Game Preview: West Virginia football at Houston

West Virginia will head to Houston for a Big 12 Conference matchup, and WVSports.com breaks down some of the key items of the matchup in our preview.

Kickoff: 12 PM ET.
Series: Houston 1-0
Last Meeting: 2023: WVU 39 HOUSTON 41
Television Information: FS1, Connor Onion (PBP), Mark Helfrich (analyst)

Odds: Houston -14.5 — U/0 50.5 (BetMGM)

---

Head Coaches Information:

West Virginia		Houston
Rich Rodriguez		Willie Fritz
Record at West Virginia:	62-32	Record at Houston:	11-9
Overall Record:	192-135-2	Overall Record:	258-130-1
2025 Record:	2-6	2025 Record:	7-1

---

Numbers of Note:

–The 2025 season marks West Virginia’s 133rd season of football. The Mountaineers are the winningest program in the Big 12 Conference and No. 15 in college football.

–West Virginia Football Coach Rich Rodriguez has 192 career victories, ranking No. 5 among active FBS coaches.

–Rodriguez is No. 2 on the all-time WVU win list with 62, behind only Don Nehlen (149).

–West Virginia lost the only meeting to Houston on a game-winning Hail Mary, 41-39, in 2023.

–WVU is 9-7-1 in games played on Nov. 1, including 3-5 on the road. The last time WVU played on that date was against TCU in 2014 in Morgantown (L/31-30).

–West Virginia has started 0-5 for the first time in Big 12 Conference play.

–Rodriguez ranks No. 9 among active coaches for most career wins against AP Top-25 opponents (22), including 12 at WVU.

–Since 2012, WVU has rushed for at least 150 yards 97 times.

–West Virginia has surpassed at least 140 rushing yards in 38 of the last 46 games (since 2022)

–WVU is 104-19 since 2002 when winning the turnover battle.

–On first down, the Mountaineers have run 238 plays and gained 1,270 yards for a 5.3 average. On second down, the Mountaineers have run 188 plays for 972 yards and a 5.2 average. On third down, the Mountaineers have run 116 plays for 509 yards and a 4.4 average gain. West Virginia has run 28 plays on fourth down for 70 yards and a 2.5 average.

–WVU’s touchdowns have come 10 times on first down (7 rush/3 pass), six times on second down (3 rush/3 pass), five times on third down (5 rush/0 pass) and zero times on fourth down (0 rush/0 pass).

–Breaking down the West Virginia offensive numbers for the 2025 season shows that the Mountaineers have run 570 plays, 356 on the ground and 214 through the air.

–The rushing game has totaled 1,409 yards, an average of 4.0 yards per carry and 15 touchdowns. The passing attack has totaled 1,412 yards, six touchdowns and an average of 11.1 yards per completion. Combine the two and the Mountaineers have turned in 2,821 yards of total offense, 21 touchdowns, an average of 4.9 yards per play and an average of 20.5 points per game.

–Deeper analysis shows that the Mountaineer offense has gained 80 first downs by the run and 56 via the pass. On average, West Virginia has totaled 176.1 yards per game on the ground, 176.5 yards per game passing and 352.6 yards per game of total offense.

–West Virginia has gone to a bowl game in 20 of the last 23 years but a loss would eliminate the Mountaineers eight games into the season.

–The Mountaineers added 79 new players to the roster in 2025, including 39 on offense, 37 on defense and three on special teams.

–The 2025 roster consists of 124 players from 23 different states, Washington D.C. and three foreign countries: Australia (1), Finland (1) and Liberia (1).

–The FS1 broadcast of the WVU-Houston football game on Sept. 27 marks the 344th national television game for WVU. All-time, the Mountaineers are 177-165-1 in nationally televised games.

---

Houston

Veteran head coach Willie Fritz is now in his second year atop the Cougars football program and has led them to a strong 7-1 start after a 4-8 campaign.

