Tag: Houston Football

Former Texas A&M QB Conner Weigman has found his new home for the 2025 season

Conner Weigman is headed to join the Houston Cougars for the 2025 season

What a wild ride it’s been for former Texas A&M quarterback Conner Weigman, who entered the transfer portal earlier this month in hopes of reviving his starting career after three seasons with the Aggies.

Entering the program with the highest of hopes, the former five-star prospect and No. 1-ranked quarterback in the Aggies’ historic 2022 recruiting class dealt with a load of adversity right out the gate, which included his season-ending ankle injury during his first entire starting season in 2023.

After Jimbo Fisher’s eventual firing at the end of the 2023 campaign, Weigman was tasked with learning a new playbook under OC Collin Klein and new head coach Mike Elko. Weigman was sidelined for three games after his career-low performance in the season-ending loss to Notre Dame.

Weigman’s injury gave rise to current starting QB Marcel Reed, and even after returning and completing 18/22 for nearly 300 yards in A&M’s blowout win over Missouri, the redshirt sophomore’s play declined against Mississippi State and LSU, losing the starting job.

Needing a fresh start, Weigman’s recent visit to Houston was an immediate success, as I can now report that Conner has committed to the Houston Cougars for the 2025 season,

Conner Weigman finished his Texas A&M career with over 2,600 yards passing and 19 touchdowns,

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Cameron on X: @CameronOhnysty.

3 keys to an Oklahoma Sooners victory over the Houston Cougars

The Oklahoma Sooners have a underrated challenge coming to town and here are three keys for their matchup with the Houston Cougars.

Brent Venables and his team are putting the finishing touches on preparation for their second game of the 2024 season. After a 48-point win over Temple, OU readies to host the Big 12’s Houston Cougars.

The Cougars are the first Big 12 team Oklahoma will face since moving to the SEC. The two teams have played twice in the last decade, with each side picking up a win.

In Week 1, Oklahoma struggled on third down, going 1 of 12. The defense, however, suffocated the Owls. Offensive line play was a focus of much post-game angst, and rightfully so. The Sooners struggled to run the ball, and the depth at receiver was called into action. Most probably weren’t expected to contribute in 2024, but injuries have forced Emmett Jones’s hand.

Willie Fritz left Tulane to take the job at Houston, and his team will be ready to play after a disappointing performance against UNLV.

Oklahoma should win the game convincingly, but the Sooners can’t get caught napping or the action could get weird quickly.

Below, we compiled our three keys to a Sooners victory.

Establish the line of scrimmage

This is a direct message to Bill Bedenbaugh and his offensive line. The big boys up front have been in a battle all offseason to decide who would earn snaps. As the games go by, the Sooners need to put their five best out there so they can jell.

Projected starter at right tackle Jake Taylor looks ready to suit up. Though we haven’t yet seen what Taylor’s capable of as a starting offensive lineman at the collegiate level, with a four-star pedigree, there are high hopes for the 2022 signee.

The Sooners need to come out and let the Cougars know that whatever ideas and inspiration they might have gleaned from the film against Temple will not work. The running game should pop much more often than it did in the first half of their week one win.

Up Next: 2 More Keys to Victory

Pages: Page 1, Page 2

Watch: Texans QB C.J. Stroud throws out first pitch at Astros game

The Houston Astros may want to call the Texans to rent C.J. Stroud as their next start on the mound.

C.J. Stroud might be the Houston Texans’ starting quarterback, but the team across town might need to borrow him for six frames in the not-so-distant future.

Stroud, the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year, threw out the first pitch Monday night before the Houston Astros took on the Atlanta Braves at Minute Maid Park. Much like in the 2022 World Series, the Braves would go on to win 6-1.

Houston’s pitching has been downright putrid to begin the year under new manager Joe Espada, posting a team ERA of 5.35. Stroud, who grew up playing all sports, but thrived on the gridiron and the hard court, delivered a perfect strike to first baseman Jon Singleton, though any professional big-league would have taken him yard before rounding the bases.

Unlike the Astros, the Texans are looking to progress following a breakout season behind Stroud, Defensive Rookie of the Year Will Anderson Jr., and new coach DeMeco Ryans. Houston was one of the more aggressive teams in free agency, spending $178.5 million this offseason in guaranteed money,

Stroud, who became the fifth rookie passer in league history to throw for 4,000-plus yards in Year 1, should only benefit from a revamped offensive arsenal. The Texans not only re-signed tight end Dalton Schultz to a three-year extension, but also traded draft capital to acquire running back Joe Mixon and receiver Stefon Diggs. 

Last season, Stroud led the NFL in passing yards per game (274) and touchdown-to-interception ratio (23-5). He was named a Pro Bowler, where his relationship began to grow with Diggs off the field. Anderson, whom the Texans traded up nine spots to acquire at No. 3, also earned a Pro Bowl nod after breaking J.J. Watt’s rookie sack record (7.0).

Maybe the duo could launch the Astros’ back up the leaderboards? Stroud would be a flamethrowing ace with time, and Anderson likely could compete with Yordan Álvarez at designated hitter.

Stroud and the Texans are back in the building for voluntary workouts. Next week, a slew of new players will join the franchise via the NFL draft.

Houston transfer WR Matthew Golden visiting Texas on Thursday

According to On3’s Gerry Hamilton, Matthew Golden is expected to arrive in Austin later today.

One of Texas’ primary transfer portal targets appears to be Houston wide receiver Matthew Golden. Continue reading “Houston transfer WR Matthew Golden visiting Texas on Thursday”

Texas receives predictions to land transfer WR Matthew Golden

Steve Wiltfong entered a prediction in favor of Texas to land Houston wide receiver Matthew Golden.

