Houston’s Willie Fritz looks towards the field as the team walks towards the tunnel. | Raphael Fernandez/The Cougar
The stage was set—a sellout crowd of 42,000-plus fans, a season-high number of student tickets claimed, a primetime stage on national television and the marquee matchup the Cougars had been longing for against the No. 11 Texas Tech Red Raiders at TDECU Stadium.
Houston hadn’t felt the blues all season, but an upper-body injury to starting quarterback junior Conner Weigman late in the second quarter, an unrelenting Texas Tech defense and ball security issues were too much for the Cougars to overcome in their 35-11 defeat Saturday night.
Following the game, coach Willie Fritz reiterated the uncertainty surrounding Weigman’s injury and the extent of his injury.
Among the many factors contributing to Houston football’s 4-0 start to the 2025 campaign was ball security, as it entered the night having committed just one turnover through five weeks.
That turnover total ballooned to four, not even three full quarters in the game.
Junior quarterback Zeon Chriss-Gremillion, who started seven of last season’s games and replaced the injured Weigman, was responsible for one of the turnovers.
He provided a short-lived jolt to Houston’s reeling offense with a two-play touchdown drive, which included a 64-yard connection to junior wide receiver Amare Thomas for Houston’s first touchdown.
Chriss-Gremillion then floated in the two-point conversion to senior wide receiver Stephon Johnson, trimming Texas Tech’s lead to 25-11. That’d end up being the closest the Cougars could get the remainder of the night.
“He came in hurling. Did a great job, first series that he was in, he was outstanding,” Fritz said. “But he had some difficulties, too, with protection, being able to set his feet in the pocket.”
While in Red Raider territory for the first time in the second half, Chriss-Gremillion underthrew a deep pass, which was intercepted at the Texas Tech 23-yard line, eliminating the most promising scoring opportunity of the frame.
Houston’s defense forced a turnover of its own near the 10-minute mark of the third quarter, recovering a fumble off of Texas Tech sophomore running back Cameron Dickey.
Despite getting as close as Texas Tech’s 25-yard line, consecutive penalties pushed Houston back to the opposing 40-yard line, resulting in another empty-handed drive.
The Cougars’ defense allowed a season-high 35 points, including 552 total yards, more than doubling Houston’s total of 267.
“You can’t treat a loss differently than a win, because we’re trying to gradually grow, so we have to bounce back,” senior running back Dean Connors said.
Houston will aim to bounce back against a winless Oklahoma State team on Saturday, Oct. 11, at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., at 11:00 a.m.
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