Conner Weigman Wants His Respect, Houston Football Earns It On a National College GameDay Level and Willie Fritz Loves the “90 Percent Houston” Crowd Fever

Conner Weigman never lets go of the football. Not when Oklahoma State is sure it’s going to get it back, with almost five minutes left and two timeouts and the two-minute warning for Eric Morris and the Cowboys to work with. Not after his sweet final kneel down with 38 seconds left and a sold-out University of Houston football crowd at full roar.

No, Conner Weigman just keeps holding onto the football, taking it with him as he jogs down the field, right into a swarm of happy Coogs. Right into the locker room too. Who can blame Weigman for not wanting to let go of this magical Houston night? They left Weigman for dead after Texas A&M benched and scapegoated him. He found himself dismissed as a big-time quarterback, treated like damaged goods before Willie Fritz and UH targeted him in the transfer portal that fateful 2024 offseason.

Now. . . now Conner Weigman is doing much more than holding on. He’s playing like one of the very best quarterbacks in all of college football, out playing Oklahoma State golden boy Drew Mestemaker, the presumed No. 1 pick in the next NFL Draft, in a second half shootout. Arch Manning just wishes he could have the type of season Weigman is orchestrating.

“It would be cool to just get a little bit of respect,” Weigman says after Houston 35, Oklahoma State 32. “I know I put myself behind the eight ball a few years ago. But if the eight ball doesn’t go in the cup, you’ve got a puncher’s chance and you just got to keep punching until y’all can’t deny this ship.”

It is getting harder and harder to deny Conner Weigman. Or the now 6-1 and 14th ranked Houston team he lifts up every week. How long can the football evaluators punish Weigman for how things went for him at Texas A&M? This isn’t the same quarterback who struggled with injuries and inconsistency in the Aggies’ often dysfunctional world.

“We have a ton of respect for that kid,” Oklahoma State coach Eric Morris says of Weigman. “”I just think he’s improved so drastically over the course of the last year and a half.”

Oklahoma State coach Eric Morris on Houston QB Conner Weigman: “I thought he was phenomenal tonight. . . I thought he was phenomenal. I thought he put it in some tight windows, man to man coverage, put it on some spots that gave his players the chance to make plays. . .

“I just… https://t.co/Vr8DJCYz0K pic.twitter.com/TEfseo4i3V

— Chris Baldwin (@ChrisYBaldwin) October 18, 2026

Put some respect by his name. And the scene he’s helped create in Houston’s Third Ward neighborhood. Fritz’s program gets the sellout crowd it needs for this one, 42,544 strong, with Fritz noting “90 some percent of the crowd was Houston people.” There are drone shows (two), fireworks shot off from the top of the scoreboard (too many to count), red smoke for UH’s now signature slab football walkout entrance, scholarship giveaways (and some not good UH student field goal contest attempts). But mostly, there is Conner Weigman building on the nirvana he’s found and helped create with Fritz at Houston.

As PaperCity detailed leading up to this game, Fritz, Weigman and these Coogs truly believe they can win the national championship this season. And they’re not about to stop pushing now. Not with another prime time showdown — at undefeated Utah (9:15 pm Saturday on ESPN) with the College GameDay crew on hand — looming. Not with this quarterback showing the way.

“If you have a great quarterback, you have a chance,” Fritz says, chopping his hand against the interview table for emphasis. “You really do.”

UH Football’s New Normal?

You can name the quarterbacks in college football who are playing as well as Conner Weigman this season on one hand. He’s been that good. It’s 395 yards of total offense good against Oklahoma State (343 yards and five touchdowns passing, 52 yards rushing, including multiple key fourth down conversions). No wonder Weigman doesn’t want to let go of that football.

As he weaves his way through the crowd on the field, several different groups of students stop him for selfies. Weigman poses for every one of them, takes the pats on the shoulder pads, never losing his grip on that football. “Thanks man,” he says to one very enthusiastic well wisher who certainly seems to have enjoyed himself on this night.

But no one is having a better time than Houston receiver Koby Young. The third-year wideout, whose 48-yard touchdown catch on a perfectly placed strike from Weigman gives UH the cushion it needs to hold on, scrambles up the stairs into the student section when this one is over. Young dances with his peers, grabs a few phones to video the moment himself, giving those college kids an unforgettable memory.

