The No. 22 Houston Cougars put up a commendable effort against the No. 13 Texas Tech Red Raiders on Friday night in Lubbock, Texas, but came up just short in a 28-26 loss.
Houston falls to 2-1 in the early season, while Texas Tech improves to 3-0. The Cougars were down 28-20 with just over two minutes to go with the ball and scored a late touchdown, but weren’t able to get the two-point conversion in an agonizingly close way, as senior quarterback Conner Weigman was less than half a yard short.
Either way, Houston showed that it can be a true Big 12 championship contender coming up this close against the favorites of the conference in a tough road environment. Here are five immediate takeaways.
Great Start
It honestly couldn’t have been a better start for Houston. The Cougars had two impressive drives on offense to begin the game. First, UH went 62 yards on 13 plays and took up 5:33 of game clock. While it resulted in a field goal, that kind of march down the field in a road environment was impressive.
Houston then got an interception from Will James on the first offensive play of the game for Texas Tech, thanks to a poor throw from Thomas Castellanos. The Cougars took full advantage of that with a touchdown drive. Weigman found senior receiver Amare Thomas for the 11-yard touchdown reception.
It was a 10-play, 55-yard drive that took up almost six minutes. Houston went up 10-0 after a great first quarter in which it out-gained Texas Tech 125 to 30 in total yards and eight first downs compared to one.
Big Plays Allowed on Defense
The Cougars’ defense started out strong with an interception on the first drive, but gave up way too many explosive plays to the Red Raiders after the first quarter. Once Texas Tech settled in, Houston didn’t have much of a response. While the Cougars did get some critical stops, the Red Raiders were able to run right through the defense for 168 yards and three touchdowns.
There was a 29-yard rush from junior running back J’Koby Williams and a 35-yard receiving touchdown from junior Kenny Johnson on a pass from junior quarterback Will Hammond. Tech had over seven yards per play and over 15 yards per reception.
Amazing Catches
Houston put itself in a great position heading into halftime thanks to two incredible plays, one on offense and one on defense. Redshirt sophomore receiver Koby Young made one of the best catches in college football this season with an impressive one-hander over the shoulder and Weigman dropped it right in the bucket. It was a 46-yard touchdown reception that gave Houston a 17-14 lead at halftime.
Fifth-year corner Jalen Mayo then made a spectacular one-handed interception on Texas Tech’s next drive that sent the game to the half. He leaped up and somehow pulled it off for his first interception at Houston.
Run Game
Houston showed that its offensive line can match up with the best in the Big 12. The Cougars were able to run the ball with senior running back Makhi Hughes and racked up 176 yards on the ground. Hughes had 15 carries for 71 yards on almost five yards per carry. Houston could’ve used him a bit more as the game went on.
Redshirt junior Re’Shaun Sanford II also had five carries for 30 yards, while Weigman had 56 rushing yards on 13 attempts.
Third Downs
Houston had been one of the better third-down teams entering this game, and it was 7/10 on third down in the first half. Houston ended up 9/15 total, but had a knack of converting more often than not.
The Cougars converted a third-and-five on the last drive of the game and Thomas was a popular target. Houston went 88 yards in 10 plays, and it took up just 1:55. Doing that in all the noise was impressive and Weigman found redshirt junior tight end Patrick Overmyer for the 10-yard touchdown pass.
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