The No. 14 Houston Cougars will be heading out to Salt Lake City in Week 8 to take on the No. 10 Utah Utes in arguably the biggest game in college football this week. It's one of the marquee matchups in the Big 12 schedule this year, and Houston will need to be at its best to pull out the win.
Health is obviously a key factor at this point in the year, and the Cougars were missing multiple key players on defense last week against what was No. 18 Oklahoma State. Ultimately, Houston was able to overcome that and won 35-32, but it will need that help on defense to survive a tough road environment this week.
The Cougars' injury report will need to be followed closely throughout the week. Although Houston was without senior linebacker Jaden Yates and defensive tackle De'Marion Thomas, fifth-year cornerback Jalen Mayo was questionable with an undisclosed injury and ultimately was not able to go.
Mayo is one of Houston's top corners, and that was a big loss against Oklahoma State. However, coach Willie Fritz announced good news related to Mayo at the start of this week's press conference on Monday.
Houston Gets the Boost on Defense
When asked about Mayo's status for this week, Fritz revealed that he does expect Mayo to play against Utah. This is a huge add back to the defense and a secondary that has had its fair share of issues throughout the year.
Utah is 6-0 and has the No. 1 scoring offense in the Big 12 entering this game at just over 40 points per game. Mayo can now return opposite of All-Big 12 preseason member Will James in the back-end of the defense.
Mayo has an 86.3 defense grade, which ranks fourth nationally and his 81.7 coverage grade ranks 11th. He also ranks 26th nationally with six passes defended, five pass breakups and an interception.
The 6-foot-2, 190-pound cornerback has been a big transfer add from the FCS level at Stephen F. Austin, and has showcased his talents at the Power Four level. Houston still ranks 13th in pass defense in the Big 12, but group has steadily increased their level of play over the past few weeks.
Oklahoma State was held to just three points in the first half and committed multiple turnovers in the game. Mayo's return completes the veteran secondary that will need to slow down Utah's senior quarterback Devon Dampier and his top target in senior receiver Braden Pegan.
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