Houston football strikes first bowl game since 2022

As coach Willie Fritz stepped into the locker room after Houston’s 31-28 win over Arizona, he carved a narrow path through his ecstatic players. Grinning, he wound up and rolled a phantom ball, a perfect imaginary strike to celebrate the Cougars’ first bowl berth since 2022.

Moments earlier, senior kicker Ethan Sanchez had delivered the real strike. As time expired, his 41-yard field goal split the uprights, sealing the win and sending Houston bowling.

“He did a hell of a job knocking it through the pipes,” Fritz said.

The Cougars battled through what junior quarterback Conner Weigman called “a four-quarter dog fight,” as the Wildcats scored 14 points in the fourth frame to tie the game at 28. 

With the clock ticking, Weigman orchestrated a drive primarily on the ground with senior running back Dean Connors, who finished with 100 yards on 20 carries.

Earlier, Weigman had sparked a key drive before halftime. After the defense stopped Arizona on fourth-and-1 at Houston’s 31-yard line with just over a minute remaining, he threw a short touchdown pass to senior tight end Tanner Koziol, who has not played in a bowl game during his college career.

The second quarter opened with a statement from senior defensive lineman Wrook Brown, who racked up back-to-back sacks and finished with 3.5 tackles for loss, shifting momentum after Houston’s slow start, a recurring flaw in the team’s production.

The team’s lone first-quarter points came in the form of a 52-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Amare Thomas, who caught two of Weigman’s three touchdowns and will also head to his first bowl game. 

Despite the Cougars checking off a bowl trip, there is more the team wants to accomplish as they are just past the midway point.

“Like we always say, and like Coach Fritz always says, each week is its own season, and we treat it that way. We just focus on going 1-0 each and every week,” Weigman said. “Being 6-1 is awesome, but we’re only seven games into the season, we still have five more to go. Like I said, we’re not done yet. We are 6-1; now we’ve got to keep going, build off this, and keep getting better.”

The Cougars next travel to Arizona State to face the Sun Devils on Oct. 25.

Houston will learn its bowl date and destination on Dec. 7.

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