PreGameday: Houston

But the first game after a bye week is an interesting game for any school, especially one with a new head coach. Under former HC Chris Klieman, K-State was 5-5 in games following a bye, with four of the five losses having a double digit margin of loss. But every coach has different patterns and Klein will get to see how his team responds to an extra week for the first time.

There are plenty of new experiences for the coaching staff this week, including Klein’s first matchup against Houston HC Willie Fritz since the 2022 loss to Tulane. In past matchups, Fritz always found a way to get into Chris Klieman’s head, beating him with anything from a Cotton Bowl caliber Tulane to a 4-8 Houston team. Though Klein struggled to muster double digits as OC against Fritz in 2022, this is the first matchup between the two in their new roles.

Defense

The makeup of a strong Willie Fritz team has always started on the defensive side of the ball. Since 2022, Fritz’s defenses have consistently ranked top 50 in the country, allowing no more than 23 points on average over the past four years. This year is no different, with the Cougars sitting at 47th in scoring defense and allowing less than 20 points per game. 

UH sits at 8th in the nation in rushing defense, allowing 65 yards per game on the ground. K-State had a decent outing in the run game against Cincinnati, but this defensive line for Houston suffocates rushers, eliminating a whole aspect of the offense for most of the game.

But even with such staggering numbers in the trenches, offenses are finding ways to move the ball fairly efficiently. Where Houston’s front seven excels, their secondary has been one of the worst in the entire nation, ranking 123rd in passing yards allowed. Though Conner Weigman has played well as QB for UH, he’s been out-passed in four of Houston’s five games thus far because the Cougar secondary is allowing over 250 yards on average.

The key for K-State’s offense lies in Avery Johnson and the receivers. Though Coach Klein likes to use the run, Fritz has shut down K-State’s run game multiple times and will most likely find a way to do it again. With that in mind, K-State needs to rely on how good Avery looked in Cincinnati through the air and take advantage of a struggling secondary. On top of that, Houston has allowed a touchdown in every redzone trip, so K-State could lean on Rodney Fields Jr and Joe Jackson once they’re inside the 20. Though the gameplan feels obvious, Coach Fritz is no stranger to Manhattan and Klein has to prove he can overcome one of the best defenses in the Big 12.

Offense

Willie Fritz may have consistent defensive success, but the offense has been a different story. Fritz’s last elite offense came in that 2022 season with the Green Wave where they averaged 36 points per game, ranking 19th in the nation. Since then, Fritz led offenses have cracked the top 50 in scoring. But for the first time in Fritz’s tenure with Houston, the offense is back in the top 20 in scoring at 17, averaging over 40 points per game. 

Houston’s offense is led by senior QB Conner Weigman. In his second year with the Cougs, Weigman has the 50th ranked passing offense in the country averaging over 250 yards per game. Weigman’s experience from his time at Texas A&M coupled with Fritz’s coaching has allowed him to grow into a confident passer with an ability to keep his eyes downfield and stay in the pocket. Weigman currently has 11 passing TDs to one interception and he’s thrown for over 1100 yards through five games. Weigman also has the ability to run, especially in goal to go territory. To complement his 11 passing touchdowns, Weigman has six rushing touchdowns, three of them coming from UH’s last matchup with UCF.

Along with the senior QB comes a nice tandem of running backs sharing the backfield in Re’Shaun Sanford II and Makhi Hughes. The duo both combined for over 600 yards and four touchdowns in five games, averaging over five yards per carry as a unit. Combine that with Wiegman’s mobility and you have a trio of threats in the backfield complimented by a strong receiving core. Heading into Saturday, the Cougars have five different receivers with over 100 receiving yards, two of which have over 300 yards through the air.

For K-State’s defense, the challenges are almost a complete reverse to Houston’s. K-State still holds the least amount of passing yards allowed through five weeks and that’s thanks to one of the strongest secondaries in the country. On the other end, the front seven is great in passing situations, but continuously struggles to stop the run, with K-State’s run defense ranking 70th in the nation. Expect Hughes and Sanford to have great games, but Weigman might have a challenge in the pocket. K-State’s defense is 16th in team sacks in the country and Houston’s O-line has allowed at least one sack per game. It’ll be a tall order, but K-State’s defense will have to fix their run defense if the Cats want control of the game.

In conclusion, this will be a contest to see who’s fixed more mistakes and whose defensive weakness costs more. For K-State, the defensive front needs to disrupt Weigman in the pocket and limit what Hughes and Sanford can get away with in the run game. For the offense, don’t shy away from the challenge Houston’s defensive front poses, but rely on Avery Johnson’s passing ability to move the ball until they hit redzone territory. Whether K-State completes the upset is up in the air, but one thing that can be guaranteed is that the matchup will provide a lot of information about this K-State team and how Coach Klein adjusts as head coach.