No. 17 Houston had to grind through a messy one Saturday night, but the Cougars still walked out of TDECU Stadium with a 31-24 win over Cincinnati.
The result pushed Houston to 7-2 overall and 4-2 in the Big 12. Cincinnati dropped to 5-4 and 2-4 in conference play. It also gave the Cougars a breakthrough against the Bearcats, who had not been beaten by Houston since 2016 and had not lost in Houston since 2015.
The opening stretch looked like exactly what Houston wanted after nearly two weeks away following the loss at Utah. The Cougars came out sharp on offense and needed just two possessions to top what they had produced in Week 8.
Houston’s first drive covered 72 yards in 12 plays and ate up almost six minutes. The Cougars kept it alive with a fourth-and-one call from their own 39-yard line, and redshirt junior running back Re’Shaun Sanford II converted it. From there, Weigman found senior wide receiver Amare Thomas for an eight-yard touchdown, with Thomas making a sliding catch to finish it off.
The defense then forced a quick three-and-out, and Houston wasted no time striking again. Thomas turned a short outlet pass into a 31-yard touchdown after breaking a tackle, and the Cougars were rolling early.
Cincinnati, though, settled in during the second quarter and started landing some punches. Houston’s defense gave up important third- and fourth-down conversions, and a holding penalty on second-and-goal kept the Bearcats from reaching the end zone on that sequence. Instead, Cincinnati settled for a 28-yard field goal.
JC French also made plays with his legs, and junior running back Cole Tabb caught a 17-yard touchdown to help Cincinnati climb back into it.
Houston’s offense was not at full strength, and the absence of redshirt junior Patrick Overmyer showed up. The top tight end in the country, as the source described him, was a major factor in the first half, when he led the Cougars with four catches for 66 yards.
Cincinnati controlled time of possession, which limited Houston’s chances after halftime. The Cougars’ first two possessions of the second half produced only three points. Both drives crossed into Cincinnati territory, and Houston even reached the 17-yard line on one of them, but that still only led to a 28-yard field goal before a punt.
The fourth quarter brought the biggest swings. When Cincinnati tied the game at 24, Houston finally got the ball back in the period and answered fast. On just its third play of the possession, Re’Shaun Sanford ripped off a 51-yard touchdown to put the Cougars back in front.
Then came the final blow. French threw a backwards pass that Houston recovered on Cincinnati’s last drive, and that turnover effectively sealed it. Hughes then helped close things out by picking up two first downs.
In Other News...
Colorado Gets A Brutal Reality Check Ahead Of Ranked Houston
Colorado heads into Saturdays matchup with No. 17 Houston trying to steady itself after a loss to Arizona State, and the betting market has not exactly been kind to the Buffaloes. At Folsom Field, the Cougars arrive as the more proven side, carrying the rankings edge and the kind of profile that usually makes a road favorite feel comfortable even in a tricky setting.
For Houston, this is the sort of game that can reinforce its standing if it handles business away from home, while Colorado is looking for a response that would change the tone around its season in a hurry. The matchup brings together two teams with enough offensive intrigue to make it worth watching, but the spread also says plenty about how the oddsmakers see the gap right now. [Read more 🡒]