FILE PHOTO: The Colorado Buffaloes Football Team celebrates after Kaleb Mathis scores a touchdown at the game against Delaware at Folsom Field on Saturday September 6. 2025 (Simon Vahnish/CU Independent)
The University of Colorado football team travels south this Friday to begin Big 12 conference play against the University of Houston. Now two games into the season, this upcoming matchup with Houston emerges as an early must-win for Colorado to remain competitive for a conference championship. In-conference opponents, like Brigham Young University, Texas Christian University, Iowa State University and the University of Utah, all undefeated, have exceeded expectations early and now loom large on the Buffs’ schedule. The Houston Cougars, although undefeated, remain a beatable opponent on the road.
The major headline for this matchup is the expected switch up at starting quarterback for Colorado as sophomore Ryan Staub is set to make his first start of the season. Although head coach Deion Sanders has remained mum as to explicitly naming his starting quarterback against Houston, Staub has been taking first-team reps in practice all week. Realistically, though, Staub’s status as starter is a revolving door, just as it was a week ago when the Colorado offense tested three different quarterbacks under center.
On the Houston side, the Cougars breezed through their first two games of the season, beating Stephen F. Austin State University and Rice University by a combined 53 points. That being said, Houston football is a program in flux. Most of the team’s starting lineup, in what is becoming quite common in college football, are transfer arrivals. In addition to other positions, the Cougars brought in a new starting quarterback, replaced their entire offensive line and bolstered their defensive secondary via the transfer portal. Former five star recruit and Texas A&M quarterback Conner Weigman, Rice transfer running back Dean Connors and returning starting cornerback Latrell McCutchin Sr. lead the Cougars in 2025.
Storylines to watch for on Friday night:
DJ McKinney and the Colorado defense facing a downfield passing game– In last week’s game against Rice, Houston’s Dean Conners ripped his former team for 132 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns off just 13 carries. The week before that against SF Austin, the Cougars ran for 192 yards off 42 carries. In short, Houston has been reliant upon their run game in the early season when matched against weaker opponents. Colorado’s defense may have faltered when tested by the country’s ninth best rushing offense against Georgia Tech, but the University of Delaware’s 2.8 yards per carry last week provides a more accurate image of what Houston might manage behind their newly constructed offensive line. To move the ball against the Buffs, expect Houston to test the downfield passing game managed by new quarterback Conner Weigman.
Weigman has shown flashes of elite arm talent during his collegiate career, including a 338 passing yard, four touchdown game against the University of Mississippi his freshman year and a 236 passing yard, five touchdown game against the University of New Mexico his sophomore year, but his time at College Station was largely underwhelming. Seeking a fresh start at Houston, Weigman took advantage of his limited opportunities through the first two games of the season with three passing touchdowns versus SF Austin alone and a combined 347 passing yards.
In Colorado, Weigman will face a competent group of veteran defensive backs. Outside cornerbacks DJ McKinney and RJ Johnson have each snagged an interception in the young season, while nickel cornerback Preston Hodge was an all-Big 12 honorable mention a season ago. Safeties Carter Stoutmire and Ben Finneseth both have spent their entire collegiate careers at Colorado, and Finneseth, in particular, has impressed this season after transitioning from special teams to full-time defensive starter in the offseason. Expect the unit to rely on its continuity on Friday.
The Houston defense replicating last year’s success– In 2024 the Houston defense allowed an average of 22.9 points per game, good enough for 40th in the FBS and fourth best of Big 12 teams. In 2025, the only 9 points were scored on the Cougars defense through the first two games. Even more impressive, Houston has yet to allow more than 250 total yards in a game and ranks fourth nationally in total defense. A year ago, the strength of this Houston squad was undoubtedly the defense, but roster turnover puts that to test this season. The majority of the core members of the 2024 defense, including Houston’s leader in sacks Keith Cooper Jr., leader in tackles Michael Batton and two starting safeties AJ Haulcy and Jeremiah Wilson, departed in the offseason.
However, the Houston defense returns a few standouts. Brothers Latreveon and Latrell McCutchin both resume their positions at outside linebacker and cornerback, respectively, from a year ago. The latter of which, Latrell, was a child reality television star in the series Friday Night Tykes, for those that remember, and projects to be one of the best cornerbacks in the Big 12 this season. He already accounted for 13 tackles combined in the SF Austin and Rice games.
Head coach Willie Fritz praised McCutchin’s performance last week against Rice on Monday, saying, “great tackling game, one time he came out of the box… I started seeing him and he pulled the trigger, and I was like, ‘wow, that is a big time play.’”
Additionally, defensive tackle Carlos Allen anchors the defensive line. After racking up 43 tackles a season ago, Allen already has 10 tackles this season. Combining the returners with immediate impact transfers edge rusher Eddie Walls III and safety duo Wrook Brown and Kentrell Webb, the Houston defense has thus far resembled last year’s stout unit.
“Defensively, they got some guys that can cover. Hopefully, we can run the ball and have a balanced attack,” commented Sanders on the Houston secondary.
Colorado will play at Houston on Friday, Sept.12, at 5:30 p.m. MDT. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN.
Contact CU Independent Sports Editor Charlie Hewitt at charles.hewitt@colorado.edu
