Takeaways not enough as Houston football drops senior day game to TCU

On Saturday, Houston won the turnover-takeaway battle 4-1.

“Coach Fritz always preaches, ‘+1, you win,’” senior running back Dean Connors said. “I think we were plus-3 and didn’t get the job done. We’ve got to play better and have our defense’s back.”

The formula did not hold this time, as senior kicker Ethan Sanchez, who entered the game 19 for 22, missed 49 and 38-yard field goals in the fourth quarter, sealing Houston’s 17-14 loss and eliminating the Cougars from conference title contention.

“I just patted him on the back,” Fritz said. “He’s won us some games, and you don’t want it to have to come down to a field goal.”

On offense, Houston managed just 14 points through three quarters, leaving the defense to hold off the Horned Frogs. Sophomore defensive back Will James became the first player to record two interceptions and a forced fumble in a Big 12 game since BYU’s Eddie Heckard did so in 2023.

“I had a good game, but we didn’t come away with the win,” James said. “What I did don’t mean nothing.”

Down 14, Houston’s defense abruptly ended three straight TCU drives with takeaways in the second quarter, two in the air and one on the ground. The second came when junior defensive back Kentrell Webb tipped a deep pass that fell into the hands of senior defensive back Wrook Brown at the Houston 7-yard line.

The Cougars drove the field, helped by a 54-yard run from Connors, tying Houston’s longest rush of the season. They reached the 1-yard line before TCU’s Julius Simms intercepted junior quarterback Conner Weigman’s short pass in the end zone.

“We just didn’t make the plays when we needed to. It was tough at the end of the first half; we came away with no points,” Fritz said. “We had some opportunities to win it or tie it or whatever the case may be, and we just didn’t quite do it.”

In the fourth quarter, after Jordan Dwyer returned a punt 53 yards to the Houston 29-yard line, the defense held again, limiting the Horned Frogs to the 13-yard line before forcing a field goal.

With 1:53 remaining, Weigman began to lead Houston down the field to set up what could have been a game-tying kick from a nationally recognized kicker in the final seconds of regulation. Sanchez’s kick went far left, securing the victory for TCU.

Houston next faces Baylor on Nov. 29 in Waco, Texas, before heading to a bowl game to be determined.