No. 14 Houston walked into Boulder with its playoff hopes still alive and walked out with the season suddenly looking a lot shakier after a stunning 42-32 loss to Colorado on late Friday night.
For a while, it looked like the Cougars had this one under control. Houston led 20-7 in the second quarter with 2:36 left, but everything unraveled from there.
Colorado ripped off 28 straight points, turned a game Houston had firmly in hand into a 21-20 halftime deficit, and never let the Cougars settle back in. Houston’s offense went silent in the third quarter, and the whole night spiraled fast.
The biggest damage came on the ground. Colorado entered the game as one of the Big 12’s weakest rushing teams, but Houston made the Buffaloes look unstoppable.
The Cougars gave up 249 rushing yards, nearly twice what Colorado normally produces on the ground. The Buffs’ 42 points were already their highest total of the season, but the way they got there was even worse for Houston.
Richard Young opened the floodgates with a 38-yard rushing touchdown. DeKalon Taylor followed with a 67-yard scoring run, and JaQuail Smith added another big one on the ground. Colorado kept finding space, and each back had a shot to break loose in the first half.
The big plays didn’t stop there. In the third quarter, junior receiver Joseph Williams got behind the defense for a 53-yard touchdown catch, and true freshman quarterback Kaneal Sweetwyne added a 14-yard rushing touchdown with nobody around him.
Houston’s tackling issues showed up again, along with bad angles and a defense that couldn’t get off the field. Colorado went 10-for-14 on third down, Houston finished without a sack, and the Buffaloes averaged almost 13 yards per completion.
The Cougars didn’t do themselves any favors on offense, either. They scored only 12 points in the second half, and none in the third quarter.
Their final touchdown came in garbage time. Right before halftime, Houston failed to convert a short third-and-3, and that gave Colorado another chance to keep the pressure on.
Quarterback Conner Weigman also had a costly turnover late in the third quarter when he threw an interception on a late ball to the sideline. It was the first interception of the season that was actually his fault.
The start of the second half was especially rough. Houston’s defense opened with a key interception, which should have swung momentum back its way.
Instead, the Cougars handed it right back when Weigman was sacked by a free rusher and fumbled. Those two turnovers were huge.
It looked like there was an open pass available, but the offense didn’t recognize the blitz in time.
Now Houston has plenty to sort through after a potential CFP season took a major hit, and West Virginia is next on the road.
In Other News...
Houston Fans Wont Like What Deion Sanders Emphasized After This Loss
Houstons unbeaten momentum took a hit when Colorado stormed back from a 20-7 deficit to beat the No. 14 Cougars 42-26, a result that left plenty of frustration behind for a team that had been in control early. The loss stings on its own, but it also came against a Buffaloes group that has spent much of the season trying to find its footing and still managed to turn the game around with a composed second half.
Deion Sanders made sure to spotlight exactly that afterward, praising Colorados resilience and the balance it showed in the win. For Houston fans, that kind of postgame emphasis only adds to the annoyance, because it frames the Cougars not just as a team that got upset, but as one that let a winnable game slip away to a squad still chasing the two victories it needs to stay bowl-eligible. [Read more 🡒]
Houston Playoff Hopes Crashed In A Loss Cougars Fans Must Process
Houstons playoff path came to a hard stop in Boulder, where the No. 14 Cougars fell 42-32 to Colorado in a game that swung sharply after halftime. Houston had the kind of lead that can travel well in November, but Colorado kept landing explosive plays and turned the afternoon into a track meet the Cougars could not control.
The loss ended Houstons playoff hopes and left the Cougars to absorb a result built on momentum shifts and long touchdowns. Colorado, meanwhile, celebrated its first double-digit victory of the season with a field storm from the home crowd, a fitting finish to a game that kept changing shape until the final minutes. [Read more 🡒]
Houston Let Colorado's QB Scare Turn Into Something Worse
Isaac Wilson briefly left Saturdays game in the third quarter, and for a moment it looked like Houston might have caught a break against Colorados offense. Instead, the Buffaloes kept rolling, with true freshman Kaneal Sweetwyne stepping in and immediately making an impact by scoring a touchdown on his first carry before Wilson returned early in the fourth quarter.
For Houston, the bigger concern was not just the upset loss to No. 14 Colorado, but the way a short injury scare turned into another layer of trouble in a 42-32 defeat. Colorados win pushed the Buffaloes closer to bowl eligibility, while the Cougars were left to sort through another frustrating outcome in a game where the momentum never fully swung back their way. [Read more 🡒]