Houston’s defense doesn’t need a masterpiece tonight, but it does need to hold up against one of the Big 12’s most dangerous receiving tandems.
That’s the test facing the Cougars as they line up against Colorado, a 3-6 team that has had an uneven season but still owns real punch on the outside. The Buffaloes’ best chance to make this one uncomfortable starts with Joseph Williams, who has turned himself into one of the country’s most productive pass catchers.
He sits 12th nationally in receiving yards with 853, and he’s added six touchdowns on 58 catches. Williams has been especially effective after the catch and has been the steady answer for a passing game that has struggled to find consistency.
Colorado has another weapon in Deandre Moore Jr., the Texas Longhorns transfer who was ranked the No. 6 WR in the 2026 transfer portal by 247Sports. Moore has logged 37 receptions for 526 yards and three touchdowns, giving the Buffaloes a second target Houston has to account for on every snap.
Quarterback Isaac Wilson, the brother of former superstar BYU Cougars QB Zach Wilson, has not been steady this season. He’s thrown for 1,412 yards, eight touchdowns, and eight interceptions. Still, Colorado doesn’t need him to be perfect if he can get the ball into the hands of Williams or Moore and let them work.
Williams showed exactly how dangerous that can be last week, when he caught seven passes for 121 yards and a touchdown against Arizona State in a 20-10 loss. If Colorado is going to pull off a win, it probably comes with Williams or Moore delivering a huge night.
Houston’s secondary has been through its rough patches. Early in the season, it was a mess - Oregon State lit it up, and the first half of the year was especially rough. The unit still hasn’t reached elite status, but it has come a long way from where it started.
Jalen Mayo, Will James, and Jordan Allen have helped stabilize things. Mayo, in particular, has a story of his own, and the group has started to make the pass defense look much more respectable.
Against Cincinnati, the Cougars’ pass defense wasn’t bad. Against Utah, it was pretty good.
That’s a far cry from the early-season version of this group.
What Houston wants now is simple: enough resistance to keep Conner Weigman from having to carry everything. The Maxwell Award semifinalist has been a huge reason the Cougars have stayed elite, but leaning on him to deliver a Heisman-level performance every week is a risky way to live.
Colorado may be 3-6, and this has been another disappointing season for the Deon Sanders-led Buffaloes, but that doesn’t mean they’re harmless. They’ll be trying to spoil Houston’s season any way they can, and the Cougars need to be ready for a fight.
Stepping up with turnovers against a turnover-prone team would go a long way. Houston doesn’t need lockdown perfection from its secondary, but it cannot afford to get overwhelmed either. The Cougars need this defense to keep trending in the right direction if they want to avoid upset trouble over the next few weeks and stay on track for the College Football Playoff.
In Other News...
Colorado Faces Another Tough Home Test Against A Surging Houston Offense
Houston heads into another Big 12 road test with momentum and a quarterback playing cleaner football than he did a year ago. The No. 17 Cougars have built a 7-2 record and sit 4-2 in conference play, and Connor Weigman has been a big part of that rise with sharper passing numbers and fewer interceptions as the season has worn on.
Colorado, meanwhile, is trying to steady itself at 3-6 overall and 1-5 in league play, which makes this matchup feel like another measuring stick for a Houston team trying to stay in the conference race. The Cougars have already shown they can travel with confidence, but this one still carries the kind of challenge that can expose a team if the offense is a step off its usual pace. [Read more 🡒]
Colorado Recruiting Buzz Suddenly Centers On Deion Sanders Future
LiMarcus Jones gave Colorado a brief scare this week when he backed off his pledge to the Buffaloes, only to recommit within 24 hours. The quick turnaround kept the spotlight on a class that has continued to show public support for Deion Sanders, with several 2027 recruits, including Andre Adams and Dewey Young, using the Play for Prime hashtag as the Buffaloes try to keep momentum around the program.
Even with that buzz, the recruiting picture around Colorados next game has been quieter than the online chatter suggests. No recruits are expected to visit for the Houston matchup, and Jones has indicated that the staff around Sanders is expected to stay in place after the season, a detail that matters as much to future prospects as any social media post. [Read more 🡒]
Colorado Suddenly Has A Special Teams Problem Before Houston
Colorados special teams picture got a lot murkier heading into its meeting with Houston after starting kicker Elliot Arnold was downgraded from questionable to doubtful following an injury suffered against Arizona State. The Buffaloes had already been managing the situation after the roughing-the-kicker hit, and now they are bracing for a game in which field position and routine kicking work could matter just as much as anything else on the field.
Daniel Gerlach has stepped in at placekicker, but Colorado is still sorting out who will handle kickoff duties, leaving one more layer of uncertainty for a unit that needs to be steady against the Cougars. For a team trying to keep its special teams from becoming a liability, the timing is less than ideal, especially with Houston waiting and every hidden-yardage play likely to loom large. [Read more 🡒]