Houston Cougars at Georgia Southern Eagles

Conner Weigman throws 4 TD passes, runs for 2 scores as No. 25 Houston beats Georgia Southern 42-28

Fritz, Houston's third-year coach, led the Eagles from 2014-15.

“It was a tough game for me,” Fritz said. “There were a lot of my old players here, and there's a lot of coaches over on their side that I know well. I'm just glad we were able to come out here with the W. I'm proud of that.”

Houston (3-1) scored touchdowns on its first six possessions. In addition to his two rushing scores, Weigman threw TD passes to four receivers, hitting tight end Traville Frederick Jr. along with wide receivers Koby Young, Amare Thomas and Trent Walker. He finished 17 of 22 for 239 yards, and Re'Shaun Sanford II led the Cougars on the ground with 120 yards.

Georgia Southern (1-3) overcame an early 14-0 deficit to briefly tie the game at 14-all. Max Johnson fired a 40-yard touchdown strike to Alex Taylor, and Ty Cummings scored on a 2-yard rush after the Eagles used a surprise onside kick to regain possession.

Third down success Houston entered the game ranked second nationally in third-down conversion rate and improved on its numbers with a stellar performance. The Cougars were 8 of 9 on third down, bringing their season total to 32 of 45 for a stunning 71.1% conversion rate.

“I think it's just our practice habits,” Young said. “It was a big emphasis to finish in the red zone and to finish hard third downs, and it's good to see that we're getting better at it.”

The takeaway Houston: The Cougars entered the game ranked seventh nationally in total offense and showed no signs of slowing down. Houston amassed 441 total yards, its fourth consecutive week going over 400.

Georgia Southern: Johnson had his best performance of the season, keeping the Eagles in striking distance most of the afternoon. He completed 26 of 38 passes for 284 yards with three touchdowns, lifting Georgia Southern's offense to a solid response after the Eagles just three-second half points last week.

Sanford has a career day Sanford eclipsed 100 yards rushing for the first time in his career, getting into triple digits with 23 yards on the final drive of the game.

“I felt like I had pretty good runs all throughout the day, so I had to have been close,” Sanford said. “But I was just more worried about getting the win and finishing the game.”

Sanford nearly doubled his rushing total for the season after entering with 132 yards through the first three weeks.

Up next Houston: Returns to Big 12 Conference action next Saturday at home against UCF.

Georgia Southern: At Coastal Carolina next Saturday for its Sun Belt Conference opener.

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