Houston’s first win of the season came with the kind of polish ranked teams are supposed to show, but also with a warning label attached.
The Cougars handled Oregon State, 33-20, and that was enough to bump them to No. 22 in the new AP Top 25 after opening the preseason poll at No. 23. But the performance also laid out exactly what Houston looks like early on: dangerous on offense, vulnerable on the back end.
The running game gave Houston a steady edge all night. The Cougars piled up 228 rushing yards, with Makhi Hughes and Re'Shaun Sanford II doing the heavy lifting.
Hughes finished with 98 yards, Sanford added 75, and together they powered a backfield that produced 173 yards and two touchdowns. Oregon State simply had no answer for that rotation.
The passing game was just as sharp. Conner Weigman threw for 305 yards, Amare Thomas hauled in 133 yards and a touchdown, and Patrick Overmyer chipped in 84 yards. Koby Young also delivered a 47-yard catch that swung momentum Houston’s way.
Still, the Cougars had a problem that could matter much more as the schedule stiffens: the secondary. Oregon State quarterback Braden Atkinson threw for 376 yards and a touchdown, and there were too many snaps where Houston left receivers open and allowed explosive plays to keep the Beavers in it. The tackling was an issue too, something Willie Fritz pointed to after the game.
"We don't tackle very much during practice, and we didn't do it this camp," Fritz said. "It showed up quite a bit."
That’s the part Houston has to clean up fast. The offense has enough juice to make noise, but against teams with receivers who can separate and punish mistakes, the secondary can’t keep giving away chunks of yardage. That’s especially true with BYU and Texas Tech looming.
For now, Houston sits fourth among Big 12 teams in the AP poll, behind No. 13 Texas Tech, No.
15 BYU and No. 20 Utah.
The league’s other ranked teams - No. 4 Texas, No.
10 Texas A&M and No. 17 SMU - are still a step ahead of the Cougars.
A solid showing against Southern on Sept. 12 could nudge Houston up a spot or two.
In Other News...
Houstons 2027 Class Is Starting To Look Like Another Sampson Reload
Houstons recruiting machine is rolling again, and the early look at the 2027 class already has the feel of another Kelvin Sampson reload. The latest piece is Derek Beau Daniels, a four-star power forward/center whose commitment gives the Cougars another highly regarded frontcourt building block and helps keep the class sitting at No. 1 nationally in 247Sports rankings.
For a program that has turned elite classes into sustained relevance, this is the kind of early momentum that matters. Houston has repeatedly paired top-end recruiting with player development and NBA-level production, and landing another nationally ranked big man only deepens the expectation that the next wave is already taking shape. The more interesting question now is how far the Cougars can push this class before it is finished. [Read more 🡒]
Conner Weigman Gave Houston A Passing Sign Fans Should Notice
Conner Weigmans passing numbers have given Houston a reason to keep paying attention as the season settles in. A look at his recent work shows a quarterback who is not just piling up completions, but doing it with a better adjusted completion percentage and a more aggressive average depth of target than many of the passers who have already faced FBS opponents. For a team trying to find more consistency through the air, that kind of profile matters because it suggests the Cougars are getting more than safe throws and short gains.
The most telling part is how his current season compares to where he was a year ago, with improvements showing up in both his overall passing metrics and specific game performances, including the matchup against Oregon State. Houston does not need a perfect stat line to feel encouraged, but it does need signs that the passing game is trending in the right direction. Weigmans recent work offers one of those signs, even if the fuller picture is still taking shape. [Read more 🡒]
Houston Backfield Suddenly Feels Like One Of This Teams Best Stories
Re'Shaun Sanford IIs comeback has already become one of the more compelling subplots in Houstons backfield. After suffering ACL injuries in both knees in consecutive seasons and missing the 2023 and 2025 seasons, the running back finally got back on the field in the 2026 opener against Oregon State and immediately reminded the Cougars what he can bring, breaking loose for a 56-yard touchdown run.
For a player who had to sit through so much rehabilitation, the return carried real weight beyond one highlight play. Willie Fritz singled out Sanfords positive attitude through the long recovery process, and Houston can now see why that mattered so much, because his presence adds both a feel-good element and another layer to a backfield that suddenly looks like one of the teams better stories. [Read more 🡒]