Houston 35, Rice 9

After a sluggish start, the Cougars rallied to win the latest (and last, for a while) edition of the Bayou Bucket. 

The Good, Part I: Rice students were upset that RB Dean Connors transferred from their school to Houston over the summer, so they chanted "FUCK DEAN CONNORS" every time he touched the ball. The chant continued until about forty seconds before halftime, when Connors broke through the Rice defense to score on a 54-yard touchdown run. The Rice student section became very quiet from then on. Connors would add another touchdown to his total in the second half and ended the evening with 132 yards on 13 carries.

The Good, Part II: The Houston defense continues to impress, limiting the Owls' re-vamped option offense to 205 yards and a lone touchdown. The defense tallied three sacks and eight tackles for loss, and Will James intercepted a Rice pass and ran it back 37 yards for a pick six. Through two games, the Cougar D has given up a total of nine points - something no UH team has done since the late '80s.

The Bad: The UH offense looked awful in the first half. The Cougars could get nothing going offensively, gaining a meager 64 yards before Connors' touchdown right before halftime gave them the spark they needed. The Cougars looked better in the second half, but Houston's passing game continues to underwhelm. Take way his 74-yard touchdown pass to Boogie Johnson in the fourth quarter, and Weigman was a mediocre 14-of-21 for 114 yards on the night; he was also sacked three times.

What It Means: The Cougars are now 2-0 for the first time since the 2018 season. They also lead the overall series with Rice, 35-12, as it enters a period of hiatus. It's unclear at this time when, or even if, the series will resume. 

Ryan thinks that the Bayou Bucket needs to end because it's not a "real" rivalry; the schools have little in common other than the fact that they are close to each other. I'm not sure I agree, but I do accept his premise that, now that they are in the Big 12, the Cougars need to schedule as many home games as possible, and giving a game away to Rice every other year is not in the financial best interests of the UH program. 

Next up for the Coogs is an interesting Friday night game at TDECU Stadium, as Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes come to town.