No. 22 Houston didn’t just handle Southern on Saturday.
The Cougars flattened the Jaguars 77-6 at TDECU Stadium, and by the time the second quarter was rolling, the game was already deep into garbage time. Houston was up 28-0 after one quarter, then started cycling through its second and third units before halftime arrived.
A score like that was always going to draw some loud reactions, especially against an FCS opponent. Houston was a 51.5-point favorite and still blew past that number, piling up 11 touchdowns in the win. From that kind of blowout, a few things stand out - and a few deserve to be cooled off a bit.
The biggest buzz surrounded backup quarterback Henderson, the No. 1 overall recruit in this year’s high school class and the top dual-threat quarterback in his recruiting cycle. He showed exactly why people were so high on him with a 54-yard rushing touchdown after scooping up a fumbled snap and turning it into a sprint to the end zone. The burst, the cutback ability, the acceleration - it was all there.
That doesn’t mean his role has to stay limited to being the quarterback of the future. Houston could use that kind of explosiveness right now.
His 6-foot-5, 195-pound frame gives the Cougars another option in short yardage, and it could take some pressure off senior quarterback Conner Weigman in the run game. Henderson may be the backup, but he could be part of the rushing plan in every game.
He also made plenty happen through the air, finishing 6-for-7 for 83 yards and two touchdowns.
On the other side of the ball, Houston’s run defense has been downright suffocating through the first two weeks. Southern managed minus-6 rushing yards on 22 carries, and that followed a season-opening performance against Oregon State in which the Cougars gave up only 26 total rushing yards.
The interior line has gotten a boost from senior De'Marion Thomas, a transfer from Oklahoma State, and seventh-year Ejiro Egodogbare from Yale. Seniors Khalil Laufau and Myles Parker bring more experience, and the result has been a defense that’s simply not giving runners much room.
Still, the level of competition is about to rise, and that’s where the real test starts.
Houston’s backfield already has plenty of talent, and freshman John Hebert adds another layer. He was a high school star in the city with more than 8,000 yards in his varsity career, and the Cougars see him as a four-star recruit with playmaking ability as both a runner and a passer, even at 5-foot-11, 180 pounds.
Hebert flashed that upside against Southern, breaking multiple tackles on a 20-yard receiving touchdown from Henderson in the second quarter. He also finished with five carries for 65 yards and a touchdown. Houston may look like a team that can only go three deep at running back, but Hebert’s skill set gives them another option if they want to tap into it.
In Other News...
Houston Just Put Up The Kind Of Numbers Fans Needed To See
Conner Weigman did not need a heavy workload to make Houston look comfortable on offense, playing 25 snaps while throwing three touchdown passes in a 35-point, 217-yard outing. The Cougars also turned in one of those all-systems-go performances that can steady a fan base, cashing in every third-down chance and matching a school mark with 28 points in the first quarter.
What stood out even more was the way Houston paired that offensive efficiency with a defense that has been overwhelming against the run. The Cougars entered with the nations top rushing defense, and they kept that standard intact by limiting opponents to just 10 yards per game on the ground, setting up a stretch where the balance looks real enough to matter as the schedule tightens. [Read more 🡒]
Houston Heads To Lubbock With A Chance To Settle A Big 12 Debate
Two weeks into the 2026 college football season, the Big 12 already looks like a league with a few early claimants and a lot of unfinished business, and Houston finds itself right in the middle of that conversation. Updated power rankings after Week 2 have the usual mix of movement, with BYU picking up a conference win over Arizona, Utah looking sharp in a dominant showing against Arkansas, and Oklahoma State delivering one of the leagues loudest results by upsetting Oregon.
The next chance for the conference to sort itself out comes in Lubbock, where Houston can help answer a bigger Big 12 question by handling business on the road. Early-season rankings are always a snapshot rather than a verdict, but the Cougars now have an opportunity to turn that snapshot into something more durable, especially with so many teams around them still trying to prove who belongs where in the pecking order. [Read more 🡒]