No. 22 Houston and No. 13 Texas Tech finally got the matchup that had been sitting on the calendar from the moment the schedule dropped, and Friday night in Lubbock delivered the kind of stage both teams were waiting for: a ranked Big 12 opener on national TV.
It’s one of the biggest conference games of the season, with both teams arriving at 2-0 and the winner set up much better in the early Big 12 race. Houston enters with a narrow edge in the all-time series, 18-17-1, but Texas Tech has controlled the recent history with seven straight wins. The Cougars’ last victory in the series came in 2009, and their last win in Lubbock came all the way back in 1990.
This one also carried a little history with it. It was the first time Houston and Texas Tech met as ranked teams since 1989, when Houston won 40-24. The Cougars have now won the last five ranked matchups between the schools dating back to 1979.
Texas Tech also owns a slight edge in Lubbock, 9-8. Houston went into this game trying to answer for last year’s 35-11 loss to the then-No.
11 Red Raiders and turn the page against a team that had just beaten Oregon State 35-24. The Cougars, meanwhile, came in after a 77-6 rout of Southern.
Houston got the first possession and wasted little time leaning on the ground game. Senior running back Makhi Hughes and senior quarterback Conner Weigman each picked up first downs with their legs, and Weigman also hit senior wide receiver Amare Thomas for another conversion.
The key play of the opening march came on third-and-2, when Hughes turned a short pass from Weigman into a 21-yard gain. The drive ended with redshirt sophomore kicker Jonathan Dimas connecting on a 31-yard field goal.
In Other News...
Houston Proved It Can Hang With Big 12 Heavyweights Despite The Pain
No. 22 Houston came out of Saturday looking like a team that belongs in the Big 12s upper tier, even in defeat. The Cougars pushed No. 13 Texas Tech all the way to the final moments before falling 28-26, a result that dropped Houston to 2-1 but did little to dent the sense that it can line up with the leagues heavyweight programs.
Conner Weigman helped make it a tense finish, guiding a late touchdown drive that gave Houston a real chance to steal the game. The Cougars went for the two-point conversion and came up just short, leaving them with a painful loss and a reminder that the margin against the best in the conference is razor thin. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Tech Exposed A Baylor Problem That Could Decide Two Games
Texas Techs win over Houston offered Baylor a useful preview of what the next stretch in the Big XII could look like, and it started with the Red Raiders ability to create problems all over the floor. Texas Tech showed how hard it can be to stay organized when a team keeps attacking from multiple spots, forcing defenses to sort out matchups while still trying to control the games pace. For Baylor, that means the upcoming meeting is less about one matchup and more about whether the Bears can keep their structure intact long enough to avoid getting dragged into a scramble.
Houston, meanwhile, provided a different kind of warning. Baylors defensive plan against the Cougars will need to put pressure on quarterback Conner Weigman and keep him from settling in, because giving him time only makes the assignment harder. The Bears have the pieces to make both games manageable, but the common thread is clear: defensive intensity cannot dip, and Baylor has to carry it from one opponent to the next if it wants these conference games to break its way. [Read more 🡒]
Houston Let A Statement Win Slip Away At Texas Tech
Houston built the kind of early edge that usually travels well in Big 12 road tests, forcing a pair of interceptions and grabbing control before Texas Tech settled in. For a while, the No. 22 Cougars looked like they were putting together a statement win, one that would have given their fast start even more weight against a ranked opponent.
Instead, the game turned once the Red Raiders found their rhythm and Houston could not get enough stops on pass defense or on third downs to close the door. The Cougars fell 28-26, dropped to 2-1, and now have to regroup quickly with Georgia Southern next on the schedule. [Read more 🡒]