A mountain too high to climb: No. 22 Houston falls to West Virgina

No. 22 Houston football has been a problem-solver all season long, from an offensive line and running backs room, once rich in depth, circumventing numerous season-ending injuries, to a wide receiver room that has lost its longest-tenured member in senior Stephon Johnson.

It was able to erase late deficits, like storming back to beat Oregon State in overtime after trailing 28-14. It weathered two late surges from both Arizona and Arizona State.

Houston’s perseverance never wavered, climbing up to the AP top 25 following its 24-16 win over then-No. 24 Arizona State.

Heading into week 10 at 7-1, Houston withstood nearly everything thrown its way–until West Virginia defeated the Cougars 45-35 at TDECU Stadium Saturday afternoon.

Houston, trailing by 10 with 4:40 remaining and aiming for a final comeback bid, muffed a punt that the WVU defense recovered, sealing its fate and marking only its second loss of the season.

After staring down an early 21-7 deficit in the second quarter, Houston managed to head into the half knotted up at 21 with all three scores coming via touchdowns.

But every time Houston was on the cusp of claiming its first lead of the game, it was really on the precipice of another setback.

Junior quarterback Conner Weigman’s erroneous short-pass attempt, which was intercepted for an 80-yard pick-six, only encapsulated Houston’s struggles.

Weigman, who entered with only two interceptions on the season and is known for his ball security, added two more to his season’s resume, bringing his season total up to four.

West Virginia forced a season-high four turnovers on the Cougars, which resulted in 17 points of offense for the Mountaineers in a game that was decided by as many points.

“We were -4 in turnovers/takeaways. It’s very difficult to win when you’re -4,” coach Willie Fritz said. “We did some good things on offense, and things that are hard to overcome.”

As consequential was the 246 yards on the ground West Virginia tacked on, just one week after only recording 41 against TCU at home. It was the most Houston had surrendered all season, a defense that entered Saturday allowing the fourth-fewest rushing yards per game at 120.4 among Big 12 teams.

The 45 points scored by West Virginia matched the most it has scored all season, and the most in its six winless conference matchups so far in 2025.

It also marked West Virginia’s first-ranked victory since defeating Iowa State in 2021. One week after Houston got its first ranked win of the season at Arizona State.

“Whatever we’re calling, if we’re on defense we have to do a good job taking the ball away. We didn’t do that. On offense we have to make sure we don’t give the ball up. We didn’t do that,” Fritz said. “That makes any offense look pretty darn good.”

Houston will next travel to Orlando, Fla., to face UCF in the annual ‘Space Game’ on Saturday, Nov. 7, at the Bounce House Stadium at 7 p.m. CT.

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