Dean Connors scored the deciding touchdown on a 1-yard run in the final minutes and Connor Weigman amassed 322 yards and accounted for three TDs as Houston outslugged Baylor 31-24 on Saturday afternoon in a Big 12 dustup in Waco, Texas.
Baylor roared back from 15 points down to tie the game at 24 with 8:53 to play. But the Cougars (9-3, 6-3 Big 12) responded, fashioning a 15-play, 74-yard march that chewed up nearly seven minutes and ended with Connors’ 1-yard scoring plunge with 1:57 left.
The Bears (5-7, 3-6) drove to the Cougars 13 before Houston’s defense stiffened, forcing four straight incompletions to secure the victory.
Weigman passed for 201 yards and a touchdown and ran for a career-best 121 yards and two scores for the Cougars. Houston had already wrapped up its first bowl since 2022 and secured its second nine-win campaign since 2016.
Sawyer Robertson threw for 309 yards, a touchdown and an interception for Baylor. Kobe Prentice led the Bears, who failed to get bowl eligible for the second time in three years, with 96 receiving yards.
The Cougars got on the board on their first possession of the game as Weigman hit Amare Thomas with a 27-yard TD pass midway through the first quarter. Thomas finished with a game-high 97 yards on nine catches.
Houston added to the lead when Weigman got loose for a 28-yard scoring run early in the second quarter.
Baylor’s Kole Wilson returned the ensuing kickoff 53 yards to the Houston 37. Three incomplete passes later, Connor Hawkins booted a 54-yard field goal to get the Bears on the board. Hawkins added another field goal, this time from 34 yards out at the end of a 12-play, 46-yard march, to make it 14-6 with 6:22 to play before halftime.
Houston’s Ethan Sanchez nailed a 29-yard FG with 1:40 remaining in the second, but Hawkins answered with a 30-yarder with 15 seconds left to make it 17-9 at the half.
Weigman’s 1-yard dive at the 4:58 mark of the third quarter expanded Houston’s lead to 24-9.
But Baylor roared back, getting a 1-yard TD run from Joseph Dodds nearly three minutes into the fourth quarter which was followed by a 2-point conversion run by Robertson.
After the Bears stopped Houston on fourth-and-2 at the Cougars 44, they took just five plays to tie the game via a 31-yard TD pass from Robertson to Josh Cameron.
