Four storylines as No. 22 Houston travels to Kansas State

“Turn the page and move on to Kansas State.”

This was the message coach Willie Fritz had for No. 22 Houston football coming off a comeback win against UCF.

After capturing their first win in conference play, the Cougars look to their trip to face the Wildcats on Saturday.

“It is going to be a tremendous challenge for us.”

Kansas State is coming off its bye week after suffering a loss to Cincinnati, and are now looking for their first conference win of the season. 

Here are four storylines for this conference matchup:

Offensive firepower vs. shutdown defense

Houston this season has prided itself on being a top offense, not just in the Big 12 but in the nation.

The Cougars have produced the nation’s most first downs coming into this week. Not only first downs, but fifth-year quarterback Conner Weigman has been strong in his performances, with 17 total touchdowns to 1 interception this season. Last week, he racked up a career-high three rushing touchdowns.

However, if anyone has anything to say about those big numbers, it is that Wildcat defense. Coming into this week, this defense has allowed the third-fewest first downs in the nation. Led by junior defensive end Wendell Gregory with already 2.5 sacks, this defense has learned how to shut down offenses.

Something has to give: either the high-powered Cougar offense is slowed down, or it runs through the defense like it has proven it can do to start the season.

Kansas State’s rush attack

Speaking of running the football, this is where the strength of the Wildcats comes into play. The Wildcats come into this game with a rushing attack averaging 241 yards per game. That is good for a top-15 rush attack in the nation.

Leading that rushing attack is senior quarterback Avery Johnson, who has averaged 9.7 yards per carry this season.

Johnson has had some ups and downs against the Cougars, most notably a ranked upset loss, 24-19, in 2024.

“He’s got great speed … he is hard to corral … he is one of the top quarterbacks in the Big 12,” Fritz said.

Fritz also mentioned his ability to throw the ball and how good of a dual-threat he can be, which will be a challenge for this defense.

Eligibility of Stephon Johnson, Myles Rowser and their potential impact

Both fifth-year wide receiver Stephon Johnson and fifth-year safety Myles Rowser were cleared to play and could’ve seen more significant snaps against UCF last week; however, they weren’t ready to play their usual starting role yet.

“It’s tough to play those guys much,” Fritz said. “We feel like they are going to play a much larger role this upcoming week.”

Both players were involved in a class-action lawsuit this summer that challenged the NCAA’s new age-based eligibility rule.

Now that they have been declared eligible, expect both to potentially play a role this weekend. With a secondary that has had its issues this season, the defense could use a former All-Big 12 player in Rowser to boost the defense.

The addition of Johnson would add another weapon for Weigman to have on an already potent offense.

Limit mistakes and control run game

In their last game, the game felt like a tale of two halves, especially in the area of committing penalties. 

“I think we had seven penalties in the first half, and only one in the second,” coach Fritz said.

Houston is looking to build off that second-half clean showing and roll that into Kansas State. One of the key factors in such a close game the week before was the key mistakes that were made, not by the other team but by the Cougars.

If the Cougars want to walk away with the victory, those mistakes also need to be limited. The Wildcats’ defense has yet to record an interception this season, and Houston is looking to not be the first to allow one.

The acknowledgment of the lethal run game by Fritz means he knows it should be at the forefront of this defense. Kansas State prides itself on being able to run the football, and if the Cougars can force Johnson to throw the football, they could make the Wildcat offense predictable and one-dimensional.

The two teams will meet on Saturday, Oct. 10, at 2:30 p.m. at Bill Snyder Family Stadium on FOX.