Houston Stock Report: Who Helped and Hurt Themselves Against UCF
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The No. 20 Houston Cougars won in perhaps one of the strangest games they have played in a while.
The UCF Knights had the Cougars on the ropes on Saturday, up 17-0, before a sudden, quick shift in momentum. Houston scored 27 unanswered to take a 10-point win. Here's whose stock went up and who's went down against the Knights.
Stock Is Going Up For These Guys
Latreveon McCutchin probably gets the game ball in this one. Houston was struggling immensely offensively but was also looking pretty bad defensively as well.
Finally, in the third quarter, Houston put a decent drive together and got on the board, making it 17-7. However, the very next drive was the turning point. Quarterback Keyone Jenkins made a bad decision by letting go of the football, and McCutchin intercepted the pass and returned it to the UCF one-yard line. Boom.
In that moment, it felt like the Cougars couldn't even lose. Houston quickly punched it in and took all the momentum in that game. As the game continued, McCutchin and the Houston defense looked great, as UCF couldn't get anything going. McCutchin's interception and his second-half play can't be overstated in importance.
Patrick Overmyer deserves some recognition as well after another solid game. Overmyer did lose a fumble, but the tight end has continued to show that he can be a huge target for quarterback Conner Weigman. This is the third straight game where he compiled 68 receiving yards or more, with six receptions for 76 yards this time against the Knights.
Safety Kentrell Webb also looked good with eight tackles (all solo) and a pass defended. Houston needed the secondary to step up against UCF. Unfortunately, that really didn't happen in the first half. Once the Cougars got going, though, the secondary looked arguably as good as it has looked all season.
If that pass defense can lock down some other QBs in the future, specifically guys who are starting QBs (which Jenkins wasn't), it remains to be seen. But that showing from the secondary was one of the best things that could've happened to Houston.
The Stock Isn't Looking Great For These Guys
Running Back Makhi Hughes felt like he may have lost the starting job just a bit against Georgia Southern Eagles.
But once again, the former superstar with the Tulane Green Wave, who had back-to-back seasons with over 1,370 rushing yards, got fewer carries and didn't look all that great against UCF. Hughes managed only 27 yards on 10 carries. That marks the third straight game where Hughes averaged 4.7 yards per rush or less.
Re'Shaun Sanford II didn't exactly look great either, with only 62 yards on 18 carries. But that's still better than Hughes's showing, which just wasn't good for what he can do.
It's not time to panic about the star wide receiver Amare Thomas. But Thomas hasn't really looked like himsel in his last four games. Thomas had four games in 2025 with 97 or more receiving yards, and he almost compiled 1,000 receiving yards that season. So far, Thomas has managed only 330 receiving yards on 27 receptions, with four touchdowns.
Those numbers still show that he's been productive, but after Week 1, in which he caught eight passes for 133 yards and a touchdown, Thomas hasn't looked the same. Against the Knights, Thomas caught four passes for only 43 yards.
In the near future, Houston needs to see more from its best receiver. Hopefully a breakout game is coming from Thomas who still is creating some separation and displaying speed.
All in all, Houston can be happy it won. But in the future, Houston will play better teams and won't play a team with a head coach like Scott Frost (who always seemed to find the strangest ways to lose with Nebraska and still at UCF).
Houston visits the 3-1 Kansas State Wildcats next, where they must find a way to play a more consistent game.
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Born in Utah, raised in Nebraska, and now living in the Northeast, Tyler Crum is a lifelong sports fan with a passion for college football, college basketball, Major League Baseball, and hockey. He attends the University of New Hampshire, where he is majoring in history. His work has appeared with Last Word on Sports, Utah on Ice, and Sports Illustrated. When he is not writing or watching sports, Tyler can usually be found reading a book on military history.
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