Not bad for the new captain.

“He’s a special dude,” Weigman says of Young. “Special personality. Special talent. I can’t say enough good things about Koby. He was a captain for us this week. What an honor it was for him when he got named the captain. I don’t think he stopped smiling for 30 minutes.”

Young still might not have stopped smiling yet.

This is college football at its best. At Houston. In the heart of the third largest city in America. And athletic director Eddie Nuñez wants to make sure it becomes the new normal at UH.

“The energy is what it should be every weekend,” Nuñez tells PaperCity. “We’ve got two more (home) games. This is my ask of the fans. We can do this every week. And so, this campus, the energy, the vibe. This is what it’s all about.”

Even Mercy Miller, a veteran of a UH basketball program that’s used to being in national spotlight games and the biggest stage in its sport, finds himself caught up in the sheer mass of people walking around and gathering outside of TDECU Stadium. “I’m just excited to see all the buzz and everybody here gathering in the community,” Miller tells PaperCity, bright red UH sweatshirt on.

Conner Weigman’s Case Keenum Vibes

Oklahoma State coach Eric Morris still gushes over what getting to work with Case Keenum was like in his first real college job at Houston, toiling as a graduate assistant and offensive quality control coach for Kevin Sumlin and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury. Morris talks about how Keenum could make any play call work. Well, Conner Weigman is on the way to putting together a Case Keenum worthy season with 20 touchdown passes and only three turnovers (two interceptions and one fumble lost) through seven games. This Houston offense isn’t designed for Weigman to put up 40-plus touchdown passes like those Keenum offenses (even with as aggressive as Willie Fritz played on fourth down against Oklahoma State, trusting that offensive coordinator Slade Nagle’s creative plays would make those gambles work).

But there is no doubt anymore that Weigman’s comfortably got next in UH’s Great Quarterback Tradition.

“Houston kind of sells itself with quarterbacks,” UH football general manager Wes Fritz, the coach’s son turned roster building guru, tells PaperCity. “There’s been some unbelievable quarterbacks that have played here. So I think that played a huge role in it as well. That was stuff we had nothing to do with. You talk about Keenum. Andre Ware. (Kevin) Kolb. All those guys. The list goes on and on. Like (David) Klingler.

“Conner’s a kid that’s been well aware of that. That kind of goes back to the Houston area kids. That’s what helps us too. We may not get them on the first (recruiting) time. But they’re well aware of the players that have come through here and what they’ve gone on to do here and in the NFL.”

While everyone else in college football focused on Weigman’s supposed failures at Texas A&M, Weigman saw himself as UH’s Next One. Houston wasn’t just a transfer possibility to Weigman. It was the spot.

Put some respect by his name.

“I wouldn’t trade him for anybody,” Willie Fritz says of his quarterback.

University of Houston coach Willie Fritz on Conner Weigman; “I wouldn’t trade him for anybody. He’s a darn, darn good quarterback. He just keeps getting a little bit better every single week. . .

“Very competitive guy. Practice, very competitive. In games. In meetings. He’s got… https://t.co/Vr8DJCYz0K pic.twitter.com/JePti3XhVT

— Chris Baldwin (@ChrisYBaldwin) October 18, 2026

Oklahoma State could not stop Weigman and this Houston offense no matter what it tried. Not with Amare Thomas reminding everyone why he’s the best receiver in the Big 12, with seven catches, 126 yards, two touchdowns (including a fourth down TD grab) and one spin move so sweet that even the most capable Madden player would have trouble replicating it. Not with tight end Patrick Overmyer adding his fifth touchdown in a five quarter span over two games. And certainly not with the best offensive line that smarts and some well spent money can buy (left tackle Alvin Ebosele, left guard Shadre Hurst, center Anthony Boswell, right guard McKenzie Agnello and right tackle Drew Terrill) taking every opposing team touch of Weigman personally.

So yes, Conner Weigman isn’t about to let go of that football. Not with signs of this UH football nirvana that Fritz and he have brought about all around him. Look at Koby Young dance. Look at those UH college kids sneaking onto the field, living the the big time college football program fan life. Heck, even look at all that trash left behind, signs of a packed stadium, right down to the red confetti strewn in the aisies.

Put some respect by his name. It’s Conner Weigman. And he might just be coming for your team next.