Conner Weigman and UH have a chance to make a statement against Texas Tech during the teams’ Week 3 game in Lubbock and exact revenge for the Red Raiders’ win last season in Houston.
Jason Fochtman
FRISCO — Mark your calendars for Sept. 18.
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Two likely top 25 college football programs.
“Week 3 is going to be a huge game,” Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire said of the Big 12 opener between the defending champion Red Raiders and University of Houston. “It’s going to be one of the best games in the country. Hopefully we are both undefeated.”
It also will be an early measuring stick of just how far UH has come in Year 3 under coach Willie Fritz. It also could set the tone for the season, as the Cougars are regarded among the top challengers for the Big 12 title.
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Fritz, who is seeking to continue momentum from a 10-win season, called the early showdown a chance to “test yourself against the defending champions.”
A loss in late September won’t doom the rest of the season.
A win, however, would likely catapult the Cougars into the top 15 and into the College Football Playoff discussion. It would send an early message that the Cougars are a team to be reckoned with.
“It’s a huge opportunity. I feel like we are going to have a lot of eyes on us,” UH quarterback Conner Weigman said of the Fox national audience.
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After a chaotic offseason the focus will be on the game (we think). The game threatened to turn into a circus earlier this summer with the legal/eligibility drama with Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby, who was banned by the NCAA for betting thousands of dollars on college football while playing at Indiana and Cincinnati. Had Sorsby not made the decision to walk away — rather than challenge in court for his final year of college — he would have been eligible to come back from a two-game suspension against the Cougars. The media frenzy would have sent the game into another stratosphere.
There will still be plenty of hype surrounding the game, although the storylines will be much different.
How effective can Tech quarterback Will Hammond be in his return from an ACL injury suffered last October? What will the Red Raiders’ defense look like after losing four NFL defensive linemen and Butkus and Lombardi Award winner Jacob Rodriguez? Can the Red Raiders join Oklahoma and Baylor as the only repeat football champions in Big 12 history? McGuire said Tech has a “chip on our shoulder” after losing to Oregon 23-0 in the CFP quarterfinals.
“For sure, you always want to play good against big-time teams like that,” Weigman said. “It’s going to be a good test for us to see where we are at. We’ve got to win some games before that first before it’s a big game.”
The game has already created headlines. In April, Tech megadonor Cody Campbell got into a dustup with Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark about the game being shifted to a Friday night, which is considered “sacred” for high school football.
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“I know that Brett Yormark is not a native Texan, but he’s been here long enough to know better!” Campbell posted on X. “Come on, man!”
Yorkmark responded by telling the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: “Cody Campbell does not run the Big 12.”
Campbell later told ESPN that Yormark’s job was not to be “the dictator of the conference.”
Before then, Oregon State and Southern, both at home, should offer little resistance for the Cougars in the first two weeks of the season. Meanwhile, UH’s offense — which doubled its scoring production to nearly 30 points per game from 2024 — features one of the Big 12’s best pass-catch combos with Weigman and Amare Thomas. The offensive line underwent a makeover, landing preseason All-American left guard Shadre Hurst from Tulane and two other starters, Anthony Boswell (Toledo) and right tackle Drew Terrill (Miami Ohio). UH also replaced multi-purpose back Dean Connors with Makhi Hughes, who had nearly 2,800 yards in two seasons at Tulane. Can the Cougars win at home? UH was a nation-best 6-0 on the road last season but just 3-3 at TDECU Stadium. Two of the losses came in November to knock the Cougars out of the Big 12 race.
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Should the Cougars be considered a dark horse team?
“Willie Fritz has a great football team,” McGuire said. “They were one of the hottest teams at the end of last year. I don’t think Houston is going to be a surprise. Willie doesn’t get enough credit for what he has done recruiting the (transfer) portal. He has done a phenomenal job. His guys are playing really well. Conner had his best year and stayed healthy all year long.”
Both teams will have to navigate a tough Big 12 schedule that could include a handful of possible challengers. UH must travel to Kansas State and Utah, two of the toughest places to play in the league. Texas Tech gets its toughest games in Lubbock — Houston, Arizona State, Arizona and TCU.
“People say we don’t have a tough schedule,” McGuire said. “But we play a 10-win Houston. We play a nine-win TCU. A nine-win Arizona. If Arizona State’s quarterback doesn’t get hurt … they won eight games but who knows how many games (they’ve could have won). I’m just glad all those schools I said have to come to Lubbock, Texas.”