No. 17 Houston heads to Boulder on Friday night looking to keep its Big 12 push moving against a Colorado team that has spent much of the season on the wrong side of the scoreboard.
The Cougars enter at 7-2 overall and 4-2 in conference play, while Colorado sits at 3-6 and 1-5 against Big 12 opponents. Houston’s only real stumble in recent weeks came in Utah, where a four-game winning streak ended. Since then, the Cougars have steadied themselves with a 31-24 home win over Cincinnati coming out of the bye.
Colorado, meanwhile, is trying to recover after a 20-10 loss at Arizona State. That came after the Buffaloes had snapped a five-game losing streak in their previous game.
This matchup also comes with a recent result to lean on. Houston beat Colorado 36-20 in the first meeting between the programs last season.
The biggest reason Houston has the edge again is Connor Weigman. The senior quarterback has been sharp for the Cougars after transferring in before last season, and his numbers tell the story.
He completed 65.2% of his passes for 2,7-5 yards and 25 touchdowns last year, and he has taken another step this season with 2,280 yards, 22 touchdowns and a 66.1% completion rate. Even more important, his interceptions have dropped from nine last year to just two so far this season.
Weigman did have a rough outing at Utah, but he answered with a strong bounce-back performance against Cincinnati. In that 31-24 win, he threw for 227 yards and two touchdowns on 17 of 24 passing and also added a rushing score.
From a betting standpoint, Colorado has been a difficult team to trust. The Buffaloes are 2-7 against the spread, while Houston is 3-6 ATS. Still, the Cougars have shown more over the course of the season, and Colorado has already failed to cash in as a big underdog twice in recent weeks, losing 57-24 at Oklahoma State as a +12.5 underdog and 29-7 at home against Texas Tech as a +13.5 underdog.
Houston has a chance to make a clear statement before the season’s final stretch.
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Colorado Faces A Late-Season Tight End Question That Could Linger
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DeSouza has appeared in games this season, which keeps him in the conversation as Colorado looks for ways to build toward next year while still trying to compete now. The late-season window could offer a chance for more involvement, and for a program trying to sort out its future pieces, his usage is one of those details worth watching over the final games. [Read more 🡒]
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Tad Boyle has pointed to offensive rebounding and foul trouble as the kinds of details that can swing games the wrong way, and those concerns are tied directly to Colorados defensive consistency and work on the glass. The frontcourt has to hold up better, and the team has to manage fouls more cleanly if it wants to avoid turning winnable nights into tighter battles than necessary. For a team trying to build momentum, those are the kinds of problems that can become costly in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]
Colorado Womens Soccer Has A Painful Chance To Echo History
Colorado womens soccer has been here before, with a season good enough to stir memories of 2006, when the Buffaloes pushed into their first NCAA Sweet 16. That run was built on timely goals and a team that kept finding ways to survive in the postseason, with Nikki Marshall delivering some of the biggest moments along the way. Two decades later, this years group has put together a strong case of its own, carrying a 15-4-2 record into the NCAA Tournament selection process.
Hope Leyba has been the face of much of that progress, adding another milestone to a career that has already left a mark on the programs record book. Now the question is whether this team can turn a promising season into something that echoes the standard set in 2006, or whether the latest postseason setback becomes the moment that keeps the comparison just short of complete. [Read more 🡒]