Conner Weigman throws four touchdowns as Houston beats Georgia Southern 42-28

Houston beat Georgia Southern 42-28 in Statesboro on Saturday after Conner Weigman threw four touchdown passes and ran for two more scores. The ESPN game record shows that the Cougars gained 441 yards, did not turn the ball over and converted eight of nine third downs. Those numbers help explain how they held off a home side that tied the game in the second quarter and kept scoring into the fourth.

The start favored Houston. Weigman ran five yards for the first touchdown, then found Koby Young from 22 yards to make it 14-0. Georgia Southern responded through a 40-yard Max Johnson pass to Alex Taylor and a two-yard Ty Cummings run. At 14-14, the contest had reset. Houston's answer was decisive: Weigman scored from a yard out, then hit Traville Frederick Jr. for a two-yard touchdown with 52 seconds left in the half. The Cougars took a 28-14 lead to the break.

Weigman extended that lead early in the third with a 23-yard touchdown to Trent Walker. Taylor's second touchdown catch cut it to 35-21, but Houston made the next scoring play, an 11-yard Weigman pass to Amare Thomas early in the fourth. Georgia Southern's River Helms caught a five-yard touchdown from Johnson with 8:20 remaining. That made it 42-28, the final margin, and there was no second late comeback. The scoring order comes from the game's play-by-play.

Weigman completed 17 of 22 passes for 239 yards and four touchdowns. Houston's Re'Shaun Sanford II added 120 rushing yards on 17 carries, while the team totaled 202 on the ground. For Georgia Southern, Johnson passed for 284 yards and three touchdowns. Taylor caught six passes for 119 yards and two scores. The Eagles gained 355 yards overall but only 66 rushing yards, a sharp difference from Houston's balance.

The matchup had some weight for both schedules. Georgia Southern's official preview billed Houston as the 25th-ranked visitor, and Houston's schedule put this road trip between a narrow loss to Texas Tech and its return to Big 12 play against UCF on October 3. Georgia Southern travels to Coastal Carolina the same day, according to its official schedule. Saturday's result is a final, not a projection of either conference game. It leaves Houston with a road win built on efficient third-down offense, while Georgia Southern must find a better way to slow an opponent's passing game after surrendering six Weigman touchdowns. Houston converted eight of nine third downs across the game.