The Good, Bad and Ugly of Houston Cougars’ Crushing Loss vs Texas Tech

Houston Cougars football gets sent back to reality Saturday night at TDECU Stadium as UH (4-1) suffered a blowout loss to No. 11 Texas Tech (5-0) 35-11, where almost nothing went right. Tech looks like the class of the Big 12; meanwhile, Houston’s four-game win streak to start the season comes to an end.

Here’s the good, bad, and ugly of this one-sided affair.

The Good: Late First Half Momentum Run

houston football — Oct 4, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Cougars quarterback Zeon Chriss (2) passes against Texas Tech Red Raiders defensive end Romello Height (9) in the second half at TDECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images | Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

There was really not much good at all for Houston in this game. The Texas Tech matchup is likely to be their toughest all year, and there were not many positives to look at. However, the Cougars did have a little stretch where things were going their way.

Right when it was beginning to get ugly on the scoreboard as Tech was up 25-3 over Houston, the Cougars finally had a response. There was a lot not going their way, as junior starting quarterback Conner Weigman had just gone into the locker room with an upper-body injury.

Junior backup quarterback Zeon Chriss-Gremillion entered with 1:53 to go in the first half, and honestly, not much was expected. Instead, Chriss gave the Cougars' offense a spark with his shifty running and elusiveness that the Texas Tech defense didn’t anticipate.

After a rush up the middle for 11 yards, Chriss threw a pass over the middle to junior wide receiver Amare Thomas, who broke away from this lone defender and went 64 yards to the house for what was Houston’s only touchdown of the game.

Suddenly, TDECU Stadium’s Cougar fans came to life. UH went for the two-point conversion, and it was successful, as Chriss found senior wide receiver Stephon Johnson high in the middle of the end zone. The score was now cut down to 25-11, and momentum shifted.

Even though the Red Raiders went right down the field in the ensuing possession for 56 yards in nine plays that took up a minute and a half, they missed a field goal from 44 yards out. Now, the overall feel was that the Cougars were riding into the half with momentum on their side; however, it was short-lived. The second quarter was the only part of the game that was competitive, with a 10-8 Tech advantage. Houston had over 100 total yards in that period.

Additionally, the red zone defense was another positive from this game. The Cougars' defense did a solid job of preventing touchdowns against one of the top defenses in the country. It could’ve gotten out of hand quickly in the first quarter, but Houston limited Tech to three field goals once they reached the red zone. When there wasn’t a short field for the Red Raiders, UH’s defense stopped touchdowns and held up in that part of the field.

The Bad: Houston’s Running Game

The Cougars, as expected, faced difficulty in trying to establish a ground rushing attack against the vaunted defensive line of Texas Tech. Houston only had 103 total rush yards, and most of that came from Chriss’ scrambles (seven attempts for 59 yards). Besides that, senior running back Dean Connors had 13 carries for 31 yards for an average of 2.4 yards per carry.

This was one of the reasons why Houston’s defense was not as effective in the second half. UH’s low time of possession of just 22 minutes compared to the Red Raiders’ 38 minutes tired out the defense.

The offensive line was no match for Texas Tech throughout the game. Weigman dealt with pressure during his time under center and was not able to set his feet properly on a lot of throws. In the second half, Chriss consistently had to get out of the pocket to try and make something happen. Tech had six tackles for losses.

The Ugly: Early Turnovers

Houston had an absolutely abysmal start on offense. On the very first offensive play of the game, Weigman threw a lateral pass intended for Connors that was not secured, and Texas Tech recovered.

After the defense had just gotten a big stop on the opening drive, this was a massive letdown. UH’s defense was able to somehow step up again and force a field goal, but it was an unnecessary three points that were added.

The bad start continued on offense with senior tight end Tanner Koziol unable to hold onto a third-and-two pass that would’ve gotten them the first down. In order for Houston to win, they needed the offense to help out the defense, but it did not happen. While Austin Armstrong’s unit did give a 69-yard touchdown from senior quarterback Behren Morton to sophomore running back Cameron Dickey, the blame for the bad start was not on them.

The offensive struggles continued with a bad Weigman interception over the middle to start the second quarter. Tech easily got it in for the touchdown and controlled the game with the 22-3 lead. Weigman really struggled, besides a few plays here and there.

He had one interception, a fumble recovered by UH, and the backwards pass early in this game. Weigman eventually got injured and was out for the rest of the game with an upper-body injury. Head coach Willie Fritz did not have an update on him in the postgame.

Even after the brief momentum swing to end the first half, Chriss struggled as well in the second half. He had a boneheaded interception in the middle of the third quarter, right into double coverage. Nothing happened in the second half offensively as the Cougars were shut out.

UH had a total of three turnovers that cost them 10 points. Losing that battle typically doesn’t bode well for teams, and it really hurt the Cougars on Saturday. Fritz, who preaches about ball security, will be disappointed in that.

The Cougars look to bounce back next Saturday at Oklahoma State (1-4) at 11 a.m. Central on TNT.