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Houston Cougars linebacker Jalen Garner (36) celebrates with fans following their win against the Arizona Wildcats, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, in Houston, Texas. | Oscar Herrera\/The Cougar<\/p>\n
A lot has happened in the three years since Houston football last went bowling.<\/p>\n
Former head coach Dana Holgorsen was relieved of his duties in November 2023, following a tumultuous season in which the Cougars woefully underachieved, finishing 4-8 and missing out on a bowl appearance for the first time since 2019, his inaugural year with the program.<\/p>\n
Houston sought somebody to lead them from just a conference competitor to a contender.<\/p>\n
The search led Houston to Tulane\u2019s signal caller, long-time coach Willie Fritz, that same fall. Fritz had just led the Green Wave to 12-2 and 11-3 seasons, respectively, in 2022 and 2023 after they finished just 2-10 in 2021.<\/p>\n
His first season at the helm in 2024 didn\u2019t show better results on paper, as Houston once again fell two games short of bowl eligibility, finishing with a 4-8 record.<\/p>\n
Despite a similar outcome, his foundation had already begun to take shape, boasting the fourth-ranked defense in the Big 12 Conference, after not being able to devote to the transfer portal and recruiting fully.<\/p>\n
But when he did in the winter of 2024 and spring of 2025, Houston hit the accelerator.<\/p>\n
Through five weeks, the Cougars carried with them their best record since 2016, a 4-0 mark where they kept the Bayou Bucket on Cullen Boulevard, and played spoiler on \u201cPrime Time\u201d television against Colorado.<\/p>\n
Junior quarterback Conner Weigman\u2019s \u201cnever flinch\u201d mindset was on full display when Houston stared down a 24-10 deficit with eight minutes remaining at Corvallis, Ore. against Oregon State.<\/p>\n
The Cougars roared back to stun the Beavers, with two quick-strike touchdowns to tie, an emphatic blocked field goal to force overtime, and their own field goal to walk off the Beavers.<\/p>\n
Then-No. 11 Texas Tech gave Houston its first blemish of the season, showing there was plenty to improve upon before being considered one of the conference\u2019s elite.<\/p>\n
Still, Houston\u2019s 39-17 thwarting of Oklahoma State the following week showed how far the program had come, departing the game with a 5-1 record, just one win shy of bowl eligibility.<\/p>\n
A lot has happened since the Cougars were last on that doorstep, and that\u2019s where they stood Saturday morning hours before they met with Arizona.<\/p>\n
Knotted up at 28, after leading by as much as 14 heading into the fourth quarter, the Cougars surrendered touchdowns on consecutive possessions, setting up a late drive for Houston.<\/p>\n
Beginning at the Houston 25, a 13-play, 52-yard drive to Arizona\u2019s 23-yard line set the stage for senior kicker Ethan Sanchez, with an opportunity for redemption after missing his previous attempt from 48 yards.<\/p>\n
Sanchez, a transfer from Old Dominion, already had a game-winner to his name earlier this season.<\/p>\n
His next one was the walk-off winner to send Houston bowling.<\/p>\n
He leapt into the stands following the game, celebrating with students and fans. \u201cWe want them to celebrate with the student body,\u201d Fritz said.<\/p>\n
Weigman was responsible for all four touchdown scores for UH, three through the air, which tied a season-high, and the other, a 10-yard rush to the right side of the end zone.<\/p>\n
Much like Weigman, the weapons responsible for Houston\u2019s offensive output were all new to the program.<\/p>\n
Junior wide receiver Amare Thomas has emerged as Weigman\u2019s go-to number one target, coming off the heels of a seven-reception, 157-yard output against Oklahoma State.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhenever we lock eyes, if I\u2019m open he\u2019s throwing it,\u201d Thomas said of the connection with Weigman.<\/p>\n
He followed it up with two more touchdowns, bringing his season total up to four.<\/p>\n
Lining up alongside Thomas, senior tight end Tanner Koziol hauled in a touchdown grab on a 15-yard pass from Weigman, his third of the year.<\/p>\n
Senior running back Dean Connors, a former crosstown foe from Rice, tacked on 102 rushing yards, his first 100-yard performance since facing his former school in week two.<\/p>\n
Together, they accounted for all 31 of Houston\u2019s points, and have emerged as faces of its new era.<\/p>\n
One where Houston sits 6-1, and will be playing December football for the first time since 2022.<\/p>\n
sports@thedailycougar.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Houston Cougars linebacker Jalen Garner (36) celebrates with fans following their win against the Arizona Wildcats, Saturday, Oct.…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":314342,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5130],"tags":[86518,120868,4345,97980,358,3187,97981,94696],"class_list":{"0":"post-314341","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-bowl-game","9":"tag-conner-weigman","10":"tag-houston","11":"tag-houston-football","12":"tag-texas","13":"tag-tx","14":"tag-uh-football","15":"tag-willie-fritz"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115397226060088820","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/314341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=314341"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/314341\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/314342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=314341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=314341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=314341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}