The No. 20 Houston Cougars showed up and showed out in a special home ranked win over the No. 18 Oklahoma State Cowboys 35-32 on Saturday night at TDECU Stadium.
This big ranked win at home, the first of its kind for Houston since 2015, has firmly cemented the Cougars as one of the Big 12 contenders as the final stretch run approaches. Houston was up 14-3 at halftime, and it suddenly became an offensive shootout in the second half that the Cougars were just in control of.
Here are five immediate takeaways from this meaningful victory.
Conner Weigman Delivered
Houston knew it needed to put up a lot of points on the scoreboard to come out with the victory, and fifth-year quarterback Conner Weigman came through in a big way. It was the best passing performance of his career, with five passing touchdowns and 343 passing yards. Both of those marks were career highs.
He completed 24 of 33 (73 percent) of his passes, and also threw one interception that wasn't really his fault, as it got tipped. His five touchdowns were to four different receivers. The game was in his hands for the most part and Weigman proved he's one of, if not the best in the Big 12 at the moment.
Houston's First Half Defense
While it turned into an offensive feast in the second half, it was Houston's defense that put together an impressive first half. Even without multiple starters, the Cougars held the powerful Oklahoma State offense to just three points. That featured multiple red zone stops and third-and-fourth-and-goal situations where the defense forced incompletions.
The Cowboys only had 138 total yards at halftime, with 124 of those being in the air. They were also one out of five on third down.
Turnovers
Winning the turnover battle was a huge part of this game, and it was the Cougars who had just one interception on the first drive, while Oklahoma State had two. It could've easily been more. One of redshirt sophomore quarterback Drew Mestemaker's fumbles was recovered by an offensive lineman, while a fumble by receiver Terrance Lewis was overturned.
Redshirt junior cornerback Will James' interception gave Houston its second first-half touchdown. Mestemaker's second fumble was recovered and ended a critical drive. He also threw another interception that was called back due to a penalty.
Time of Possession
This was the key formula for Houston to win. The Cougars had to maintain control and keep Oklahoma State's offense on the sideline. Houston was No. 1 in time of possession in the Big 12 and had just over 35 minutes of possession compared to almost 25 minutes for Oklahoma State.
Those 10 extra minutes were key for Houston to control the game.
Wide Receiver Depth
The Cougars put on a show with all the different weapons on offense that Weigman got involved. Senior receiver Amare Thomas was the star with those two incredible touchdown receptions in the second half. He ended up with seven catches for 126 yards and those two scores.
Fifth-year receiver Trent Walker also showed his reliability and put together his best performance as a Cougar with seven catches for 104 yards and one touchdown. Redshirt sophomore receiver Koby Young got involved as well on a perfect deep ball from Weigman, as he had a 48-yard touchdown reception. Young ended up with three catches for 68 yards and the score.
These three are the main targets at receiver, and all showed up. Don't forget about redshirt junior tight end Patrick Overmyer as well. He also had five catches for 32 yards and a touchdown.
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