Houston Football Loses Star Quarterback In Blowout Loss To No. 11 Texas Tech
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The Houston Cougars suffered their first loss of the season in a blowout 35-11 loss to Texas Tech at home.
The Red Raiders snapped Houston’s four-game winning streak and showed that Houston still has a lot of areas to improve.
The Cougars fought hard and kept the game close in the first half, until their star quarterback Conner Weigman suffered an upper-body injury and was ruled out for the rest of the ball game.
Texas Tech Game Recap
Houston once again got exposed on the ground, and Texas Tech made them pay for it.
The Red Raiders rushed for 207 total yards, including two touchdowns, and the Cougars had no answer.
Sophomore running backs Cameron Dickey and J’Koby Williams were the catalysts for the Texas Tech offense and caused problems all night for Houston.
Dickey had 16 carries for 67 yards, but also hauled in a 67-yard touchdown reception, which hurt the Cougars' momentum early on.
Williams also rushed for 107 yards and two touchdowns and led all rushers in the game.
Senior quarterback Behren Morton also showed why he is one of the best passers in the country and finished with 345 passing yards and a touchdown.
The veteran quarterback was calm and composed all night long and had another dominant game against the Cougars.
Houston however showed fight early and were in the game for most of the first half.
After allowing three consecutive field goals, Houston answered back with a 43-yard deep ball to freshman wide receiver Koby Young.
The Cougars' drive stalled, and senior kicker Ethan Sanchez drilled a 24-yard field goal to make it a one-possession game.
The Cougars’ running backs struggled against the tough Texas Tech defensive line, and they only accounted for 37 total rushing yards on 15 attempts.
Weigman was grinding out yards and keeping Houston in the game until he took a shot to the upper body and was ruled out for the remainder of the game.
Junior quarterback Zion Chriss filled in and couldn’t have started his Cougar debut any better.
On his first drive, Chriss fired a 64-yard touchdown pass to junior receiver Amare Thomas, and converted the 2-point attempt to cut the lead to 25-11, just a two-possession game.
That was the final bright spot of the night for the Cougars as Texas Tech went on to win 35-11 and hand Houston their first loss of the season.
With the loss, the Cougars are now 4-1 on the season and are 1-1 in conference play.
Next Up
Houston looks to bounce back next week against a 1-4 Oklahoma State team that has struggled all season long.
The Cougars will face the Oklahoma State Cowboys next Saturday, Oct. 11, at 11 a.m., at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla.
Ashton Grissom is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He is currently a senior at the University of Houston and majoring in Sports Media Production with a minor in Marketing and Spanish. He also works for two student organizations: The Cougar and CoogTV. You can find Grissom on his Instagram (@ashtonagrissom8) or Twitter (@ashtongrissom8).