Houston quarterback Conner Weigman is getting a national spotlight at just the right time.
ESPN’s midseason list of the top 25 performances in college football puts Weigman at No. 19 overall, making him the highest-ranked Big 12 quarterback on the board. BYU sophomore Bear Bachmeier also made the cut, landing at No. 21.
The ranking was put together by ESPN college football experts Bill Connelly, David Hale, Max Olson, Adam Rittenberg and Paolo Uggetti as a way to measure the best players in the country through Week 8. That timing lines up with a heavyweight Big 12 showdown Saturday night, when No.
14 Houston visits No. 10 Utah in a primetime matchup tied to College GameDay’s second straight weekend in the Beehive State.
Utah coach Morgan Scalley had plenty of respect for Weigman when he appeared on the Pat McAfee Show.
"Conner Weigman will be the best quarterback that we've played this season & I love how competitive he is..
I love how competitive our guys are & we've faced great quarterbacks before..
We're fired up & this place is gonna be absolutely rocking on Saturday night" ~ @RSNBUtes … pic.twitter.com/d8Ckj5TLdZ
- Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 23, 2026
Saturday will also mark the first time Scalley and Houston coach Willie Fritz square off. Scalley previously coached against Fritz’s staff in Utah’s 17-14 road loss in 2024, when Kyle Whittingham was still leading the Utes.
Weigman has become the engine of Houston’s rise, and this weekend brings a serious test against a Utah defense that looks like the toughest the Cougars will see the rest of the way. The former Texas A&M commit has thrown for 1,771 yards with 20 touchdowns and two interceptions, and Houston has only one blemish outside a 28-26 loss at then-No. 13 Texas Tech.
Last week, Weigman delivered his most eye-catching performance yet in Houston’s 395-yard, five-touchdown outing against No. 18 Oklahoma State, a win that gave the Cougars their first top-25 victory of the season. His quietest game came in a 27-17 home win over UCF, when he finished 18 of 33 for 239 yards and took one sack.
The stakes around this one are obvious. Houston-Utah has tickets climbing as high as $108, and the matchup doubles as a measuring stick for Weigman as the Cougars try to push toward the top 15 or top 10.
If Houston keeps rolling, the path ahead could lead to the Big 12 title game and then a playoff berth. Weigman also enters the game ranked top four in QBR at 87.7, while facing Devon Dampier in a matchup with an over/under of 56.5 points.
In Other News...
Willie Fritz Has Houston Fans Thinking Bigger Than A Turnaround
When Willie Fritz arrived in December 2023, Houston fans were mostly looking for stability after a rough stretch. Instead, they got a coach who has steadily raised the programs ceiling, first with a 10-win season and a Texas Bowl victory in 2025 and now with a team that looks built to matter in the Big 12 race. The Cougars have become more than a quick fix under Fritz, with the programs recent climb giving the fan base a reason to think beyond simply getting back on track.
This season has only sharpened that feeling. Houston is in the hunt for a College Football Playoff spot, and the buzz around Fritz has followed him as his reputation has grown well beyond campus. He has already drawn repeated recognition in coach of the year conversations, and the larger question now is no longer whether he can restore the Cougars. It is how far this version of Houston can go before the story shifts from turnaround to something even bigger. [Read more 🡒]
Houston Faces Its Biggest Reality Check Yet At Utah
Houston heads to Utah on Oct. 24 carrying plenty of momentum, but this matchup feels like a genuine measuring stick. The Cougars have won four straight, and Conner Weigman just picked up Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honors after his latest standout outing against Oklahoma State. On the other side, the Utes are still unbeaten at 6-0 and have looked every bit like a team built to make life difficult on anyone visiting Salt Lake City.
Devon Dampier gives Utah a steadying presence at quarterback, which only adds to the pressure on Houston to prove its recent surge is built for more than a friendly run of conference games. The Cougars have been one of the leagues better stories early on, but this is the kind of trip that can clarify where they really stand. A competitive game is expected, and for Houston, the bigger question is whether this winning streak still holds up when the opponent is undefeated and the margin for error shrinks. [Read more 🡒]
Houston Faces Its Biggest Big 12 Test Yet At Utah
Houston heads into Week 8 with a trip to Utah sitting at the center of the Big 12 schedule, and it is the kind of game that can start sorting out the conference race in a hurry. The Cougars have been one of the leagues more intriguing teams, but this matchup in Salt Lake City brings a different level of pressure, with the Utes looming as one of the Big 12s most complete teams and the rest of the weekend offering plenty of ripple effects across the standings.
Beyond the obvious intrigue of Houston-Utah, the broader conference slate adds to the stakes, with BYU visiting UCF in another game that could shape the league picture. For Houston, the challenge is less about the spotlight and more about surviving a road test that could either strengthen its place in the championship conversation or leave it chasing from behind as the Big 12 and College Football Playoff races begin to narrow. [Read more 🡒]