The Houston Cougars’ 2025 season was off to a spectacular start. They generated six victories in their first seven tries, clinching early bowl eligibility en route to their best start since 2021. However, one important box was left unchecked on Houston’s stellar résumé, preventing the Cougars from crashing the rankings for the first time since 2022.
Houston hadn’t defeated a ranked opponent, until Saturday night. The Cougars stormed into Tempe and upended No. 24 Arizona State 24-16 in wire-to-wire
fashion, leaving the desert with their first ranked road victory since upending No. 17 South Florida in 2017.
Despite the most important win of the Fritz era, football felt so minimal in the moment. Earlier Saturday morning, Houston strength and conditioning coach Kurt Hester passed away at age 61
“It hurt. It’s a bittersweet win without question,” Houston head coach Willie Fritz said. “Kurt Hester was an unbelievably important person in our football program, and I’ve been with him for a while. He’s the best strength and conditioning coach I’ve ever been around but more importantly just a really, really fantastic role model for our student-athletes.”
A team meeting was held around 1:30 p.m. PT to disclose the heartbreaking news. Houston figured the best way to honor Hester was to channel his unbreakable spirit on the field in Tempe, AZ.
“We knew for a fact what he would want us to do,” Houston tight end Tanner Koziol said. “We knew he didn’t want us to blink. He would want us to go out there and fight hard as hell, and that’s what we did. We were mentioning his name in the huddle and you could just see the look in people’s faces, like yeah, ‘We gotta go as hard as he can because of him. Because of what he sacrificed for the team and how bad he wanted to be here right now. We know he’s watching over us and he saw this one, and he’s celebrating up there.”
That spirit showed in the form of an effective offense and a domineering defense. Quarterback Conner Weigman was the model of efficiency with 17 completions on 22 passes, firing for 201 yards and a touchdown — all while refraining from a turnover. Weigman also showcased his dual-threat tendencies, punching in two QB sneak touchdowns and rushing for a career-high 111 yards in his biggest statement since transferring in from Texas A&M.
“I saw a dog. I saw an absolute dog,” tight end Tanner Koziol said of Weigman. “He’s doing it both ways. He’s getting banged up. He’s putting his shoulder down. He’s getting yards after contact. He’s one of the best in the country, and there’s no doubt. The things he’s doing for this team, the advantages that it gives us being able to run our quarterback like that — and he does it like a dog and does not blink, and he gets back in the huddle and he’s riled up after it — you can’t beat that. That’s a guy you want to play for, a guy you want to play next to, and a guy you want on your team leading it.”
Koziol also contributed to the offense’s stellar outing, tallying a season-high 100 yards and a touchdown on seven receptions. He showed the mental fortitude to overcome a rare drop in the end zone on the opening possession and utilized his 6’7”, 250 pound frame to secure contested catches and pinball off defenders for the remainder of the night.
“He’s a stud,” Fritz said. “He made two or three really, really difficult catches. Conner Weigman is not as scared to throw it up to him, because he knows he’s gonna come down with it.”
Defensively, the Cougars pitched a shutout for three quarters. Arizona State’s offense struggled without the presence of injured star wide receiver Jordyn Tyson and remained at zero until 13:56 remained in the fourth quarter. Defensive end Eddie Walls III served as an effective counter to the offense with three sacks, while Latrell McCutchin tabbed seven tackles, two pass breakups, and a forced fumble in the triumphant road victory.
One critical sequence transpired in the middle of the third quarter immediately after Houston established a commanding 17-0 lead. Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt — who was in and out of the contest after reinjuring the foot that caused him to miss the Utah game two weeks ago — guided a productive drive, connecting with tight end Chamon Metayer for a 21-yard touchdown reception. Metayer made an acrobatic one-handed grab and trucked a defender en route to the end zone, prompting Mountain America Stadium to turn off the stadium lights and launch celebratory fireworks. When the lights were restored, a yellow flag was spotted on the grass as Arizona State was assessed an illegal shift, much to the chagrin of the crowd. Houston’s defense then limited the Sun Devils to a 42-yard field goal, and Jesus Gomez missed his second attempt of the night, keeping Houston in front.
The illegal shift penalty commenced a rivalry between the Arizona State crowd and the officiating. A chorus of boos rained down in the late third quarter as the Sun Devils racked up penalties (had 12 total), including a pass interference and a targeting. Water bottles were thrown onto the field from the student section as the stadium PA announcer advocated for the carnage to end. On the contentious possession, Houston established a 24-0 lead on Weigman’s second QB sneak touchdown.
“That’s what we want to do each and every week — we’d love to jump out and get ahead like that,” Weigman said. “It’s all about playing hard. Effort and energy — that’s our focal point. That’s what coaches preach to us. Just go out there and give it all you got. When we turn that film on, we want to be the hardest playing team out there and I felt like we did that tonight.”
Arizona State rallied after the 24-0 deficit with 16 unanswered, scoring one touchdown on a drive led by Leavitt and another on a drive engineered by backup quarterback Jeff Sims. The Sun Devil defense recorded three-straight stops and fielded a punt from their own 5 with 2:08 remaining. However, Houston free safety Kentrell Webb broke up a fourth down pass to give the Cougars the ball back. Ethan Sanchez then shanked the game-sealing 25-yard field goal with 17 seconds left, but in a theme of Saturday’s contest, a roughing the kicker penalty ended Arizona State’s chances.
“One thing we preached is finishing and how we respond to everything,” Walls said. “Even though we did let them score twice, we know that’s not us. So now it’s up to us responding to the situation. We have to finish the game and we have no other choice but to finish.”
Arizona State (5-3, 3-2 Big 12) already matched last year’s total in the loss column after dropping its first home game since 2023, snapping a 10-game win streak. Houston (7-1, 4-1 Big 12) is firmly in the contender’s circle as the Cougars are expected to receive a ranking Sunday for the first time since Week 2 of 2022.
“We just want to keep getting better,” Weigman said. “Just keep playing good clean football and we’re gonna have a shot in each and every game. Just play as hard as we can get, give it all we got, and I tell our guys we’d rather be tired as a winner than a loser.”
