Houston wide receiver Stephon Johnson runs 44 yards for a touchdown during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024 in Houston, Texas. | Oscar Herrera/The Cougar

After last week’s disaster class against the Cincinnati Bearcats, the momentum for the Cougars has fizzled out.

Now, they will have to build back from the ground up on Saturday when they take on the No. 18 and undefeated Iowa State Cyclones in the teams’ first-ever meeting.

What’s at stake?

ISU has been on a roll lately and will now be looking to start the season 4-0 for the first time since 2000.

Meanwhile, Houston will be looking to snap a four-game losing streak in Big 12 games and avoid going 1-4 for the first time since 2004.

In addition, The Cougars have lost four straight games to ranked opponents, with their last win against a ranked team happening back on Oct. 30, 2021, when they defeated the No. 19 ranked SMU Mustangs at home 44-37.

Head coach Willie Fritz is 67-39 in games immediately following a loss.

The team will look to open their home conference slate with their second-ever Big 12 win in TDECU stadium, with their only other victory coming last season from a last-second Hail Mary against West Virginia.

Offensive front

Senior quarterback Donavan Smith will remain the starting quarterback, but sophomore backup quarterback Zeon Chris will also get playing time, head coach Willie Fritz stated at his Monday press conference.

“They both have done some great things,” Fritz said. “We’re going to play both those guys and give them both opportunities to show us what they can do.”

The Cyclones have one of the best pass defenses in the Big 12, and the stats show it.

When facing ISU this season, opposition quarterbacks have a 47.6 completion percentage, one touchdown, and five interceptions.

Defensive struggles

Another key factor will be UH’s defense. After holding Oklahoma to 14 points in week two and stifled Rice for basically the entire game in week three, the wheels massively fell off in week four against Cincinnati.

The Houston defense allowed over 350 yards of offense and four touchdowns, including a stretch in the game where the Bearcats scored points on four consecutive drives, with three touchdowns and a field goal.

Now they face a Cyclones team that has seen success in both the passing and the rushing department, with six passing and rushing
touchdowns each.

The Cougars’ defense needs to find the form they had between weeks two and three to have any chance of success against the Cyclones.

Houston will attempt to get back on track when they take on Iowa State at 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28.

sports@thedailycougar.com

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“Week five preview: Houston to face undefeated No. 18 Iowa State” was originally posted on The Cougar