Houston’s rout of Southern produced a box score that looked more like a video game than a September game.
Conner Weigman needed only 25 snaps to help drive 35 points, and 13 of those snaps ended with a first down. He threw three touchdown passes, and Houston piled up 217 yards with him steering the offense - an eye-popping 8.68 yards per play. Five different players found the end zone with Weigman at the controls: Patrick Overmyer, Re’Shaun Sanford, Makhi Hughes, Amare Thomas and Koby Young.
The Cougars kept the pressure on all night, turning 33 of their 64 plays into first downs. They also completely controlled the ground game, holding Southern to minus-6 rushing yards. That fits the bigger picture for Houston, which now ranks first nationally in rushing defense at 10 yards per game and first in yards allowed per carry at .43.
The game got out of hand quickly. Houston matched the school record for most points in a first quarter with 28, then kept Southern pinned down by owning the ball for 17:17 of the 24 minutes in the second half. Southern managed just 42 plays, which the source notes may be the fewest in the modern era of Houston football, with Southwestern Louisiana running 38 in 1949.
Houston never had to punt, something it has done before, most recently at SMU in 2022. That game also came with a huge scoreboard, though SMU was the one doing the scoring with 77 points, the most ever allowed by Houston and more than the 72 the Cougars gave up to SMU in 2012.
The Cougars were flawless on third down, going 8-for-8. It was the first perfect third-down game in Houston’s 908-game history.
The last time the Cougars went 8-for-8 on third down in any game was in the 100-point outburst against Tulsa, when they finished 8-for-14. Over the last eight games in which Houston has scored 70 points, it has converted 50 of 92 third downs, a 54% clip.
On the season, Houston leads the nation at 71.4% on third down.
There were also some firsts scattered throughout the scoreboard. Four Cougars scored for the first time in college: Koby Young, John Hebert, Keisean Henderson and DJ Butler.
Young and Hebert each scored twice. Three Houston players outscored Southern on their own: Young and Hebert with 12 points apiece, plus kicker Jonathan Dimas with 11.
Seven more UH players matched Southern’s six points.
Looking ahead, Houston and Texas Tech will both be ranked for Friday’s game, making it the first ranked-vs.-ranked regular-season matchup for the Cougars since 2016 against Oklahoma. As a ranked team, Houston is 11-6-3 when the opponent is ranked higher.
In Other News...
Houston Just Showed Why This Team Could Be Different
A lopsided win at TDECU Stadium still offered Houston something more meaningful than the final score. The No. 22 Cougars rolled past Southern 77-6 behind a defense that smothered the Jaguars from start to finish, limiting them to 121 total yards while the offense was flawless on scoring drives and piled up 11 touchdowns.
Young found the end zone, and the freshman presence was hard to miss in the mix as well, with Henderson and Hebert both getting involved in the scoring. For a Houston team trying to establish itself early, the blend of depth, speed and takeaways was the kind of performance that can shape a season, even if there are still parts of the story that will matter more once the competition gets tougher. [Read more 🡒]