The Houston Cougars will look to continue building on their past two performances against the Oklahoma State Cowboys and the Arizona Wildcats, which have the Coogs on a two-game winning streak with standout performances blowing out the Cowboys and hanging on to beat the Wildcats.
This weekend, the Cougars head back out on the road and take a trip out west, taking on the Arizona State Sun Devils in Tempe. The matchup is the first time Houston takes a trip out to the desert in nearly 40 years, with the last time coming in 1989, which saw the Coogs victorious.
The Sun Devils headed into the matchup with a victory over their own in a massive upset over what looked like the team to beat in the Big 12, the No. 7 Texas Tech Red Raiders in Tempe. The win allowed Arizona State to improve to a 5-2 record overall and 3-1 in conference play. Taking a look at the statistics, here’s some insight into the matchup by the numbers.
Houston Cougars quarterback Conner Weigman (1) looks to pass the ball during the first half against the Arizona Wildcats at TDECU Stadium. / Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images
The conversation about the matchup rightly begins and revolves around the two starting quarterbacks in Houston’s Conner Weigman and Arizona State’s Sam Leavitt. Weigman has found his stride with the Cougars, completing 106 of his 171 pass attempts for 1,380 yards, eleven touchdowns to just two interceptions and finding success on the ground with an additional six rushing touchdowns through seven games.
While the Arizona state quarterback has missed a game of the season, he has completed 127 of his 204 pass attempts for 1,358 yards, nine touchdowns, and three interceptions while also being a factor in the ground game with five rushing touchdowns.
Both signal callers are pivotal to both of their teams’ offenses, obviously leading the passing attacks, both of which are close in average yards per game, with Houston averaging 211.3 yards and Arizona State averaging 211.7 yards. The quarrels are also big components of their teams’ rushing attacks, with both players being their team’s second leading rusher and leader in rushing touchdowns.
Houston Cougars running back Dean Connors (44) runs the ball during the first quarter against the Arizona Wildcats at TDECU Stadium. / Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images
Speaking of the rushing attacks, the control of the ground game will go a long way in determining the winner of Saturday night’s matchup, with both teams featuring some of the top running backs in the Big 12 and also two of the best rushing defenses.
The two teams’ defensive fronts, both ranked in the top five in the fewest rushing yards allowed per game, with Arizona State allowing the second fewest with 110.9 yards a game, while the Coogs are not too far behind, allowing the fourth lowest with 123.6 rushing yards per game. Additionally, both teams do not give up much leeway to opposing running backs, with Houston allowing 3.3 yards per carry and the Sun Devils allowing just 3.6.
Both squads also have two of the top running backs in the country to try and wear down either team’s stout defensive lines. Arizona State running back Raleek Brown is the Big 12’s second leading rusher with 642 yards on 110 attempts while averaging an impressive 5.8 yards per carry and three scores. While the Coogs have the conference’s fifth leading rusher in running back Dean Connors, who on 115 carries has 538 yards, averaging 4.7 yards a carry and has four touchdowns.