Wk 8 · 2026
Houston Cougars at Utah Utes — Sat, Oct 24
Sat, Oct 24 ·
Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, UT
Weather
65° / 54° mostly clear
16% chance of precipitation
Kickoff time is not set yet, so this is the forecast for the day rather than for the hour.
Forecast from Open-Meteo
#22 Houston Cougars
Big 12 · 5-1
at
TBDET
UTAH -6.5 · total 50.5 DraftKings
Ratings differential UTAH by 8.1
#12 Utah Utes
Big 12 · 5-0
What is at stake
A Big 12 game — it counts in the standings that decide that league's championship game. Run the race. Houston is ranked #22 (AP Top 25 · 2026-10-04). Utah is ranked #12 (AP Top 25 · 2026-10-04).
What the ratings imply
The differential above is arithmetic on two published numbers:
The CFB King’s 2026 final efficiency ratings, plus
2.4 points of home field.
It is not a projection, a value, an edge or a lean, and nothing on this site
compares it with the betting line to tell you one is better. Until 2026
games are played it is last season’s measurement of two teams that have
changed.
Efficiency · 2026 ratings
Efficiency margin
Offense (pts/100)
Defense (pts/100)
Pace (plays/g)
Yards / play
Yards / play allowed
Opponent-adjusted ratings from The College
King's 2026 final numbers. Bars share a scale within each row, so
the two lengths are comparable; the brighter side is the better of the two, and a
longer bar is the better number — including the rows where a lower figure is the
good one. Pace is the exception: it is how fast a team plays, not how well, so
neither side is lit and a longer bar there means only more plays.
Team stats · 2026 per game
Points / game
Points allowed
Yards / game
Yards allowed
Pass yds allowed
Rush yds allowed
Turnovers / game
From completed 2026 box scores;
defensive yardage covers the regular season and conference championships.
Houston form
W 35-16at KSUW 27-17vs UCFW 42-28at GASOL 26-28at TTUW 77-6vs SOU
2026 season
Utah form
W 41-24vs KUW 31-17at ISUW 33-0vs USUW 43-10vs ARKW 66-14vs IDHO
2026 season
Houston this season
Straight up5-1 · 83% (6 games)
Against the spread3-3 · 50% (6 games)
Over / under4-2 · 67% (6 games)
Utah this season
Straight up5-0 · 100% (5 games)
Against the spread5-0 · 100% (5 games)
Over / under3-2 · 60% (5 games)
Lines are captured from ESPN's board before kickoff and locked at kickoff, so an in-play price cannot overwrite the number a game is graded against.
Common opponents · 3
| Opponent | Houston | Utah |
|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Big 12 | vs Wk 10 · scheduled preview | at Wk 9 · scheduled preview |
| Colorado Big 12 | at Wk 11 · scheduled preview | at Wk 7 · scheduled preview |
| West Virginia Big 12 | at Wk 12 · scheduled preview | vs Wk 13 · scheduled preview |
Open these two in the
comparison tool for every shared and unshared opponent.
Series history · 2006–2026
Since 2006, Houston leads 1–0 · Houston won the last one
1 meeting
in 2006–2026 · average margin
3.0 points toward Houston
| Yr | Date | Result | Site | Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2024-10-26 | Utah 14 — 17 Houston | at HOU | Houston |
Houston leaders 2026 regular season
| Passing | Conner Weigman QB #1 | 91/135, 1186 YDS, 11 TD, 1 INT |
| Keisean Henderson QB #5 | 6/8, 83 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Rushing | Re'Shaun Sanford II RB #6 | 55 CAR, 314 YDS, 2 TD |
| Makhi Hughes RB #21 | 66 CAR, 309 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Conner Weigman QB #1 | 42 CAR, 156 YDS, 6 TD | |
| Receiving | Amare Thomas WR #0 | 27 REC, 330 YDS, 4 TD |
| Patrick Overmyer TE #9 | 25 REC, 317 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Trent Walker WR #4 | 14 REC, 198 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Koby Young WR #2 | 8 REC, 176 YDS, 4 TD |
Defense
| Tackles | Kentrell Webb DB #8 | 32 |
| Jaden Yates LB #1 | 29 | |
| Javion White DB #0 | 20 | |
| Sacks | Javion White DB #0 | 2.5 |
| Ashton Porter DL #9 | 2 | |
| Khalil Laufau DL #18 | 1.5 | |
| Interceptions | Jordan Allen DB #6 | 1 |
| Will James DB #5 | 1 | |
| Latreveon McCutchin LB #10 | 1 |
Utah leaders 2026 regular season
| Passing | Devon Dampier QB #4 | 71/101, 896 YDS, 9 TD, 1 INT |
| Byrd Ficklin QB #15 | 9/17, 166 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Rushing | Wayshawn Parker RB #1 | 50 CAR, 328 YDS, 5 TD |
| Devon Dampier QB #4 | 34 CAR, 135 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Byrd Ficklin QB #15 | 16 CAR, 119 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | Braden Pegan WR #7 | 17 REC, 264 YDS, 4 TD |
| Noah Bennee TE #89 | 7 REC, 166 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Wayshawn Parker RB #1 | 15 REC, 154 YDS, 4 TD | |
| Creed Whittemore WR #2 | 8 REC, 131 YDS |
Defense
| Tackles | Trey Reynolds LB #10 | 24 |
| Johnathan Hall LB #7 | 20 | |
| Elijah Elliss LB #83 | 20 | |
| Sacks | Karson Kaufusi DT #51 | 2 |
| Elijah Elliss LB #83 | 2 | |
| Cyrus Polu LB #0 | 1.5 | |
| Interceptions | Jackson Bennee S #23 | 2 |
| Trey Reynolds LB #10 | 1 | |
| Braden Pegan WR #7 | 1 |
These are regular-season totals for
the season named on each card — the players who led that team that year,
taken from ESPN's team leaders. That list is keyed to the season, not to today's
roster, so a leader who has since transferred or run out of eligibility still
appears against the year he earned it; the
roster
pages and the depth chart on each team page are where the current squad is.
A team switches to this season's numbers once it has played a game. The roster
pages count bowl games too, so a player's two lines can differ by a game.