STATESBORO, GA – All around Georgia Southern University, GATA is the rallying cry. It’s on the signage around the stadium, the front bumper of their helmets, on the scoreboard, braided bracelets and polos in the stands, and t-shirts and plush toys in the gift shop. “Get after their asses” is the ethos that helped Coach Erk Russell win three I-AA national titles in his eight years at the school. Georgia Southern even has a page on their website devoted to the GATA mindset.
“GATA is synonymous with how we do things here – by rolling up our sleeves, digging in, facing the challenge head-on, and getting after it.”
Saturday afternoon, Conner Weigman appropriated GATA. Claimed it as his own. For my money, Conner had his best game as a Cougar in Statesboro. He got after those Southern asses relentlessly for four quarters, adding another chapter to his Houston story. That chapter begins with his excellent throwing day, goes to his touchdown runs, but should focus on how he continues to develop as this team’s undisputed alpha.
Weigman’s maturity shone this week in practice and throughout the Georgia Southern game. Coming off a hard-fought loss, where he finished millimeters short of tying the game late, normal quarterbacks would have sulked for a few days, responded to a few hundred supportive texts, and eventually focused himself on football late midweek.
But from when we first saw Conner Monday morning, he had moved on. He was decisive, more determined, and more focused on keeping his offense together. He didn’t speak to the media all week (not out of the ordinary, especially when he speaks in the postgame as he did in Lubbock), and the normal “hey Ryan” or “how are y’all” became an upward nod, now decipherable as I’m about to GATA.
Whether it was him, Willie Fritz, or OC Slade Nagle, someone determined that getting Trent Walker heavily involved in this game was a big priority. The team worked on it all week, and Weigman did his part: Walker caught six balls on 7 targets (the miss was in the east endzone, looking into the just-setting sun, and would have been a Herculean catch).
Under Conner’s direction, the Houston offense was crisp once again, scoring touchdowns on the first six drives of the game. With Walker solidified as another weapon, the running backs could do their damage. Makhi Hughes and Re’Shaun Sanford alternated series again; the two-headed monster – the pulverizer and the bowling ball – kept Houston ahead of the chains all day. On first and 10, Hughes and Sanford ran 18 times for 122 yards (6.8 ypc).
And Conner was flawless on third down, converting six of the first seven either through the air or running them in for touchdowns (Hughes converted the seventh). A sign of Weigman’s increasing comfort and growth is 3rd downs for the season: Houston is No. 1 nationally at 71% (32/45). The Coogs are 3rd nationally in first-down offense and 9th in scoring.
But Conner knows he will not be judged on national rankings, on last year’s 10-3 or a win at Georgia Southern. And it won’t be as a five-star out of high school, a “bust” at A&M, injury-prone in College Station, or someone who came oh-so-close in Lubbock. His entire legacy is still in front of him: what this team does in the next eight games and beyond.
If Saturday in Statesboro is an indication, UCF better be ready. Conner seems ready to get after their Citronaut asses.
Find the Georgia Southern box score, 2026 game and season stats, and our almanac of historic UH box scores, stats, and stories at UHstats.com.