The Cougars are led by junior quarterback Conner Weigman, who has thrown for 1,581 yards and 12 touchdowns with only two interceptions on the season after transferring over from Texas A&M. Weigman also has been an effective rusher with 354 yards and 8 touchdowns on the season.

Weigman has engineered a Houston offense that has averaged 28.8 points per game and averages just over 380 yards per contest on the season.

While Weigman is a threat to run, the leading rusher for the Cougars has been Dean Connors who has accounted for 586 yards and 4 scores while averaging 4.3 per carry.

In terms of pass catchers, only four players have double-digit grabs with tight end Tanner Koziol leading the way with 43 for 450 and four touchdowns along with wide receiver Amare Thomas who has accounted for 30 catches for 535 yards and four scores.

The Cougars defense has played well through the first eight games holding teams to just 18.6 points per game good for 21st nationally and allowing just 330 yards per contest or 36th nationally.

This is a well coached football team that has balance on the offensive side of the ball and a defense that has been a strong point through the season to date.

---

National Statistical Rankings

Statistic	West Virginia	Houston
Scoring Offense	113 (20.5)	69 (28.8)
Scoring Defense	103 (29.9)	21 (18.6)
Rushing Offense	47 (176.1)	52 (171.3)
Rushing Defense	92 (160.1)	38 (120.4)
Passing Offense	114 (176.5)	88 (210.0)
Total Offense	98 (352.6)	72 (381.3)
Pass Defense	109 (247.1)	52 (210.4)
Total Defense	104 (407.3)	36 (330.8)
Third Down Conversions	132 (28.4)	49 (42.1)
Opponent Third Down	31 (34.2)	35 (34.7)

---

Coaching Staff Assignments:

Zac Alley (AHC-DC-LB/Field)
Travis Trickett (Senior Offensive Assistant/Press Box)
Jack Bicknell Jr. (OL/Field)
Jeff Casteel (Bandits/Field)
Logan Bradley (IR/Field)
Gabe Franklin (S/Field)
Ryan Garrett (WR/Field)
William Green (DL/Field)
Pat Kirkland (STC-Defensive Assistant/Field)
Michael Nysewander (TE/Field)
Larry Porter (RB/Field)
Rhett Rodriguez (QB/Press Box)
Rod West (CB/Field)
Derek Dressler (Assistant OL/Press Box)
Henry Weinreich (Nickels-Sams/Field)
Pat White (Assistant QB/Field)
Jake Casteel (Asst. Defensive Coach/Press Box)
Ryan Nehlen (Asstant WR/Press Box)
Andrew Warwick (Assistant Defensive Coach/Press Box)

---

Depth Chart:

OFFENSE:

QB:

No.	Name	Ht	Wt	Class
14	Khalil Wilkins	6-3	204	r-Fr.
-or-
15	Scotty Fox	6-2	213	Fr.
-or-
6	Max Brown	6-2	223	r-Jr.

RB:

No.	Name	Ht	Wt	Class
20	Diore Hubbard	5-10	190	r-Fr.
-or-
27	Clay Ash	5-9	196	So.
-or-
23	Cyncir Bowers	5-10	191	So.

WR X:

No.	Name	Ht	Wt	Class
4	Cam Vaughn	6-2	185	r-So.
-or-
16	Jeff Weimer	6-1	209	r-Sr.

WR Y:

No.	Name	Ht	Wt	Class
24	Rodney Gallagher	5-10	180	Jr.
-or-
7	Jarod Bowie	5-9	162	Sr.

WR Z:

No.	Name	Ht	Wt	Class
11	Justin Smith-Brown	5-11	190	r-Sr.
-or-
29	Preston Fox	5-10	181	r-Sr.
17	Christian Hamilton	5-11	190	r-So.

TE:

No.	Name	Ht	Wt	Class
80	80 Grayson Barnes	6-4	222	Sr.
-or-
81	Jacob Barrick	6-3	231	Sr.

