‘That’s the way this sport is’: No. 25 Houston’s offense picks up defense in win over Georgia Southern

The opportunities were there on Saturday for No. 25 Houston football to slam the door and make plays defensively.

“Three or four times” by coach Willie Fritz’s count. “And we didn’t quite do it.”

Instead, Georgia Southern found ways to continue sticking around. The Eagles finished 7-for-13 on third downs, including two pass completions of 11 and 13 yards, respectively.

An onside kick Fritz and company spent the week preparing for would wind up freezing Houston. It allowed Georgia Southern to recover early in the second quarter, with the Cougars up 14-7.

The Eagles ultimately scored a touchdown on the drive, tying the game at 14 with 9:28 left in the second quarter. 

“Didn’t go towards the ball, so we’ll learn from that as well,” Fritz said. “That gave us one less possession for our offense to go down there and score.”

Scoring was the least of Houston’s worries, as it left Allen E. Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Ga. with a 42-28 win.

Each time Houston left the door ajar defensively, its offense had a response.

The Cougars scored touchdowns on six of their eight possessions, with fifth-year quarterback Conner Weigman accounting for all six.

They never turned the ball over, totaling 441 yards, including 202 on the ground. Junior running back Re’Shaun Sanford II led the way behind a career-high 120 rushing yards.

It was the first time Sanford had ever totaled over 100 yards in a game.

“He was just running with good vision, a really good forward lane,” Fritz said. “Both him and Makhi (Hughes), they’re finishing going forward. There were two or three times where we thought it was a gain of eight, it turned into a gain of 12-13 yards.”

Of Weigman’s four passing touchdowns, one went to fifth-year wide receiver Trent Walker, who Houston hoped would get going in the matchup.

He woke up with just 64 receiving yards across his first three games on six receptions.

He had six receptions alone vs. Georgia Southern, to pair with 83 yards.

The Cougars’ offensive output afforded them room to survive an afternoon where their defense, particularly in the secondary, struggled to get off the field.

Houston allowed Georgia Southern seventh-year quarterback Max Johnson to go 26-for-38 through the air, alongside 284 passing yards and three touchdowns.

Junior wide receiver Alex Taylor needed just six catches to finish with 119 receiving yards and two touchdowns, one in each half.

“Sometimes, there’s going to be a game where we’re going to be relying on the defense like crazy, and the offense is stalling a little bit,” Fritz said. “I hope not. I like all three phases doing well. But that’s the way this sport is.”

Houston did shut the door late in the fourth quarter, forcing an incomplete pass on fourth and 14, after a hurry by eighth-year edge rusher Brandon Mack II.

Its run defense had better success, only allowing 66 rushing yards on 26 attempts, for an average of 2.5 yards per carry.

The Cougars, now 3-1, will return home to face UCF on Saturday, Oct. 3, at 11 a.m.