Mission Control to Coog Nation, do you copy? Yo Pacheco here. By day I'm an engineer who thinks about rockets. By night I'm a film grinder with a remote control, a legal pad and a habit of pausing every Houston snap to admire it. And this week, my friends, the flight plan goes straight up. Houston plays at Utah, and the field at Rice-Eccles Stadium sits 4,637 feet above sea level. Downtown Houston sits at about 50 feet. That's not a road trip. That's a launch.
Houston, we have liftoff... I mean, a story.
Part 1: Five Touchdowns and a Clean Landing
No. 20 Houston beat No. 18 Oklahoma State 35-32 at TDECU Stadium on Saturday night. That's four straight wins, and AP noted it was our first win over a ranked team this season. We're 6-1 and 3-1 in the Big 12, and this week the AP poll moved us up to No. 14.
Conner Weigman was the whole mission crew. He went 24 of 33 for 343 yards and tied his career high with five touchdown passes, of 2, 7, 2, 21 and 48 yards. He also ran for 52 yards. Amare Thomas caught seven passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns. Trent Walker had seven catches for 104 yards and a score. Patrick Overmyer and Koby Young caught touchdowns too, and Koby's 48-yarder in the fourth quarter put us up 35-25.
We led 14-3 at halftime. Then the second half turned into a fireworks show, with the two teams combining for 50 points and more than 650 yards. Oklahoma State got within three on an 8-yard touchdown with 4:54 left. And then came my most beloved part of any mission: the landing.
On third-and-7 with about two and a half minutes left, Weigman hit Walker for 18 yards. Then Weigman ran for another first down with two minutes left, and we took knees. Houston held the ball for 35:12 and went 3 for 3 on fourth down. Will James had an interception, and Kentrell Webb had nine tackles. We gained 505 yards.
Coach Willie Fritz had nothing but praise for his quarterback afterward, and honestly, same, Coach. Same.
Part 2: Mission Control, Salt Lake City
Saturday, 10:15 p.m. Eastern on ESPN. No. 14 Houston (6-1) at No. 10 Utah (6-0) at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Late-night college football from the mountains. Grab a snack and a blanket, Houston. Night launches are the prettiest ones.
The Flight Data
These teams are almost mirror images, and I love a good symmetry problem. Utah gains 486.5 yards a game, ninth in FBS. We gain 485.1, 10th. Utah runs for 220.2 a game. We run for 220.3. Both teams hold the ball for about 33 and a half minutes a game, eighth and ninth in FBS.
But here's where my calculator starts beeping. Houston converts 61.4% on third down, and that ranks first in all of FBS. First! Utah went 8 for 17 on third down at Colorado last week. Our run defense allows 82.6 yards a game, sixth in the country, and we're plus-5 in turnover margin, 15th.
Weigman has 1,771 yards, 20 touchdowns and just two interceptions this season. Makhi Hughes has 464 rushing yards, Thomas has 36 catches for 487 yards and six scores, Webb leads us with 43 tackles and Javion White has 2.5 sacks.
The Utah Readout
I respect Utah. It's 6-0 for the first time since 2015, and it's won 12 straight dating to last season, which AP says is now the longest active winning streak in FBS. Its defense allows 14.8 points a game, 12th in FBS. AP says the Utes have scored a touchdown on their opening drive in every game and outscored opponents 75-3 in the first quarter. Devon Dampier has 1,412 passing yards and 15 touchdowns, and Wayshawn Parker has 597 rushing yards.
Now the rest of the readout.
Last week Utah went to Boulder and beat a Colorado team that's now 2-4 by three points. The Utes led 13-0 at halftime and then trailed 17-13 in the third quarter. Dampier threw two interceptions. Colorado had the ball near the Utah 38 in the final minute before a review wiped out the play. That's not a smooth orbit. That's a capsule wobbling on reentry.
And let's look at Utah's schedule so far: Idaho, Arkansas, Utah State, Iowa State, Kansas and Colorado. Respectfully, Houston is the first team on the docket ranked in this week's AP top 25. Utah's pass defense allows 214.5 yards a game, 75th, and Weigman has been throwing like a man with a guidance system.
Oh, and the series? Houston leads it 5-0, according to CollegeFootballData. The last meeting, in 2024, went Houston 17, Utah 14.
The Honest Pre-Flight Checklist
I promised myself I'd never fudge the data. Our pass defense allows 265 yards a game, 129th in FBS. We need to tighten that up against Dampier. We also lost at Texas Tech 28-26 back in September. And this kickoff is 8:15 p.m. Mountain time, in thin air, in front of a loud crowd. The fix is the same as always: win third down, run the ball, protect it and keep that Utah offense standing on the sideline watching.
Space City vs. Salt Lake City
Houston. We're the fourth-most populous city in the United States and the biggest in Texas. Houston became the official "Space City" in 1967, and NASA's Johnson Space Center has run Mission Control for every NASA human spaceflight since Gemini 4. Its radio call sign is "Houston." Think about that. When astronauts need help, they call our town by name. We're also home to the Texas Medical Center, the world's largest concentration of healthcare and research institutions. And in 1965, Houston opened the Astrodome, the world's first indoor domed sports stadium. We invented putting a roof on football. You're welcome, everybody.
Salt Lake City. Salt Lake City is beautiful, with mountains all around it and a stadium that hosted the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics. I'll give them that. But here's a fun bit of history. The city was originally called Great Salt Lake City. In 1868, they dropped the word "Great." On purpose. Houston would never voluntarily give up an adjective. We'd add three.
Then there's the lake itself. The Great Salt Lake is far saltier than seawater, and it's been called "America's Dead Sea." It has no outlet except evaporation. So the most famous body of water in town is a lake that never goes anywhere. Houston has bayous that flow to the Gulf. Salt Lake has a lake that's just stuck in its seat, like a kid at the end of a long school day.
And the addresses there run on a compass grid measured from a single point downtown, so directions sound like a math worksheet. As an engineer, I actually love that. As a visitor, I'll be using my phone.
Final Countdown
Here's the flight plan. Utah has the streak, the altitude and a late-night crowd. Houston has the best third-down offense in the country, a top-10 run defense, a quarterback with 20 touchdowns and two interceptions, and five wins in five meetings with Utah. If we stay on the field and keep their offense off it, this rocket clears the mountains. I believe in my crew.
Houston, we have liftoff.
My call: Utah Utes 34, Houston Cougars 25.