Houston Cougars quarterback Conner Weigman (1) throws the ball during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Stephen F. Austin Lumberjack, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, in Houston, Texas. Oscar Herrera / The Cougar
Houston prepares for a huge Big 12 showdown on Friday when it takes on coach “Prime Time” Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes in a matchup of epic proportions. Both teams will be looking to start off their conference schedule with a bang, as this game could shake up the conference.
Mutual respect
Despite the high stakes on the line, both Sanders and Cougars coach Willie Fritz have huge respect for each other and their teams.
“Coach Fritz’s remarkable career, unbelievable career. What he accomplished at Tulane and so forth has been astonishing, unbelievable,” Sanders said. “I’m very impressed by what he’s accomplished as a coach. God bless you, coach. Love what you’re doing and what you’re building there.”
Fritz has admitted that UH has been preparing for Colorado throughout the summer, showing that the Buffaloes are still a force despite some key pieces missing.
Friday will see which coach can get their team over the top.
Colorado’s QB Vortex
The big question mark is who will be the starting quarterback for Colorado. Sanders has relied on multiple signal callers this season, following the departure of his son Shedeur Sanders.
Senior Kaidon Salter started the first two games of the season, including the 27-20 season opener loss to Georgia Tech. Highly touted freshman Julian Lewis is the second-string quarterback, but at only 17 years old, he needs time to develop.
Many sources, including CFB senior writer Pete Thamel, have said sophomore third-stringer Ryan Staub is the most likely starter on Friday, especially after his performance against Delaware, where he went 7/10 for 157 yards and two touchdowns, with a QBR of 98.9.
However, Sanders declined to confirm this, but also said he doesn’t want to play “musical chairs” with his quarterbacks and just wants to settle on one.
“I don’t want to play musical chairs with quarterbacks. Why would I want to come to the game and do that,” Sanders said.
Whoever starts, the Cougars will have a challenge no matter what.
The Angles
For Colorado, a win here can help strengthen its efforts in finding consistency, especially on the offensive end. While the offense still has pieces, the departures of quarterback Shedeur Sanders and wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter are a huge blow, so the Buffaloes will need to find ways to maintain stability on that end.
For UH, a win here can help capitalize on the momentum it has been building. It has bolstered the offense, the defense remains as strong as ever, and the coaching staff Fritz has put together has made strides.
Junior quarterback Connor Weigman has shown stability at the quarterback position. In two games, Weigman has completed 65% of his passes, thrown for 347 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions and a 157.3 passer rating.
Despite a season-ending injury to sophomore Re’Shaun Sanford II, the running back room is full of depth, with guys like senior Dean Connor, senior Stacy Sneed and sophomore J’Marion Burnette able to take over games when needed.
That goes the same for the receiving department, bringing in players like senior Tanner Koziol at tight end, and wide receivers like junior Amare Thomas, senior Mekhi Mews and senior Stephon Johnson.
The defense under Slade Nagle hasn’t missed a beat from last season, shutting out Stephen F. Austin in the season opener and holding Rice to nine points to help retain the Bayou Bucket.
The Buffs are Houston’s first real test of the season, but the men in red are more than up for the challenge.
Houston and Colorado face off on Friday, Sept. 12 at 6:30 p.m. at TDECU Stadium on ESPN.
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