The Houston Cougars Offense is Elite in This Category
The Houston Cougars football (7-1) are now ranked in the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2022 after a huge upset win on the road over then-No. 24 Arizona State 24-16. Houston is now no. 22 in the country and is coming off its first road win over a ranked opponent since 2017.
Here is how the UH offense has been efficient this year.
Elite in the Red Zone
On offense, the Cougars have been nearly perfect in the red zone, converting 92.6% of its trips inside the 20-yard line, the 21st-best rate in the country. This mark also stands third in the Big 12.
“We talk all the time about four-point plays, touchdowns instead of field goals,” head coach Willie Fritz said.
The red zone offense is a big focus for this program. A lot of the key points that Fritz preached about when initially joining Houston are coming to fruition.
The Cougars went 4/5 inside the 20-yard line against Arizona State; however, they took a knee in the red zone to run out the clock on their final possession. In their four drives that mattered, Houston came away with touchdowns on three out of the four. Houston’s red zone scoring rate was 96.1% with the final possession off the ledger.
After setting up the first and goal at the two-yard line on the opening drive, a false start moved them back to the seven-yard line. Senior running back Dean Connors was stuffed for a loss of five yards, which eventually forced a 3rd and 8. Redshirt junior quarterback Conner Weigman was unable to find senior tight end Tanner Koziol for the opening score.
While the Cougars love to go to their reliable kicker in senior Ethan Sanchez, who has already won two Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week awards, they would like to punch it in for six every time they are set up at the one. Sanchez drilled the 26-yard field goal to come away with points on the first drive.
Fritz mentioned that sequence of events in the postgame press conference but was pleased that when the offense needed to score, they did so.
Successful Red Zone Trips
Houston came away with touchdowns on their next three possessions that went into the red zone. Later in the first quarter, UH faced third and goal from the one. Weigman tried a quarterback sneak and lost control of the ball.
However, there was an offside and unsportsmanlike conduct that gave Houston new life. Weigman was then able to get it in. He did that again later in the third quarter on a sneak from the one. The former five-star product out of Cypress, Texas, truly gives the Cougars an edge in the red zone with his elite dual-threat abilities. It keeps opposing defenses honest and can present creative options for offensive coordinator Slade Nagle.
Another reason why Houston can be elite in the red zone is because of Koziol. With his 6-foot-7 frame, he can go up and snag those high passes. Weigman knows that, and targeted him in the end zone multiple times. In the third quarter, Koziol pulled down a seven-yard TD pass from Weigman.
Arizona State is the fourth-best red zone defense in the Big 12, and the Cougars clearly won this battle at Tempe.
Maanav Gupta is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He graduated from the University of Houston in the summer of 2025 with his bachelor’s in journalism and a minor in Spanish. Gupta spent three years at the student newspaper, The Daily Cougar, and also covered the 2025 Final Four and National Championship as Houston beat writer for College Basketball Review. He also has his own YouTube channel, Maanav’s Sports Talk, where he has interviewed professional athletes and broadcasters like Jim Nantz, Jose Altuve, J.J. Watt, Rich Eisen, and Alperen Sengun. Gupta was also a contributor to the Houston athletic program as a student. You can find Gupta on X, Instagram and TikTok @MGSportsTalk.