Houston Cougars wide receiver Stephon Johnson (5) conducts the Spirit of Houston after defeating the Rice Owls during an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, in Houston, Texas. | Oscar Herrera/The Cougar
Heading into halftime of week two’s Bayou Bucket Classic matchup with Rice, it didn’t look like the 44th installment of the series would live up to the “classic” moniker.
Both teams struggled to find any offensive rhythm, and Houston didn’t get on the board until 40 seconds remained in the second quarter–a 54-yard touchdown run by senior running back Dean Connors.
But a 7-3 lead through two quarters ended up being a 35-9 victory, with the Cougars scoring four touchdowns in their final four drives of the game.
Connors scored two of those five touchdowns, helping keep the Bayou Bucket trophy on Cullen Boulevard and becoming the first player to be part of both winning sides in the rivalry.
As the trophy was being presented to Houston, teammates surrounded Connors, who was at the front of the crowd.
“44’s, I’m tipping! 44’s, he’s tipping,” senior wide receiver Stephon Johnson said as the team celebrated and pointed at Connors.
An ode to “Still Tippin’”, a song which has become synonymous with the city of Houston, and a nod to Connors’ no. 44 jersey number.
Before they could run off to campus with the trophy, they ran to the student section and sang in unison with the Spirit of Houston Marching Band as they passed around the bucket.
At one point, Johnson even cosplayed the band conductor, standing on the elevated platform, waving his hands to the beat of “Womp, womp”.
“It’s fun, especially bringing the bucket back to Houston. Two years in a row, it’s fun,” senior defensive line Carlos Allen Jr. said.
With no scheduled Bayou Bucket Classic through 2030, the trophy will stay on campus with the Cougars for the foreseeable future.
What’s next and what’s at stake
Houston’s attention now shifts from a crosstown rival to a conference foe on the national stage. And the stage doesn’t get much brighter than “Prime Time.”
Because wherever coach Deion Sanders goes, the spotlight always seems to follow.
On Friday, Sept. 19, that spotlight will shine right over TDECU Stadium for Houston’s matchup with Colorado on ESPN.
It’s Houston’s first primetime slot game on ESPN since facing TCU on Oct. 4, 2024.
Though the Colorado hype train lost steam in 2024, it still ranked 11th in average viewership with 3.86 million watching, behind quarterback Shedeur Sanders and Heisman winner Travis Hunter’s final seasons that culminated in a 9-4 record and bowl appearance.
The game serves more purpose than exposure for the Cougars, who on Saturday improved to 2-0, the first time the program has boasted a 2-0 record or better since 2018.
Just two games into its 2025 season, and Houston is already halfway to winning as many games as it did in both 2024 and 2023, with 10 games remaining on the schedule.
Colorado, coming in at 1-1 behind a 31-7 win over Delaware, will be Houston’s first Big 12 conference and Power 4 opponent of the season.
After cruising through Stephen F. Austin and scoring 35 points against Rice, Colorado will also serve as Houston’s first litmus test of the year, in the most anticipated game yet for the two programs.
It’d be the first time the two programs square off since New Year’s Eve, 1971.
“We’ve already worked in the summer, somewhat on Colorado,” coach Willie Fritz said. “…We’ve got to accelerate, dropping this one (Rice) and moving on to the next one.”
sports@thedailycougar.com
