How Houston's Defense Kept Hopes Alive vs. TCU

Covering the TCU wide receivers was a big problem for Houston, as it seemed like every drive kept moving down the field because the secondary wasn’t handling its business and was letting too many explosive opportunities. 

Senior WRs Joseph Manjack and Eric McAllister were reeling in several passes as the fourth quarter began; both playmakers registered 79 yards at one point in the game. When Hoover observed the field, his favorite option was Majack, as he was the most consistent weapon in the room, hauling in nine passes for 95 yards. 

This combo of defensive backs, Latrell McCutchin, Kentrell Webb and Wrook Brook had headaches as there wasn’t enough leverage to limit big plays. The Cougars' defense allowed way too many explosive plays. 

Luckily, two passes thrown down the middle looking for McAlister were caught by Houston defenders Will James and Brook, helping keep Fritz’s program alive in the second quarter. That was something to build on as the team went to the locker room, where mistakes got addressed by defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong. 

On the ground, the Horned Frogs struggled to make the blocks needed to move the sticks and run the clock. Eventually, the sophomore RB Jeremy Payne found his groove, getting 18 touches for 103 yards that paid off down the line. 

Payne’s other three teammates, who were in the backfield, didn’t contribute enough, so he was required to keep going the distance because there weren't any open holes, as the senior linebacker Jalen Garner and junior Sione Fotu shut down any open lane, only when the backups came in. 

Unfortunately for Houston, no defensive player stepped up to make a game-changing play when TCU secured possession in the final minutes.  

A major play dialed up was a screen pass where multiple blocks were continuing to execute, and no Cougar was able to shut down the play behind the first-down marker. That sequence of plays afterward ran the clock, forcing timeouts, which gave Weigman hardly any time to work around. 

Late Game Craziness

Junior Latraveon McCutchin arguably made the biggest play of the game after TCU found itself in a pivotal decision it had to make. Roll the dice or be conservative. 

Every fan supporting Houston was so thankful that TCU’s head coach, Sonny Dykes chose to listen to the analytics and end the game with a happy trip back to Fort Worth, Texas. Instead, going for it on a fourth and short ended up biting TCU in the rear. 

Kinda.

Weigman led the offense across the 50-yard line after getting flushed out of the pocket, where he used his mobility to scramble for a colossal 38-yard rush that got the Cougars in field goal range. Offensive coordinator Slade Nagle almost got the offense to score a game-winning touchdown, but the offense found itself in a 4th-and-3 situation that set up kicker Ethan Sanchez to tie the game. 

Not every kick goes well. For a 38-yard kick that was wide left, it ended all chances for the Cougars to make it to the Big 12 Championship Game. Sanchez had been so reliable coming into the evening, making 19 of his 22 kicks, but wasn’t able to drill two kicks throughout the game. 

Houston walked out of the game with its third loss of the season, falling 17-14 at home. In the regular-season finale, it will travel to Waco, Texas, to battle Baylor on Saturday, Nov. 29.