Houston quarterback Conner Weigman had a hand in all six of his team’s touchdowns Saturday afternoon as the No. 25 Cougars rebounded from a Big 12 loss last weekend to beat Georgia Southern 42-28 in Statesboro, Ga.
After slipping three spots in the latest Associated Press poll following a 28-26 loss to then-No. 13 Texas Tech, the Cougars (3-1) held a two-touchdown lead after one quarter, but Weigman’s standout play helped them pull away over the final three.
The senior was 17-for-22 for 239 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed for two scores.
Houston had 441 yards of offense and was 8-for-9 on third down.
In losing their third straight game, the Sun Belt Conference’s Eagles (1-3) got a strong outing from Max Johnson, a 2023 Texas A&M teammate of Weigman’s who took over for Weigman as the Aggies’ QB after Weigman was injured.
The left-hander was 26-of-38 for 284 yards and three touchdowns. Alex Taylor had six catches for 119 yards and two scores.
The visitors forced a fumble in Eagles territory that was recovered by De’Marion Thomas and went on a six-play, 37-yard drive. Weigman ended it with a 5-yard quarterback draw with 10:30 left in the first.
He added to the lead in his squad’s next possession by finding Koby Young, who made a 22-yard over-the-shoulder grab that put Houston up 14-0 with 2:31 to go in the period.
Johnson connected with Taylor from 40 yards on a flea-flicker to cut the home side’s deficit in half, and then the Eagles followed that by recovering an onside kick that Ty Cummings cashed in with a jet-sweep touchdown from 2 yards out to knot the game 14-all.
Weigman’s 47-yard completion to Patrick Overmyer set up the QB’s second short scoring run, a 1-yarder with 5:48 remaining in the half that put Houston up again. He tossed 2-yard TD pass to Traville Frederick Jr. in the final minute for a 28-14 halftime lead.
Houston added to the lead early in the second half when Weigman tossed a 23-yard TD pass to Trent Walker for a 35-14 edge, but Johnson hit Taylor again, finding him on a throw of 23 yards on fourth-and-4 to trim the lead back to two scores.
The Cougars went 6-for-6 in possessions ending in touchdowns when Amare Thomas made a diving catch from 11 yards out early in the fourth quarter for a 42-21 margin, but River Helms made it 42-28 by pulling in a 5-yard touchdown throw from Johnson with 8:04 left.
–Field Level Media
