What Houston Must Clean Up Before Georgia Southern

This Saturday, Houston faces Georgia Southern. After an unfortunate loss on the road against Texas Tech, the Cougars must clean up some critical things before taking on the Eagles.

Houston Cougars QB Conner Weigman hands the ball to RB Makhi Hughes in the first half against Texas Tech at Galaxy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After a crushing loss to the No. 11 Texas Tech Red Raiders, the No. 25 Houston Cougars have a lot to work on.

Houston committed mistakes and didn't look good in some facets of the game. The Cougars need to clean things up a bit before they take on the Georgia Southern Eagles.

The Secondary

The secondary has been awful so far this season, allowing 376 passing yards against Braden Atkinson of the Oregon State Beavers in Week 1 and then 257 passing yards against Will Hammond on Friday. So far in 2026, Houston stands as the second-worst pass defense in the Big 12, allowing 253.3 yards per game, funnily enough, behind only Texas Tech.

These numbers might not seem terrible, but with only six sacks and a Week 2 matchup against an FCS team, Houston's pass defense has been a big problem. This was especially true on 3rd down and long.

Texas Tech converted on a 3rd & 12, 3rd & 10, 3rd & 8, and a 3rd & 18. If Houston wants to win a football game, then this can't occur. Allowing a team to convert four times on distances of eight yards or more will almost certainly lead to a loss, at least against a ranked opponent. Worse, Houston knew Texas Tech would pass the ball on those downs.

Houston Cougars defensive back Jalen Mayo | Jalen Mayo on IG: @jalenmayo__

Houston has the talent in the back end with guys like CB Will James and CB Jalen Mayo. But so far, the team hasn't used that talent well.

The secondary needs to be a focus for Houston after the Texas Tech game. Georgia Southern doesn't have much of a chance against the Cougars, but they know how weak the pass defense has been. Exploiting this weakness would be smart for Georgia Southern, so Houston has to be ready.

The Pass Rush

That said, with only six sacks so far, Houston needs more sacks and a better pass rush.

Against the Red Raiders, Will Hammond was sacked only once. He had plenty of time to dissect the Houston defense, and he did well. The number of sacks Houston has so far isn't terrible, but it isn't good.

And sometimes, it's not even about getting a sack - it's about disruption and putting pressure on the opposing QB. The defensive line has done well in stopping the run so far, as the Cougars remain the best run defense in the Big 12.

But the defensive lineman with the most sacks is Ashton Porter, with just one. The only other defensive lineman with a sack is Khalil Laufau, with 0.5 sacks. The lack of sacks on the D-line and from edge rushers has been concerning.

To help the secondary and create more chaos against opposing offenses, the pass rush needs to improve, and so do the edge rushers, who are critical to it.

Georgia Southern has allowed only five sacks so far, but Houston presents their biggest challenge this season. This problem must be cleaned up soon, or the road ahead will get rough for the Cougars.

Execution

Houston needs to have better execution moving forward. Against Texas Tech, Houston jumped out to a 10-0 lead. The Cougars even had a chance to really beat down the Red Raiders with the ball on the 48-yard line of their own, but Will Fritz decided to punt on a 4th & 2.

The Red Raiders then scored a touchdown to make it 10-7. Conner Weigman and Houston got up to the Red Raiders' 35-yard line before a fumble by Weigman ended the threat.

From that point on, the momentum seemed to favor the Red Raiders, who went on to outscore Houston 21-16 to win the game.

Houston also took a 26-7 lead over Oregon State, scoring 26 unanswered points after the Beavers took a 7-0 lead. But the Beavers crawled back into the game before Houston put them away with a late touchdown and won 33-20. Expecting Houston to beat down their opponents may sound unreasonable, but they can't let opponents come back after they've built so much momentum.

Heading into this matchup against the Eagles, if Houston builds momentum and takes a big lead, they need to run with it rather than letting the other team respond. Good execution would've led to a good-looking win on Friday night.

As with any loss, there's a lot to criticize. However, these three issues were the main reasons behind Houston's heartbreaking loss in Lubbock. Georgia Southern shouldn't pose a major threat, but the Cougars need to improve in these areas before taking on the Eagles.