Conner Weigman was 15-for-24 passing for 222 yards and had 17 carries for 83 yards and two touchdowns to lead Houston to a 36-20 home win over Colorado in the Big 12 opener for both teams on Friday night.
Dean Connors had 22 carries for 89 yards and a touchdown, while Stephon Johnson had five receptions for 117 yards. Blake Thompson and Wrook Brown each had an interception. Ethan Sanchez connected on field goals from 52, 43, 47, 35 and 49 yards for Houston (3-0, 1-0 Big 12).
Ryan Staub completed 19 of 35 passes for 204 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Simeon Price rushed for a touchdown, Joseph Williams had a touchdown catch and Zach Atkins scored a touchdown after recovering Staub’s fumble in the end zone for the Buffaloes (1-2, 0-1).
It was a decisive third quarter for the Houston offense, which outgained Colorado 123-0 and held a 12:49-2:11 edge in time of possession. The Buffaloes ran just five plays as Houston chewed up the third-quarter clock with two scoring drives that totaled 25 plays.
The Cougars’ first drive of the second half lasted 8:35 and ended with the fourth Sanchez field goal for a 19-14 lead.
After a Colorado three-and-out, Weigman punctuated a 76-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown on a quarterback sneak that gave Houston a 26-14 lead. Weigman juked his way into the end zone on a 7-yard touchdown run and Houston took a 33-14 lead with 11:39 to play.
A 4-yard touchdown run by Connors gave Houston a 10-0 lead at the 3:52 mark of the first quarter. After Colorado punted on its first four possessions and gained just 42 yards, it engineered back-to-back scoring drives in the second quarter.
The first drive featured Price bursting between the tackles for a 38-yard touchdown run that cut Houston’s lead to 13-7. On Colorado’s next possession, Staub was hit as he dove for the goal line and fumbled, which Atkins recovered in the end zone with 26 seconds left in the second quarter. Colorado trailed 16-14 at halftime.
Staub connected with Williams for a 37-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
