Zeon Chriss completed just six passes in Houston’s 17-14 win over Utah on Saturday.
You must go back 32 years to find a game UH participated in where one team completed six or fewer passes. It’s Baylor in 1992 (Bears completed 6/16). Baylor won the game 29-23.
To find a game where a team completed fewer? Rice, in 1989, completed just five in UH’s 64-0 win. That’s the day Andre Ware won the Heisman.
The last time UH completed just six passes? It was Bill Yeoman’s final season – 1986 – when UH went 6/16 against Tulsa. The Hurricane won 24-14.
And the last time UH completed six or fewer in a win? The Texas Tech game in 1985, when UH QB Gerald Landry was 5/11 for 81 yards in a 17-16 win over the Red Raiders.
In the Utah game, as well as the two games above, UH had more punts than completions.
Remarkably, UH is 7-5 in games since 1984 in which the team completed fewer than ten passes:
| Completions | Year | Opponent | W/L |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 1985 | Texas Tech | W |
| 6 | 2024 | Utah | W |
| 6 | 1986 | Tulsa | L |
| 8 | 1985 | TCU | W |
| 8 | 2003 | ULL | W |
| 8 | 2002 | ECU | L |
| 9 | 2019 | Tulsa | W |
| 9 | 2019 | UConn | W |
| 9 | 2003 | UAB | W |
| 9 | 1997 | Cal | L |
| 9 | 1994 | Texas Tech | L |
| 9 | 1993 | Rice | L |
The Coogs are 5-1 in such games since the turn of the century.
All six of Zeon’s completions went to different players. Going back 50 years, I could not find another instance where UH’s top receiver had one catch.
In three wins this season, UH has proven you don’t need to throw it to win. The Cougars have completed 35 passes total in those wins.
To compare, Case Keenum had 35 completions in a single game 20 times.
UH had 197 yards on first down (26 plays). Over 68% of the Cougars’ offense came on first down (7.6 ypp). UH ran 22 second-down plays for 38 yards (1.7 ypp) and 15 third-down plays for 54 yards (3.6 ypp).
The two teams combined to go 3/21 on third downs longer than four yards.
Utah’s starting quarterback, Issac Wilson, was eight of his first nine passing. Back-up Brandon Rose was seven of his last nine before the Haulcy interception. Including the INT, that’s 15/19. For the rest of the game, the Ute QBs were 5/18.
Houston had 166 yards in the first three quarters and then 123 yards in the fourth quarter.