Statistically Speaking: A first look at Houston

By Hunt Palmer

LSU and Houston will play Saturday night in the Kinder’s Texas Bowl.

The Cougars posted a 9-3 record in the Big 12 this season, Fritz’s second at the helm. Like he did at Tulane, Fritz has instilled a physical mindset into his football team. They run the football a ton and want to win the line of scrimmage.

There won’t be much that stands out statistically about this bunch, positive or negative. It’s just a solid club.

LSU is working to get its roster in order with opt outs and coaching staff shakeups. At least LSU will dress out a quarterback this time around.

Here’s a look at Houston by the numbers.

A reminder that the smaller the ranking, the better the statistic.

Green: Top 25

Red: Bottom 50

OFFENSE

Scoring Offense: 63rd, 28.3 points per game

Total Offense: 66th, 390.9 yards per game

Yards per play: 78th, 5.6 yards per play

Rushing Offense: 48th, 175.7 yards per game

Yards per carry: 81st, 4.2 yards per carry

Rushing Attempts per game: 21st, 41.9 attempts per game

Rushing Touchdowns: 87th, 16

Passing Offense: 84th, 215.3 yards per game

Passing Attempts: 98th, 28.3 attempts per game

Completion Percentage: 57th, 62.9%

Passing Touchdowns: 45th, 22

Interceptions Thrown: 71st, 10

First Downs: 51st, 21.3 per game

Third Down Conversions: 61st, 40.6%

Fourth Down Conversion attempts: 35th, 29

Red Zone Touchdown Percentage: 52nd, 63.4%

20-plus yard plays: 86th, 50

10-plus yard runs: 64th, 58

20-plus yard passes: 83rd, 35

Sacks Allowed: 38th, 1.6 per game

Tackles For Loss Allowed: 52nd, 5.2 per game

Time of Possession: 25th, 31:46 per game

There’s just not much remarkable about this Houston offense. Willie Fritz wants to run the ball, and the Cougars run it a lot. They don’t run it extremely well. Conner Weigman is a limited quarterback. He’s not going to consistently beat anyone through the air.

Though no real strengths are evident, there aren’t massive glaring weaknesses, either. The profile very much fits a middling Big 12 team in a mediocre bowl game.

DEFENSE

Scoring Defense: 41st, 21.8 points per game

Total Defense: 46th, 348.2 yards per game

Yards per Play Allowed: 39th, 5.2 yards per play

Run Defense: 44th, 133.3 yards per game

Yards per Carry Allowed: 40th, 3.7 yards per carry

Rushing Touchdowns Allowed: 48th, 16

Passing Defense: 59th, 214.8 yards per game

Completion Percentage Allowed: 44th, 60.2%

Yards per Passing Attempt Allowed: 48th, 6.8 yards per attempts

Interceptions: 37th, 12

Passing Touchdowns Allowed: 20th, 13

Sacks: 73rd, 2 per game

Tackles for Loss: 119th, 4.5 per game

Third Down Defense: 26th, 34.3%

Red Zone Touchdown Percentage Allowed: 9th, 44.7%

20-plus yard plays allowed: 58th, 49

10-plus yard runs allowed: 38th, 47

20-plus yard passes allowed: 89th, 40

This is a solid Big 12 defense. They’re not overly disruptive, but the metrics are pretty good across the board.

The strength has been situational. The Cougars have done a good job on third down and have been excellent in the red zone. That’s a place LSU’s offense has really, really struggled all season.

Like the offense, it’s just very average statistically. Not great, not awful.

That’s how you end up 9-3 in a weak league.