Utah will face its toughest challenge so far this season when Houston heads to Salt Lake City on Saturday night for a top-15 showdown.
Potent offense has powered the No. 10 Utes (6-0, 3-0 Big 12) to their best start since 2015. Utah leads the Big 12 in scoring offense (40.2 points per game) and is third in total offense (486.5 yards per game).
However, offensive miscues fueled Colorado’s upset bid in Utah’s 27-24 victory last week. Repeated breakdowns in the red zone and a pair of interceptions thrown by Devon Dampier helped the Buffaloes push the Utes in the second half.
“We obviously did enough to stub our toe and make it a game,” Utah coach Morgan Scalley said.
Dampier struggled with inconsistency against Colorado. He threw three touchdown passes and finished with 278 yards through the air, but he also only completed 58.5% of his pass attempts.
Fixing the inefficiency, Scalley suggested, may come down to getting rid of the ball quicker and making fewer reads on some pass plays. He still has confidence in Dampier’s ability to regain the form he showed earlier in the season.
“He’s a stud,” Scalley said. “He’s our guy.”
Freeing Wayshawn Parker to make impact plays against Houston also would be valuable. Parker got bottled up by Colorado, generating only 98 yards on 23 carries. That came on the heels of back-to-back games in which he had at least 170 rushing yards.
Houston (6-1, 3-1) is built to trade blows with Utah on offense. The Cougars rank second in the league in scoring offense (39.3 ppg), fourth in total offense (485.1 ypg) and lead the league in third-down conversion rate (61.4%).
Cougars quarterback Conner Weigman is coming off one of the best performances of his career, throwing for a personal-best 343 yards and a career-high-tying five touchdowns against then-No. 18 Oklahoma State. Houston prevailed 35-32 for its first win over a ranked opponent this season.
Weigman has thrown for at least 239 yards in five consecutive games. He is second in the nation in passing touchdowns (20) and 16th in passing yards (1,771). His 26 total touchdowns are tied for the lead among FBS quarterbacks.
“He’s the best quarterback in the Big 12,” Houston cornerback Will James said.
Houston also has two running backs (Makhi Hughes and Re’Shaun Sanford II) with more than 400 rushing yards apiece and two wide receivers (Amare Thomas and Patrick Overmyer) with more than 400 receiving yards apiece.
“If you watch some of their games, you’ll see them in all sorts of different formations and sets and run a bunch of option and halfback passes, double passes,” Cougars coach Willie Fritz said. “They do a lot of stuff offensively. The main thing is you got to line up right. If you line up right, you got a chance. If you don’t line up right, there’s going to be some problems.”
A victory for either Utah or Houston could carry major implications for the Big 12 title race. The Utes, who do not face No. 8 Texas Tech in the regular season, need a win to keep pace with the Red Raiders and No. 2 BYU atop the league standings.
The Cougars are in must-win mode after a two-point loss to Texas Tech earlier in the season. A defeat to Utah would virtually eliminate Houston from reaching the Big 12 championship game.
Houston leads the all-time series 5-0, most recently beating the visiting Utes 17-14 in 2024.
–Field Level Media
