TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Conner Weigman ran for two touchdowns and threw for another score, tight end Tanner Koziol had 100 yards receiving and Houston held on to beat No. 24 Arizona State 24-16 on Saturday night.
The Cougars (7-1, 4-1 Big 12) won their third straight game and now have a good chance to move into the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2022. It was their first road win over a ranked team since 2017.
“I saw an absolute dog,” Koziol said about Weigman's performance. “He's doing it both ways — he's getting banged up, he's putting his shoulder down and getting yards after contact. He's one of the best in the country, there's no doubt.”
Houston built a 24-0 early in the fourth quarter thanks to a methodical offense and physical defense that put pressure on quarterback Sam Leavitt. Eddie Walls III had two sacks.
Arizona State (5-3, 3-2) had its 10-game home winning streak snapped.
“We've really built a great environment here,” Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham said. “Unfortunately, we couldn't get it done tonight. Didn't play good enough in the first half — really the first three quarters.”
Arizona State rallied to cut it to 24-16 with 5:12 after backup quarterback Jeff Sims — playing for the injured Leavitt — threw a 27-yard touchdown to Chamon Metayer. The Sun Devils got the ball back at their own 4 with a little more than two minutes remaining and a chance to tie, but couldn't muster a first down.
It was a sloppy performance by the Sun Devils, who lost a fumble, had a player ejected for targeting, missed two field goal attempts and were called for 12 penalties.
The Cougars took a 10-0 lead into halftime and made it 17-0 early in the third quarter when Weigman hit Koziol for a 7-yard touchdown on a perfectly placed ball in the back of the end zone.
Weigman — who played his first three college seasons at Texas A&M — finished with 201 yards passing and a career-high 111 yards rushing.
“It's all about playing hard — effort and energy,” Weigman said. “When we turn on the film, we want to be the hardest playing out there and I feel like we did that today.”
Leavitt left the game midway through the first quarter after hitting the ground hard following a 14-yard run. He was down for a few minutes before eventually getting up and jogging to the sideline medical tent and then the locker room.
The quarterback returned by the end of the first quarter, but by then the Sun Devils were already in a 10-0 hole. He finished with 270 yards passing. Malik McClain had 159 yards receiving.
Arizona State was playing without Big 12 leading receiver Jordyn Tyson because of a hamstring injury.
Houston: The Cougars have a great chance to get nationally ranked for the first time since in more than three years after their most impressive victory of the season. Veteran coach Willie Fritz has the program rolling in his second season on campus. That's no surprise considering he's won everywhere he's been, including Tulane, Georgia Southern, Sam Houston State and Central Missouri.
“It's all good,” Fritz said. “But our deal is the next game. We'll review this game on Monday, flush it down the toilet, and move on to our next opponent. That's how you got to do it if you want to be as good as you can be.”
Arizona State: It was a damaging loss for the Sun Devils, who lost ground in the Big 12 race. Leavitt didn't play great, but also didn't have much time to throw because Houston's defense was constantly in the backfield.
Houston: Hosts West Virginia on Saturday.
Arizona State: At Iowa State on Saturday.
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
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