The Houston Cougars earned a ranking in the AP Poll on Oct. 26. However, the ranking was short-lived, as the Cougars were upset at home six days later to West Virginia. Yet, Houston responded to the disappointing
loss with a road victory to climb back into the rankings, warranting a No. 25 from the AP and a No. 23 from the College Football Playoff committee.
The same thing happened. Houston (8-3, 5-3 Big 12) could not win with a number beside its name in its own venue, falling 17-14 to TCU (7-4, 4-4 Big 12) on senior day for its third home loss in four tries.
“It’s disappointing,” Houston head coach Willie Fritz said. “Like I told the guys, this is a really good balanced league. You’ve gotta play well every single night, and if you don’t, you’re gonna have that outcome.”
With 1:54 remaining and all three of Houston’s timeouts exhausted, TCU stood one yard away from securing the victory. The Horned Frogs handed the ball off to Jon Denman on 4th and 1 from the Houston 5-yard line, but Cougar outside linebacker Latreveon McCutchin stopped the tailback in his tracks, breathing life into the Cougars. Houston fed off the momentum, propelling 74 yards down the field — fueled by a 38-yard scamper from quarterback Conner Weigman.
Upon reaching 4th and 4 at the TCU 20, Houston sent out kicker Ethan Sanchez for the tie. The often-reliable Lou Groza Award semifinalist was 9-of-9 on field goals under 40 yards this season, but this particular 38-yarder was shanked wide left. A season of purple and white celebrated the miss, which decided the fate of the closely-contested ballgame. Less than six minutes earlier, the kicker — who hit two walk-off field goals for Houston this year — also missed a 49-yarder toward the same end zone.
“He’s the reason we have the total wins we have,” running back Dean Connors said of Sanchez. “He’s a big part of winning big games for us. To point the finger at him wouldn’t be the right thing to do. He’s a great player, and we’re really lucky to have him on our team. We gotta tell him to keep his head up. It’s part of football.”
Houston’s defense held the Horned Frogs out of the end zone for the final three quarters of action, but TCU inflicted enough damage in the opening frame to produce the victory. Quarterback Josh Hoover, who finished with 293 passing yards, delivered touchdown strikes to Eric McAlister and Jordan Dwyer in the first quarter, handing TCU a 14-0 advantage well before the Cougars got on board.
“We wanted to take the ball first,” TCU head coach Sonny Dykes said. “We felt like we had been slow to start so it was an emphasis for us to take the first possession down the field and go score. I thought we had a great gameplan. I thought we executed it very well. Josh was very comfortable.”
TCU scored two additional touchdowns, but penalties wiped them off the board. There was a 52-yard screen to Joseph Manjack IV in the second quarter and a 20-yard strike to Dwyer in the back of the end zone in the third. The flags proved extremely costly as TCU wound up with zero points on both possessions, due to its woes in the turnover game.
For the first time under Fritz, Houston lost a game despite winning the turnover battle. The Cougars produced a commanding 4-1 advantage with cornerback Will James playing a significant role in three of them. James intercepted a 50-50 deep shot to McAlister in the second quarter and also jumped a sideline throw to Chase Curtis in the third. The cornerback also Peanut punched the ball out of TCU wide receiver Jordyn Bailey’s hands in the late second quarter. Two of those denials occurred inside the Houston 35-yard line, as the defense played best with its back against the wall.
“It’s preparation,” James said. “In practice, we work ball drills and takeaway circuits every day — probably the most of anyone in college football, for real. We’ve been preparing in practice, and we got them.”
The Cougars’ offense could not capitalize on the defensive masterclass. Weigman produced a career-high 114 rushing yards and Connors added 75, but the passing game never got off the ground. Houston only committed one turnover, and it was quite costly. On 4th and goal from the 1, instead of utilizing its typical QB sneak, the Cougars lined up in shotgun for a pass. With no available options, Weigman tried to thread the needle to Tanner Koziol in double coverage, but TCU safety Julius Simms snagged it instead.
“We had a hard time running the ball early, and obviously, I wish we had done something a little different,” Fritz said of the 4th and goal. “They were playing straight run and they did a good job covering us. We had to get rid of the ball quick. They were aggressive up on the line and had every gap filled. So, it didn’t work.”
TCU enjoyed several stellar individual outings in a much-needed bounce-back win. Running back Jeremy Payne broke the century mark for the first time in a 103-yard outing, while Manjack — a three-year Houston receiver — set a career-high nine receptions, attaining 95 receiving yards in his former home stadium. Defensively, outside linebacker Kaleb Elarms-Orr was an omnipresent force with 15 tackles and two tackles for loss, leading TCU to becoming the second team to limit Houston under 24 points all season.
TCU notches its second-straight winning season and third in four years under Dykes. Saturday marked the Horned Frogs’ first ranked win since the 2022 College Football Playoff Semifinal when they defeated Michigan in the Fiesta Bowl. After snapping a 2-game losing streak, the Horned Frogs conclude their regular season next Saturday with a matchup against a fellow 7-4 Big 12 team in Cincinnati, hoping to finish senior day on a high note.
“Proud of these guys for hanging in there and not listening to all the negativity and all the stuff,” Dykes said. “I thought they did an incredible job of just keeping their head down and not paying attention to all the junk that was out there. Just proud of them. Proud of the guys, they showed a fight. We had to overcome a ton of adversity — four turnovers. We had almost 300 yards in the first half and only 14 points to show for it. Normally, when you do that and make those kinds of mistakes, you lose the game. And to our guy’s credit, they just strained so hard and played so hard that they weren’t going to let that happen.”
Houston’s second appearance in the rankings this year will be as short-lived as the first, as the Cougars still have not won a game while ranked since the 2022 season opener. Although eliminated from the Big 12 Championship picture, the Cougars can still attain 10 wins by pushing past Baylor and their to-be-determined bowl opponent.
“We’re living one week at a time, and we’re onto Baylor right after we flush this game tomorrow,” Connors said. “We’re gonna prepare for them like it’s the Super Bowl.”