Houston wide receiver and former four-star recruit Matthew Golden announced his intentions to enter the transfer portal last week. Continue reading “Texas receives predictions to land transfer WR Matthew Golden”

Fans crushed the NFL for sending Houston a cease-and-desist letter over Oilers-themed uniforms

If the University of Houston can’t wear Oilers-like uniforms, why do the Titans get to?

To start its 2023 season, the University of Houston unveiled powder blue Oilers-like uniforms against the UTSA Roadrunners in September. They drew rave reviews and were generally well-received by almost everyone.

That is, except for the NFL.

According to the Houston Chronicle, the league’s merchandising and license division sent a cease-and-desist letter to the school to stop any further usage of the Oilers’ trademarked uniforms. An NFL attorney reportedly threatened Houston with further legal action if the school didn’t stop its “blatant copying” of the old Oilers’ jerseys. Houston apparently decided to wear the uniforms anyway after the NFL had already warned the program. The Tennessee Titans — the extremely loose spiritual successor to the now-defunct Houston Oilers — wore the official trademarked version of the uniforms in their 28-23 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

More from the Houston Chronicle:

“The Houston Cougars’ attempt to free ride on the popularity of the NFL and the club violates the intellectual property rights of the NFL and the (Tennessee) Titans,” attorney Bonnie L. Jarrett wrote in the Oct. 13 letter.”

All of this raises an important question. If Houston, the school, can’t wear these uniforms, paying obvious homage to the city’s former pro football history, then why do the Titans get the golden opportunity to maximize them?

Yes, the Titans are still owned by the late Bud Adams’ family. (These days, it’s his daughter, Amy Adams Strunk.) And yes, Bud Adams transferring over the Oilers to Nashville did initially mean taking all of their uniforms and history with them. But as veteran Nashville reporter David Boclair wrote in a Facebook post, Adams only rebranded the Oilers because the people of the city threw a “hissy fit” over the team not having an original Tennessee identity and flavor. (This I can understand because the regular Titans’ uniforms are boring abominations borne of a Create-A-Team in Madden.)

Not to mention that the city of Houston seemingly barely wanted the Oilers to stay around before they moved in the mid-1990s:

That’s the rub here.

If Nashville wanted the Titans to be distinct and represent their city on their own merits, they deserve that right. A pro football squad can and should be an important cultural appendage of a bog-standard American town. But why does the NFL continue to allow them to wear uniforms from a now nonexistent pro football team from another city? It’s thoroughly hypocritical. It’d be like the Oklahoma City Thunder wearing Seattle Supersonics “throwback” uniforms in the NBA. It also speaks to a bizarre cognitive dissonance where Nashville and the Titans are allowed to brazenly dig up the grave of an old franchise with little continued connection to them (to almost certainly make money off selling throwback jerseys) while a school tangentially related to the Oilers can’t even pay proper tribute.

The NFL and Titans, by extension, need to get their priorities in order. This is not a copyright battle worth fighting, and it only makes both parties look incredibly silly.

By the numbers: Texas was outgained in total yards despite victory

Houston had more total yards, but Texas came away with what matters as we look at the final numbers in Saturday’s victory.

The Texas Longhorns survived a scare on Saturday and beat the Houston Cougars 31-24. Continue reading “By the numbers: Texas was outgained in total yards despite victory”

College football fans were beyond baffled by this ball spot late in Houston’s loss to Texas

Referees didn’t seem super on top of this one.

Referees don’t always get it right. They make questionable calls all the time, leaving fans anywhere between perplexed and irate.

And after Saturday’s Texas-Houston game, college football fans had a lot of questions about where officials spot the ball for the Cougars late in their 31-24 loss to the Longhorns.

With less than 90 seconds to go in the fourth quarter as Texas was up by a touchdown, Houston was on the Longhorns’ 10-yard line on third-and-1. Running back Stacy Sneed got the ball and initially appeared to get to the nine-yard line and grab the first down, just barely.

But after officials spot the ball and brought the chains out, they ruled that Sneed was short. Houston ultimately turned the ball over on downs, and Texas held on for the victory.

RELATED: Texas A&M fans were furious after an impeding referee broke up a pass attempt vs. Alabama

Cougars coach Dana Holgorsen on the sideline seemed to have some concerns about the spot. And even the Fox broadcast noted it looked incorrect:

“If the mark is near the 10-yard line, the actual 10, then he was not given credit for all of that run with forward progress.”

College football fans were beyond baffled by the spot, and here’s how they reacted on Twitter (now X):

Everything Steve Sarkisian said to the media ahead of Houston matchup

“I’ve got a team right now that’s a little pissed off, they are angry. They want to get back on the field.”

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian spoke with the media via Zoom after Thursday’s practice. Continue reading “Everything Steve Sarkisian said to the media ahead of Houston matchup”

Early odds released for No. 8 Texas at Houston

No. 8 Texas is the heavy favorite for the Houston matchup on Saturday.

The lines have been released for the Week 8 matchup for the Texas Longhorns against the Houston Cougars. It’s about what you would expect.

No. 8 Texas is favored by 23.5 points according to BetMGM. With a line like that, bettors obviously think the game will not be close.

Playing their first game since the Red River Rivalry loss, expect the Longhorns to come out firing on all cylinders. Texas’ biggest problem thus far has been finishing drives, and Houston is 127th in the country in points per quality possession allowed.

If the Longhorns cannot figure out ways to get in the endzone versus Houston, they might have a tough time down the stretch when they play tougher opponents.

Texas is averaging 35 points per game while Houston is allowing 31.3 points per game. However, Houston’s defense is weak, as evidenced by the 88 points surrendered in the last two games.

Expect a high-scoring game for the Longhorns when Texas faces Houston at 3:00 p.m. CT on Saturday.