The Good, Bad and Ugly of Houston Cougars' Week 2 Victory

While its always great to have an outstanding game, doing it against your former team sometimes makes it that much more sweet. Connors can certainly attest to that statement, as the transfer running back stomped through his previous squad with ease.

In just 13 carries, Connors was off to the races as he carved through Owl defenders he accrued 132 yards rushing as well as two scores on the ground. Connors looks to be the next face of the Houston running back room, and with a performance like Saturday's, it's hard not to see why he is poised for the brunt of the carries.

The Bad: Passing game development

It's hard to criticize an offense that has been getting the job done through the first two games, however without at least a 200-yard performance against non-conference competition right before Big 12 play begins, there is a little bit left to be desired.

Outside of an explosive, 74-yard touchdown pass to Johnson in the fourth quarter, offensive coordinator Slade Nagle's squad was on track to barely go over 100 yards passing to take home the win over Rice. Though different games require different ways to win, the Cougars will need a sharp and precise passing game to defeat Colorado next week on both fronts.

The Ugly: First-half punt fest

Though the final score seemed evident of a comfortable Houston lead throughout, such a cushion was not seen until far after halftime. Going in the intermission, a tight game had the Cougars barely edging the Owls, 7-3.

The Owls’ defense was able to force five punts and a turnover on downs on Houston’s first six drives, as it was difficult for the Cougars to find open receivers to extend drives. Before too long, however, Houston got it back into high gear and scored on four of the next five drives.

If victory is found over the Buffaloes, these first-half blunders will have to be corrected before next week.