Houston Cougars quarterback Conner Weigman is the highest-ranked Big 12 quarterback on ESPN’s midseason list of the top 25 performances in college football, including BYU standout sophomore Bear Bachmeier, listed at No. 21.
The list, featuring Weigman at No. 19 overall, is compiled by ESPN college football experts Bill Connelly, David Hale, Max Olson, Adam Rittenberg and Paolo Uggetti in an attempt to gauge the best players in the country as of Week 8, which includes a primetime, top-25 Big 12 matchup between No. 14 Houston and No. 10 Utah on Saturday as part of College GameDay’s second consecutive weekend in the Beehive State.
Utah head coach Morgan Scalley had nothing but praise for Houston’s starter during his visit on the Pat McAfee Show. It’ll be the first-ever matchup between Scalley and Houston head coach Willie Fritz on Saturday; Scalley coached against the Fritz staff when Utah lost on the road 17-14 during the 2024 season when Kyle Whittingham was still in charge at Utah.
The former Texas A&M commit finds himself at the center of Houston’s success, weighed against a quality Utah defense this weekend in what could be the brand of win that’d shape Big 12 title expectations should the Cougars keep rolling. Weigman (1,771 yards, 20 TDs, 2 INT) and Houston won’t face a defense tougher than the Utes the rest of the way.
Apart from a 28-26 loss at then-No. 13 Texas Tech, Weigman is following up his 2025 campaign with poise, throwing for 395 yards five touchdowns against No. 18 Oklahoma State last week for Houston’s first top-25 win of the season. Weigman’s worst outing, a 27-17 home win vs. UCF, featured 239 passing yards and one sack on an 18-of-33 finish from the pocket.
With tickets surging as high as $108, the Houston-Utah matchup is the perfect referendum for Weigman as his Cougars hope to climb into the top 15 or top 10 as they chase a seat in the Big 12 title game and subsequently a playoff seat. Weigman, top-4 in QBR at 87.7, goes head-to-head with the elusive Devon Dampier, with an over/under set at 56.5 points on Saturday night.
