Over the course of the season, the No. 22 Houston Cougars have put together one of the better defenses in the Big 12. With their rushing and passing defense landing inside the top half of the conference, it’s no secret as to why Coach Willie Fritz’s team has found success in 2025.
For the first time this season, the Cougars’ defense allowed more than 35 points in a game. The truly horrific part? They allowed 45 points to one of the worst teams in the Big 12, the West Virginia Mountaineers. With their second loss of the year, Houston moved to 7-2 on the season and 4-2 in Big 12 play.
It was West Virginia’s rushing attack that played the biggest role in the 45-35 upset on Saturday. With nearly 250 yards on the ground, the Mountaineers dominated Houston’s defense start to finish. Quarterback Scotty Fox Jr. even accounted for 65 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns against the Cougars.
Nov 1, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Scotty Fox Jr. (15) rushes for a touchdown against the Houston Cougars in the second half at TDECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images / Thomas Shea-Imagn Images
Last weekend against TCU, Fox Jr. showed off his arm by completing 28 of 41 passes for over 300 yards in the air. The true freshman threw two touchdowns and zero interceptions in their 23-17 loss to the Horned Frogs. Fox Jr.’s longest run of the game only went for seven yards.
It was against the Houston Cougars that Fox Jr. really allowed his running ability to flourish as the freshman averaged 6.5 yards per carry.
The quarterback for the Mountaineers also found his way into the endzone twice including a 34-yard rushing touchdown up the middle of the Cougar defense that effectively put the game out of reach.
THERE HE GOES 💨 @ScottyFox18
📺 FS1pic.twitter.com/OW1wGlpGax
— West Virginia Football (@WVUfootball) November 1, 2025
It’s worth noting that all West Virginia running backs found success against Houston’s defensive line. The Mountaineers averaged over 4.5 yards per carry on the day with 246 total rushing yards. Redshirt freshman Diore Hubbard carried the load in the run game, tallying 29 carries for 108 rushing yards and touchdown.
Sophomore Cyncir Bowers had a career day against the Cougars with nine rushing attempts for 65 rushing yards and a touchdown, while Clay Ash totaled 14 yards on only two rushing attempts.
Oct 25, 2025; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Houston Cougars head coach Willie Fritz reacts against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Mountain America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
While it’s easy to blame the Houston defense for their performance against a struggling West Virginia team, there’s also some fault in Houston’s performance on offense. In fact, the Cougars went through this same exact scenario in the 35-11 loss to Texas Tech earlier in the season.
Against the Red Raiders, early turnovers caused the Cougars to play from behind early in the first quarter. Texas Tech’s early lead resulted in pressure on both the offense and defense, causing the game to spiral out of control.
The same thing happened against a West Virginia team that emphasizes the run game to the extreme. With only 22 passing attempts from Fox Jr., the Houston secondary was forced out of its comfort zone and tasked with stopping the run — a challenge that would prove to be more than it could handle.
The Cougars will face another team that emphasizes running the football next week as they travel to Orlando, Florida, to take on the UCF Knights. If Houston wants to keep their Big 12 title game hopes alive, they’ll need to figure out how to stop the run rather quickly.