Much like Utah, Houston is hard to figure out this season. They got shut out in two straight games, and then at the beginning of October, they traveled to Fort Worth and put up 30 points in an upset win over TCU. Then, following a bye week, they got blown out on the road against a 1-5 Kansas team.
This team wasn't great last season, finishing 4-8. With a schedule that still includes games against BYU, Kansas State, Utah, Arizona, and Baylor, they may not be able to match those four wins this season.
Offense
As bad as Utah's offense has been this season, it looks like a juggernaut compared to the Cougars. Houston is ranked #121 in the nation in total offense, averaging just 303 yards per game. They are awful in the passing game, where they've only averaged 166.6 yards per game.
Senior QB Donovan Smith has been under constant duress this season, and it's made it difficult for him to have any consistency in the passing game. After a solid first season as Houston's starter, the Texas Tech transfer has had a rough year in 2024, throwing for just 867 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions while being sacked 16 times in six games this season.
He was the starter for the first five games but was benched after leading his team to just 5.2 points per game over that stretch. This led to Louisiana transfer Zeon Chriss taking over, and he appeared to be the reason for the recent offensive spark the Cougars needed. He led the team to score the 30 points against the Horned Frogs (which exceeded the previous total of 26 points scored in the first 5 games) and then left in the first quarter against Kansas due to an injury to his leg. He is expected to return as the starter against Utah.
A major part of the poor results have been due to the offensive line. Overall they have surrendered 23 sacks, which is more than 123 other FBS teams this season. They weren't great with pass protection last season either, giving up 27 sacks, but that's only a shadow of this year's pace to give up 40. They lost starting LG Tyler Johnson to Colorado, starting RT Reuben Unije to Louisville, and four-year starting LT Patrick Paul to the Miami Dolphins. They've tried to fill in those holes, but it hasn't worked out well so far. To make matters worse, starting LT Dakota White was lost for the season with a foot injury against the Jayhawks last week.
They've leaned on junior Stacy Sneed and redshirt freshman Re'Shaun Sanford II at running back, where they have split carries evenly. They've both averaged over 5 yards per carry, but they get so few carries that they haven't been able to make much of an impact. Most rushes belong to Smith and Chriss, who have 94 carries this season for just 314 yards.
The receivers are led by three juniors, Georgia transfer Mekhi Mews, Stephon Johnson, and Joseph Manjack IV. None of them are particularly go-to-guys, but they have combined for over 600 yards and 4 touchdowns, with Mews leading the three with 20 catches and 218 yards this year.
Defense
Again, much like Utah, Houston has been able to stay in most games due to their defense. They're ranked #26 in total yards allowed, giving up just 319.6 yards per game. This has been a surprising statistic, especially considering that most of the starters from last year's defense transferred out at the end of last season.
Safety AJ Haulcy leads the 19th-best pass defense in the nation. Haulcy led the team in tackles last season, and now leads the team with 3 interceptions in 2024, while still racking up 42 tackles. In the spring, they lost last year's top CB Isaiah Hamilton to Ole Miss, but he's been successfully replaced by USC transfer Latrell McCutchin. Tulane transfer SS Kentrell Webb and Syracuse transfer CB Jeremiah Wilson have filled in the other vacancies in the secondary.
Louisiana-Monroe transfer senior LB Micheal Batton led the Warhawks in tackles last season, and he is now the tackles leader for Houston. He also leads the team with 3 sacks. He is joined by seniors Jamal Morris, Zykeius Strong, and West Virginia transfer Hershey McLaurin in the linebacker room, making it the most experienced position group on the team.
The defensive line is anchored by Tulane transfer DE Keith Cooper Jr., who has 2.5 sacks and 20 tackles this season. Kennesaw St transfer DT Carlos Allen and Anothony Holmes Jr. make up the rest of the starters on the line, where they have been effective in stopping the run this season.
Summary
Truthfully, this is a horrible offense. They are ranked dead last in all of FBS (#133) in scoring offense with just 13.7 points per game. In other words, no team has scored less points than Houston. The Cougars seem to be a different team with Chriss under center. However, his sample size is small, and while he did a great job against TCU, he was struggling against Kansas before leaving the game due to injury.
The defense has been exceptional this season, but they've started to show some holes over the last few weeks. Kansas was able to pile up 470 yards a week ago. On paper, they shouldn't be as good as they have been, but they should continue to look sharp against Utah's struggling offense.
It will likely take some time for the wrinkles that Mike Bajakian intends to add to make a difference for Utah so expect a low-scoring defensive dogfight this week.
