No. 23 Houston Cougars Trail TCU at Halftime

On Houston's side of the signal caller matchup, junior quarterback Conner Weigman is only 6 of 13 passing on 63 yards with a touchdown and an interception. However, on seven carries, he has 24 yards.

Hoover wasted no time getting the bad taste out of his mouth from last weekend as he led the Horned Frogs on an opening eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, featuring chunk receptions from sophomore returner Jeremy Payne and redshirt senior wide receiver Eric McAlister, who landed the deep 33-yard reception into the endzone to put TCU on the board first after electing to receive opening kickoff.

As for Houston, bye week jitters, whether in a winning or losing effort, appeared to have not calmed down yet. Offensively the Cougars couldn't match the Horned Frogs' opening drive efforts as they stalled after seven plays, tallying just 18 yards. They would end the quarter with 48 total.

On the Horned Frogs' second drive, junior linebacker Latreveon McCutchin and senior nose guard Carlos Allen Jr. issued a TFL of Payne to help the Cougars stall them three-and-out deep in their own territory and limit breakaway damage for the time being.

This didn't last long as a 10-play, 83-yard drive by TCU, capped off by a 17-yard touchdown reception from redshirt junior wide receiver Jordan Dwyer, put the Cougars in a 14-0 hole near the end of the first quarter.

To open the second frame, the Cougars caught a huge break when sophomore cornerback Will James intercepted Hoover at Houston's 38-yard line.

This was capitalized when Weigman proceeded to lead an 11-play, 62-yard drive, capped off by a 15-yard touchdown to junior wide receiver Amare Thomas, after the Cougars faced a 4th & 3 near the redzone that was taken away by a TCU hold. Houston found itself right back in it.

Another opportunity unfolded for the Cougars as senior star back Wrook Brown intercepted Hoover on a deep pass intended for McAlister, as it was deflected off of junior free safety Kentrell Webb at Houston's 7-yard line.

On 3rd & 8 in the resulting drive, senior running back Dean Connors took an out route and ran 54 yards to TCU's 37-yard line, nearly evading the secondary for the house call. This run tied for his longest after a 54-yard touchdown run in his return to Rice on Sept. 6.

However, facing a 4th & goal at the 1, Weigman was intercepted by freshman safety Julius Simms, making the opportunity missed.

Houston will receive the second-half kickoff still looking to erase its deficit to the Horned Frogs' early spot. As for TCU, it'll look to hold on to clinch a winning season and end the Cougars' Big 12 title contention hopes.