Houston Cougars Survive Another Conner Weigman Turnover-Filled Day
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After the Houston Cougars put together a disappointing performance last time out, which gave Houston its second loss of the season, the Coogs needed a win to get back on track. That's exactly what they got out on the road, defeating the UCF Knights 30-27 on Friday night.
The matchup at Acrisure Bounce House, in Orlando, Florida, did not play out as smoothly as the Cougars would've wanted, especially taking on a Knights team that headed into the matchup with a 4-4 record and had just a single win in conference play.
Houston had to battle until the final whistle, with the Knights leading by a touchdown heading into halftime, and then continued to hang out by just a field goal entering the fourth quarter of the ballgame. However, the Coogs managed to battle back, sealing the game with an interception by Kentrell Webb late, but one Cougar in particular found himself struggling throughout the game Friday night.
Weigman Continues Streak of Woes
Cougars quarterback Conner Weigman finished with 309 passing yards and four touchdowns in the loss to West Virginia, but he also tossed two interceptions and lost a fumble that proved to be costly, as Houston ultimately lost last week.
Needing a bounce-back performance this week against UCF, Weigman did not necessarily put together the outing he would've wanted, with the junior completing 21 of his 30 pass attempts for 223 yards. However, the quarterback once again caught himself surrendering a groundswell of turnovers with three total interceptions on the night.
For the second straight game, one of Weigman's turnovers directly contributed to points, with the quarterback's second interception of the night coming in the second quarter and turned into a pick-6 for UCF, extending the Knights' lead as the first half closed.
UCF defensive back Phillip Dunnam had three interceptions in the contest being the first Knights player in program history to record three interceptions in a single game.
Luckily, the Cougars were able to survive this week despite the litany of turnovers from their quarterback, with a key 15-play, 65-yard drive that took off nearly eight minutes off the game clock to set up what would be the game-winning 22-yard field goal by kicker Ethan Sanchez.
The Coogs will be off next week, with their second bye week of the campaign and will return to the field against the TCU Horned Frogs for the second-to-last game of the regular season In which Weigman will have to take much more care of the football if the Coogs wish to end the season strong.
