DALLAS (FWAA) – The Houston Cougars broke out to a 24-0 lead and their defense stood firm in the second half Saturday in a 24-16 win at No. 24 Arizona State. For taking their first road win over a ranked opponent since 2017, the Cougars earned the Pop-Tarts Crazy Good Team of the Week for games the weekend of Oct. 25, as selected by the All-America Committee of the Football Writers Association of America.
This is the fifth time for Houston (7-1, 4-1 Big 12) to receive the award by the FWAA and the first time since the first weekend of the 2016 season when it toppled No. 3 Oklahoma, 33-23. Houston is 7-1 for the first time since 2021.
Cougars quarterback Connor Weigman threw for 201 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 111 yards and two more scores as Houston won its third consecutive game to stay near the top of the Big 12 standings. Weigman continued his stellar streak for the surging Cougars with his third consecutive game and fourth of the last five to be responsible for at least three touchdowns.
Coming off a series of three-and-outs by Arizona State and then a second missed field goal, Houston took control of the game with a 10-play, 75-yard drive that took nearly five minutes off the third quarter clock. Weigman finished the drive with a one-yard plunge to the end zone and a 24-0 Houston lead with 1:06 left in the third quarter. The score was Weigman’s eighth rushing touchdown of the season, tied for the Big 12 lead among quarterbacks, and marks the most by a Houston quarterback since 2018.
Just prior to that, Weigman hit tight end Tanner Koziol with a short scoring pass that gave Houston a 17-0 lead. Koziol finished with seven catches for 100 yards.
Houston’s defense has been a key part of the win streak as well. The Cougars held Arizona State to 98 rushing yards, the fourth time this season for Houston to hold the opponent to a sub-100-yard mark.
Houston’s recorded its first road win over a ranked opponent since taking a 28-24 win at No. 17 South Florida on Oct. 29, 2017.
The Cougars hosts West Virginia in Big 12 action at 11 a.m. CT Saturday on FS1.
Since 2002, the FWAA has named a National Team of the Week. Coming into the 2025 season, 284 teams have been honored, including 101 different Division I programs. Each honored team will receive a custom Pop-Tarts "care package" along with a hand-crafted game ball made in America by Dallas-based Big Game USA, the nation's leading manufacturer of custom footballs.
The other National Team of the Week nominees for the weekend of Oct. 25 were:
- Ole Miss (7-1): The Rebels won at No. 11 Oklahoma, 34-26, behind 436 yards of total offense that held onto the ball late and scored the game’s final nine points. Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss surpassed 300 yards passing for fourth time in six starts, ending with 315 yards and a touchdown while adding 53 yards on the ground. The 368 yards of total offense marked his fourth game with at least 350 this season.
- Texas A&M (8-0): The Aggies dominated the second half to cruise past No. 20 LSU, 49-25, in Death Valley. Quarterback Marcel Reed threw for 202 yards and rushed for a career-best 108 yards to lead the Aggies to their best start to a season since 1992. The Aggies gained over 400 total yards for a seventh consecutive game and let their defense take over in the second half, compiling seven total sacks and 11 tackles for loss in the second half.
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Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,100 men and women who cover college football. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at tiger@fwaa.com.