career with a Bang
That final important piece of the Cougars' offense was senior running back Dean Connors, who, in his final college football game, put together one of his biggest performances and played a key role in aiding the Coogs to the bowl game victory over the Tigers.
Against an LSU defense that, entering the matchup, held the seventh-best rush defense in the SEC, minimizing opponents to 117 yards per game and under four yards per carry. Taking on that defense, Connors rushed for 126 yards on 16 carries, averaging nearly eight yards per carry and a touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
Connors would make game-changing plays throughout the night, with one of the biggest being a big 35-yard run midway through the third quarter, the longest rush for Connors in the ballgame, that set up the Cougars offense on the Tigers' four-yard line. Houston would score a touchdown just a few plays later.
Adding the final touches to Connor's performance was a 20-yard run down the heart of the LSU defense, with the touchdown coming with a little over two minutes left in the fourth quarter. While the Tigers were able to come within three points in the end, Connors' touchdown run undoubtedly helped seal the bowl game win for the Cougars.
The running back ended his collegiate career after spending his first three seasons with the Rice Owls, and Connors stayed in the city of Houston, transferring to the Cougars before the start of the 2025 season. The move proved to be well worth it for Connors as he finished the season with 977 rushing yards and six touchdowns on the ground.
