The Good, Bad and Ugly of Houston's Win Over Georgia Southern

Once the AP Top 25 is released, it might be fair to say that some teams could threaten the No. 25 Houston Cougars after their not-so-impressive 42-28 win against the Georgia Southern Eagles.

Here's the good, the bad, and the ugly in the Cougars 14-point triumph:

The Good: The Offense Continues to Flex

Houston's Conner Weigman gestures at the line of scrimmage against Texas Tech during a Big 12 Conference football game, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, at Galaxy Stadium. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Quarterback Conner Weigman went 17/22 for 239 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. The Cougars also ran the ball effectively: Re'Shaun Sanford went 120 yards on 17 carries, Makhi Hughes went 70 yards on 16 carries, and Weigman added 14 yards on six carries, including two touchdowns.

Houston totaled 441 yards of offense, went 8/9 on 3rd down, and did not turn the ball over once. Among the players in the receiving corps who impressed was the Oregon State transfer Trent Walker, who totaled 83 receiving yards on six receptions, by far the best game he's had in Houston after compiling over 1700 receiving yards over the last two seasons before arriving in Houston.

Patrick Overmyer also looked good, catching three passes for 68 yards. The tight end was tasked with replacing the production of NFL draft pick Tanner Koziol (drafted in the 5th round) and has so far caught 19 passes for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Overall, the offense has continued to do well, which is nice to see for the Cougars going forward.

The Bad: Another Failure to Run Away With the Momentum of the Game

Houston went up 10-0 against the No. 11 Texas Tech Red Raiders last week and even had a chance to go by three scores before its momentum died. Unfortunately, on Saturday, the Cougars once again jumped out to an early 14-0 lead - only to allow 14 unanswered.

Houston responded well with 21 unanswered points, putting any worries about an upset to bed, but it would've liked to finish with a better score than 42-28. Going up by 14 early against a 17.5-point underdog is something they have to take advantage of more. Great teams with good execution would've had the Eagles down and out.

Expecting to blow a team out every time you're favored to win by three scores or more may be unreasonable - but not for a ranked team that has high hopes for 2026. Moving forward, especially against talented opponents, the Cougars have to capitalize on hot starts. Something they now haven't done twice this season.

The Ugly: What Happened to the Secondary Again?

With how much the secondary is struggling, it's fair to say this is really ugly. Coming into this game, the Cougars had already struggled to stop Oregon State's Braden Atkinson and Texas Tech's Will Hammond. So it was clear that the secondary needed a nice bounce-back game.

Unfortunately, quarterback Max Johnson still went 26/38 for 285 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Allowing Atkinson to throw for 376 passing yards and now Johnson for nearly 300 is extremely ugly to see, especially since neither team is even a Power Four opponent.

Houston's back end has talent, but it hasn't shown up yet. These numbers aren't the end of the world for the Cougars, but allowing this many passing yards puts way too much pressure on Weigman and the offense.

Houston Cougars defensive back Javion White | @uhcougarfb/Houston Athletics

Simply put, if the secondary can't get its act together, some games don't look like they'll end in Houston's favor in the future. The Cougars have played only four weeks of football so far, but this pass defense hasn't shown many good signs.

Of course, it's nice to see Houston come away with a win at the end of this game. And it's also great to see the offense hasn't slowed down at all through weeks of the season. But as has been said before, "a nation divided against itself cannot stand."

This quote can apply to a team also. A team that has a good offense and a terrible defense won't stand the test of time in the Big 12. If this team can control the game's momentum and defend the pass moving forward, that will be huge for the 2026 season.

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