Houston Cougars Stock Watch After Week 11: Who's Up & Who's Down?
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The Houston Cougars got back in the win column after a disastrous performance against the West Virginia Mountaineers, which had the Coogs pick up their second loss of the season.
This past weekend, the Cougars went out on the road to regain some momentum, defeating the UCF Knights narrowly 30-27.
Some players are improving, while others have taken a back seat. Here's a look at a couple of Cougars whose stocks are trending upwards or downwards. After Houston's close victory over the Knights, the Coogs will get a week off, with their second bye week of the season, before they clash with the TCU Horned Frogs at TDECU Stadium, for the Cougars' second-to-last game of the season on Nov. 22.
Trending Up
Amare Thomas, WR
Junior wide receiver Amare Thomas continues to prove himself as one of the standout additions to the Coogs out of the transfer portal and has established himself as the top offensive weapon in the passing game for the Cougars.
The wideout had another great outing against the Knights on Friday, finishing the matchup with five receptions for 103 yards and a touchdown, remaining a big play target averaging over 20 yards per reception. On the season, Thomas is the Coogs' leading receiver with 45 catches for 737 yards, which is second most in the Big 12 and eight touchdowns.
Cougars Secondary
In a game in which the Cougars lost the turnover battle, giving the ball away four times, to the Knights two, the two takeaways that the Houston secondary was able to force became pivotal actions in the ballgame.
The Cougars picked off UCF quarterback Tayven Jackson twice on Friday night. The first came midway through the second quarter as defending back Latreveon McCutchin intercepted a pass and returned all the way to the house for a 45-yard pick-six. The second was the dagger, as UCF looked for the win late in the fourth quarter, stepping up was defensive back Kentrell Webb, who intercepted Jackson's pass in the end zone to seal the victory for Houston.
Trending Down
Conner Weigman, QB
While statistically, it was a good day for the quarterback Conner Weigman, going 20 of 31 passing for 223 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 82 yards on 22 carries. It was a difficult day for Weigman in protecting the football.
As Weigman threw three interceptions on the night and one directly added points for the Knights with a UCF defender returning one interception for a touchdown. This now makes back-to-back weeks with multiple interceptions thrown by Weigman and five interceptions in a span of two games, as last week the quarterback threw two.
