Why Conner Weigman Remains Underrated Among College Quarterbacks
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With a walk-off 31-28 win over the Arizona Wildcats, the Houston Cougars moved to 6-1 on the season and 3-1 in Big 12 conference play. In only his second year with the football program, the Cougars have achieved bowl eligibility in the first eight weeks of the college football season.
Conner Weigman and the Houston offense shined in the win by keeping up with, and eventually surpassing, a talented Arizona team. With 4:48 remaining in the game, the Cougars put together a methodical 13-play drive that set Ethan Sanchez up for a last-second field goal that ended the game.
While the Houston defense made their mark on the game by containing a lethal Arizona passing attack, it was Weigman's ability running the football that put Houston in a position to find their sixth win of the season.
A Gritty Performance in the Ground Game
Against the Arizona defense, Weigman completed 15 of 23 passes for 164 yards and three touchdowns. While the junior didn't necessarily need to air the ball out for four quarters, Weigman made accurate throws when Houston's offense needed him to. Amare Thomas shined once again in the receiving game as he tallied two touchdown catches against the Arizona secondary.
But it wasn't Weigman's arm that stood out against Arizona on Saturday. It was his ability to be a running quarterback. The Texas A&M transfer had 14 rushing attempts on the day for 98 yards and a rushing touchdown.
Houston QBs since 1996 single-game lines of:
— Houston Athletics Communications (@UHCougarPR) October 18, 2025
♦️ 3+ passing TD
♦️1+ rushing TD
♦️95+ rushing yards
♦️0 INT
Conner Weigman (2025)
Kevin Kolb (2003) pic.twitter.com/Qnsn1nmNLk
His performance also marked the first time since 1996 — when Kevin Kolb was under center — that a Houston quarterback threw three passing touchdowns, rushed for a touchdown, and accumulated 95+ total rushing yards in a single game.
The junior's lone rushing touchdown came with 5:59 left to play in the first half. On a quarterback draw play from the 10-yard line, Weigman quickly made his way towards the sideline for Houston's second touchdown of the day.
LET HIM COOK 😤 pic.twitter.com/Fofonwp0hT
— Houston Football (@UHCougarFB) October 18, 2025
With Houston looking to take the lead heading into halftime, Weigman put together his longest rush of the day with a 28-yard run into Arizona territory. The quarterback later connected with Tanner Koziol in the endzone to go up 21-14 with very little time remaining in the first half.
The Cougars are Forming an Identity
With an embarrassing loss to Texas Tech earlier in the season, the Cougar fans everywhere were left wondering if Coach Willie Fritz's team was the real deal.
With Weigman and the Houston offense now firing on all cylinders, Coog Nation may have gotten their answer with Saturday's performance against Arizona. While the Cougars dominated Oklahoma State with a stellar passing game last week, Slade Nagle's offense showed that Houston is still a run-first offense.
Along with Weigman, Dean Connors also had success on the ground with 100 total rushing yards on 20 carries. Together, the two playmakers totaled over 85% of Houston's 232 yards on the ground.
During his postgame press conference, Weigman shed light on how Coach Fritz keeps the team mentally strong on a weekly basis.
"Coach Fritz always says each week is its own season, and we treat it as such," Weigman said. "Just go 1-0 each and every week. Being 6-1, that's awesome, but we're only seven games into the season we got five more to go. We're not done yet. We're 6-1 let's keep going and build off this and keep getting better."
For Coog Nation, the quarterback's remarks are exactly what you want to hear after a big win in conference play. If Houston can keep their week-to-week mentality and continue getting better offensively, the sky may be the limit on what this team can achieve during the 2025 season.