LT:

No.	Name	Ht	Wt	Class
52	Nick Krahe	6-6	305	r-So.
78	Xavier Bausley	6-4	305	r-Jr.

LG:

No.	Name	Ht	Wt	Class
54	Walter Young Bear	6-3	306	r-Sr.
-or-
57	Donovan Haslam	6-3	341	r-Jr.

C:

No.	Name	Ht	Wt	Class
67	Landen Livingston	6-4	294	r-Jr.
55	Carson Lee	6-2	327	r-Sr.

RG:

No.	Name	Ht	Wt	Class
56	Kimo Makane’ole	6-4	300	r-Sr.
59	Josh Aisosa	6-3	321	r-So.

RT:

No.	Name	Ht	Wt	Class
74	Ty’Kieast Crawford	6-5	305	r-Sr.
-or-
65	Malik Agbo	6-4	280	r-Jr.

DEFENSE:

DE:

No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Class
91	Devin Grant	6-2	267	r-Sr.
-or-
1	Eddie Kelly	6-5	286	Sr.

DT:

No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Class
96	Edward Vesterinen	6-3	284	r-Sr.
92	Asani Redwood	6-3	294	r-Jr.

NG:

No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Class
92	Asani Redwood	6-3	294	r-Jr.
69	Nate Gabriel	6-3	315	So.
94	Elijah Simmons	6-0	278	r-Jr.

BANDIT:

No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Class
10	Braden Siders	6-2	243	r-Sr.
0	Jimmori Robinson	6-4	248	r-Sr.
-or-
18	Curtis Jones	6-4	231	So.

MIKE:

No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Class
35	Reid Carrico	6-2	229	r-Sr.
32	Ben Bogle	6-1	225	r-Jr.

WILL:

No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Class
30	Chase Wilson	6-1	230	r-Sr.
15	Ben Cutter	6-0	225	Jr.

NICKEL:

No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Class
5	Fred Perry	5-9	206	Sr.
34	Chris Fileppo	6-2	211	Fr.

FS:

No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Class
13	Derek Carter	5-10	182	r-Sr.
-or-
14	Kekoura Tarune	6-0	199	Sr.
-or-
7	Israel Boyce	5-11	192	So.

BS:

No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Class
24	Darrian Lewis	5-9	198	r-Sr.
-or-
4	Jordan Walker	6-0	194	r-Sr.

LCB:

No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Class
3	Michael Coats	5-11	183	Sr.
6	Jordan Scruggs	5-10	172	r-Sr.

RCB:

No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Class
23	Jason Chambers	5-11	193	Sr.
16	Ty Crutcher	5-8	176	Sr.

SPECIAL TEAMS:

K:

No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Class
25	Kade Hensley	5-10	190	r-Sr.
99	Ethan Head	6-1	185	So.

KO:

No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Class
99	Ethan Head	6-1	185	So.
48	Nate Flower	6-2	184	r-So.

H:

No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Class
41	Oliver Straw	6-2	215	Sr.
42	RJ Kocan	5-10	233	r-Jr.

P:

No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Class
41	Oliver Straw	6-2	215	Sr.
47	Aidan Stire	6-0	198	Fr.

LS:

No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Class
38	Macguire Moss	6-1	225	r-Jr.
53	Kaden Seller	6-2	256	r-Fr.

KR/PR:

No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Class
29	Preston Fox	5-10	188	r-Sr.
24	Rodney Gallagher	5-10	180	Jr.

---

Offer Alert

Fall camp is here and there’s no better time to sign up with us to get all your WVU intel! Sign up today – $1 for the first week, plus a complimentary year of access to The Athletic included. Join – http://gowvu.us/Join

---

__________________________________________
• Talk about it with West Virginia fans on The Blue Lot
• SUBSCRIBE today to stay up on the latest on Mountaineer sports and recruiting
• Get all of our WVU videos on YouTube by subscribing to the WVSports.com Channel
• Follow us on Twitter: @WVSportsDotCom, @rivalskeenan
•Like us on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok