Houston comes up inches short against Texas Tech but sends a message in loss. Cougars are contenders
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LUBBOCK - If the University of Houston wants to know just how close it is to being a contender in the Big 12, well, the answer can be measured in inches.
Conner Weigman's desperation lunge for the goal line on a two-point conversion with 49 seconds came up short as the No. 22 Cougars lost to No. 13 Texas Tech 28-26 at Galaxy Stadium.
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"There are no moral victories," UH coach Willie Fritz said after the Cougars (2-1) lost in the Big 12 opener. "We came here to win, and we didn't win."
No, but the Cougars gave the defending Big 12 champions all they could handle. UH put together a dominant start, taking a 10-0 lead and controlling the clock for nearly 13 minutes in the first quarter. UH led 17-14 at halftime on a 46-yard over-the-shoulder catch by Koby Young.
And down 28-20 with about three minutes left, Weigman marched the Cougars 10 plays and 88 yards, capped off by a 10-yard touchdown catch by tight end Patrick Overmyer.
A two-point conversion.
Possible overtime.
TEXAS TECH 28, UH 26
Houston10736-26Texas Tech01477-28First Quarter
HOU_FG Dimas 31, 9:27.
HOU_A.Thomas 11 pass from Weigman (Dimas kick), 3:32.
Second Quarter
TTU_Ke.Johnson 35 pass from Hammond (Harrington kick), 14:08.
TTU_Castellanos 3 run (Harrington kick), 3:39.
HOU_K.Young 46 pass from Weigman (Dimas kick), 1:11.
Third Quarter
TTU_J.Williams 29 run (Harrington kick), 12:41.
HOU_FG Dimas 27, 5:31.
Fourth Quarter
TTU_Dickey 1 run (Harrington kick), 7:36.
HOU_Overmyer 10 pass from Weigman (run failed), :49.
___
HOUTTUFirst downs2722Total Net Yards458425Rushes-yards37-17632-168Passing282257Punt Returns1-222-15Kickoff Returns1-160-0Interceptions Ret.2-00-0Comp-Att-Int27-38-017-28-2Sacked-Yards Lost3-21-5Punts4-45.03-58.667Fumbles-Lost2-10-0Penalties-Yards7-605-35Time of Possession33:4226:18___
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING_Houston, Hughes 15-71, Weigman 13-56, Sanford 5-30, Butler 2-11, K.Young 1-10, (Team) 1-(minus 2). Texas Tech, Dickey 16-65, J.Williams 7-62, Hammond 5-30, Quinte.Joyner 2-11, Castellanos 1-3, (Team) 1-(minus 3).
PASSING_Houston, Weigman 27-38-0-282. Texas Tech, Hammond 17-27-1-257, Castellanos 0-1-1-0.
RECEIVING_Houston, Overmyer 8-72, A.Thomas 7-75, Sanford 5-50, K.Young 2-48, Hughes 2-28, T.Walker 2-5, K.Thomas 1-4. Texas Tech, Ke.Johnson 4-113, Eakin 3-40, J.Williams 3-14, Carter 2-34, Carpenter 2-27, Dickey 1-13, J.Jones 1-11, Lee 1-5.
MISSED FIELD GOALS_None.
A chance to send an early-season message to the rest of college football.
It was all there for the taking.
Weigman dropped back to pass, couldn't find an open receiver and took off to the left side. He was wrapped up by Texas Tech linebacker Austin Romaine at the 3-yard line. His knee was down - video review confirmed - before he lunged forward to extend the ball across the goal line.
"They played it well," said Weigman, who threw for 282 yards and three touchdowns. "I was trying to make something happen. I feel like some of our guys were covered. I tried to buy some time. You have to reach and try and get the two-point conversion. I have it all I've got."
Fritz said he saw the replay on the stadium video board.
"Hard to tell," he said. "We thought there was a chance his knee had not touched when he extended, but they didn't see it that way."
"I felt like it was close," Weigman added.
In between a dominant first-quarter and a wild finish, the Cougars did just enough to cost themselves what would have been the program's biggest win since beating third-ranked Louisville and Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson in 2016.
Two drives inside the red zone stalled, forcing the Cougars to settle for 31- and 28-yard field goals by Jonathan Dimas. One particularly damning sequence came late in the third quarter with the Cougars at the Tech 4-yard line. On fourth-and-2, UH right guard McKenzie Agnello was called for a false start.
"A big part of this game is who scores touchdowns instead of kicking field goals," Fritz said. "It's hard to get down there, and when you get down there, you want to maximize it and score touchdowns. We just didn't do that on a couple of occasions."
Fritz said the Cougars struggled against the run late in the game, allowing a 29-yard touchdown run on the first drive of the second half and a 1-yard run by Cameron Dickey for the eventual game-winner with 7½ minutes left in the game.
There also were some misses on "some fairly easy tackles" on pass plays late in the game. The Cougars managed interceptions by cornerbacks Jalen Mayo and Will James, but gave up six pass plays of at least 20 yards.
"When you play a close ball game like that, you have to play close to error-free, and we did not," Fritz said. He added: "We played OK, but not our best."
It was almost enough to pull off one of the biggest upsets of the season's first month.
Texas Tech, led by a defense that features six NFL draft picks, was never really challenged last season, winning all 12 regular-season games by at least 22 points.
This is not the same Red Raiders, who showed flaws throughout Friday's game when backup quarterback Thomas Castellanos threw an interception on the Red Raiders' first offensive play. Texas Tech managed only 30 yards in the first quarter - 28 coming on a catch by Kenny Johnson.
After Amare Thomas' 11-yard touchdown catch gave the Cougars a 10-0 lead, Tech recovered on a 35-yard TD catch by Johnson and a 3-yard run by Castellanos.
"We've got to have that intensity the whole game," Mayo said. "We can't have it the first half and then shut it down in the second half's it has to be all four quarters."
In a dark area just outside the locker room, the Cougars gathered for a few words.
A big opportunity had slipped away.
"It's over with," Mayo said. "There's nothing we can do about it now until the next time we see them."
Could that be a rematch in the Big 12 championship game?
"We're going to see them again," Mayo said.
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