Know Thy Foe: Houston Cougars
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
The UCF Knights (4-4, 1-4 Big 12) come back home for the ninth annual Space Game on Friday night, and they have a tough challenge against the Houston Cougars (7-2, 4-2 Big 12).
Kickoff is set for Friday night at 8 p.m. ET and the game will be televised on FS1.
Let’s learn about the Cougars:
- Gameday Info
- Injury Report
- Series
- About the Cougars
- Head Coach: Willie Fritz
- Houston Offense
- Houston Defense
- The More You Know…
Gameday Info
- Kickoff: Friday, November 7, 8 p.m. ET
- Location: Acrisure Bounce House
- TV: FS1 — Dan Hellie and Petros Papadakis
- Spread: UCF -1.5 (DraftKings)
- Weather Forecast: 71°, clear
Injury Report
Series
Leader: UCF, 8-3
Last Meeting: 2023 — UCF 27, Houston 13
The last time Houston beat UCF was Scott Frost’s first season in 2016.
About the Cougars
Record: 7-2, 4-2 in the Big 12
Last Week: Lost to West Virginia, 45-35
The Cougars celebrated being ranked for the first time as a Big 12 team by completely laying an egg at home against West Virginia in one of the most perplexing games we’ve seen this season in the conference:
Their only other loss was to Texas Tech, which was at least explainable.
Head Coach: Willie Fritz
Say what you want but Willie Fritz can coach. From the JuCo level to FCS, Group of Five at Tulane and now the Power Four at Houston, the man knows how to build a winner.
He has struggled against UCF, however, with only one win in six tries. That win was a big one though: The 2022 AAC Championship in New Orleans, when Fritz’s Green Wave broke through a banged-up UCF team in the Knights’ final game in The American.
Houston Offense
| Big 12 Rank | FBS Rank | Houston Offense | Stat | UCF Defense | FBS Rank | Big 12 Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th | 62nd | 29.4 | Points/Game | 18.8 | 21st | 4th |
| 12th | 69th | 383.3 | Total Yards/Game | 307.8 | 20th | 4th |
| 9th | 58th | 161.3 | Rush Yards/Game | 146.4 | 66th | 8th |
| 9th | 77th | 222.0 | Pass Yards/Game | 161.4 | 11th | 3rd |
| 3rd | 23rd | 8 | Turnovers | 9 | 86th | 10th |
Key Player: QB #1 Conner Weigman
A former five-star recruit and National High School Quarterback of the Year, Weigman spent three seasons at Texas A&M before transferring to Houston prior to this season.
He has proven to be one of the top dual-threat QBs in the nation, throwing for 1,890 yards on 65% completions with 16 TDs and 4 interceptions (despite losing WR Stephon Johnson to a season-ending injury), plus 327 yards on the ground with 9 more TDs. He may be the most well-rounded QB UCF faces this season.
Other Guys to Watch
- #44 RBDean Connors — 657 yards on 148 carries, 157 yards on 21 catches, 5 total TDs
- #0 WR Amare Thomas — 40 catches, 634 yards, 7 TD
Houston Defense
| Big 12 Rank | FBS Rank | Houston Defense | Stat | UCF Offense | FBS Rank | Big 12 Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6th | 38th | 21.6 | Points/Game | 34.7 | 54th | 9th |
| 7th | 42nd | 338.8 | Total Yards/Game | 445.1 | 26th | 4th |
| 5th | 50th | 134.3 | Rush Yards/Game | 208.1 | 20th | 3rd |
| 6th | 49th | 204.4 | Pass Yards/Game | 237.0 | 63rd | 8th |
| 10th | 86th | 9 | Turnovers | 8 | 36th | 5th |
Key Player: LB #36 Jalen Garner
Garner is in his fourth season at Houston and his staying for that long has paid off. He leads the team in tackles with 58 plus two sacks and a pair of forced fumbles.
Other Guys to Watch
- #90 DL Eddie Walls — 5.5 sacks, 26 tackles
- #5 DL Carlos Allen — 55 tackles, one sack
The More You Know…
- UCF’s first-ever win over a ranked team was against Houston in 2009.
- The winning team in this series has scored 37 or more points six times.
- In two of Houston’s three wins in the series, they’ve scored at least 50.
- Six games in the series have been decided by one possesion. UCF has won five of them.
- The last Houston QB to throw for 300 yards against UCF was David Piland in 2010.
- Scott Frost is 0-1 vs. Houston.
- UCF is 8-0 in Space Games, with one win against Houston in 2019.
- UCF averages outscoring their opponents in Space Games 50.6-19.9.
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos