Fritz leads Houston to 42-28 offensive surge in homecoming at Georgia Southern

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Statesboro, GA was where it all began for Willie Fritz.

After decades of rising in the coaching ranks from JUCO to Division II to FCS, Fritz finally received his first FBS coaching opportunity in 2014, tasked with facilitating Georgia Southern’s transition from the FCS to the FBS. Fritz flourished in Statesboro, producing a 17-7 record in two years with the Eagles.

In his first return to Paulson Stadium since 2015, Fritz retained his winning ways — except on the opposite sideline. The third-year Houston head coach led a 42-28 wire-to-wire victory over his former program, which ironically, is led by former Houston quarterback Clay Helton.

The Cougars’ offense was hyper-efficient in its first trip outside of the state of Texas in seven games. Quarterback Conner Weigman nearly matched his touchdown and incompletion total, finishing 17-of-22 with 239 passing yards and four scores. Houston converted 8-of-9 third downs and scored on each of its first six series, and it only possessed the ball seven times prior to the victory formation drive.

Re’Shaun Sanford II also starred for the offense, capturing a career-high 120 rushing yards on the road. Another offensive standout was Oregon State wide receiver Trent Walker. Walker produced a combined six catches for 64 yards in his first three outings as a Cougar but surpassed that production Saturday afternoon alone. He recorded a team-high 83 receiving yards on six catches, snagging an end zone jump ball to hand Houston a 35-14 lead in the early third quarter.

Houston established a quick 14-0 lead through Weigman, who ran in a 5-yard touchdown and subsequently delivered a 22-yard end zone heave to Koby Young. However, Georgia Southern sleuthed its way to knotting the game at 14 apiece. The Eagles pulled out all the tricks against the No. 25 Cougars, first reaching the end zone on a 40-yard flea-flicker pass from Max Johnson to Alex Taylor. Then, Georgia Southern recovered a surprise onside kick and drove 54 yards down the field for the tying touchdown.

Keeping Houston’s offense off the field through an onside kick was Georgia Southern’s only hope to stop the Cougars. Houston rattled off two touchdown drives in the final six minutes of the half — one capped by Weigman’s second rushing touchdown and another on a short connection from Weigman to tight end Traville Frederick Jr.

Georgia Southern never crawled within one score again, but the Eagles’ passing attack thrived against the Houston secondary. Johnson finished 26-of-38 with 384 passing yards and three touchdowns without an interception, while Taylor recorded 119 yards and two scores. The Cougars have allowed an average of 306 passing yards per game against FBS opponents this year — the No. 1 area for improvement as conference play enters full swing.

Georgia Southern (1-3, 0-0 Sun Belt) concludes non-conference play with three-straight losses, although it finished within 15 points of both Clemson and Houston. The Eagles turn the page to Coastal Carolina, looking to carry over the passing game’s success to Conway, SC next Saturday.

Houston (3-1, 0-1 Big 12) swept its non-conference slate for the second-straight season under Fritz. The Cougars eye their first Big 12 victory of 2026 next Saturday when UCF visits TDECU Stadium for the first time since 2020.

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