With Weigman back at QB, No. 23 Houston eyes a run at the Big 12 title after 10-win breakout season

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Cite

Rieken, K. (2026, August 21). With Weigman back at QB, No. 23 Houston eyes a run at the Big 12 title after 10-win breakout season. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/football/with-weigman-back-at-qb-no-23-houston-eyes-a-run-at-the-big-12-title-after-10-win-breakout-season/article_a24429c5-cd52-5a7c-adb3-ebdc48b4401d.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Toronto Star · collected 2026-08-21 · by Kristie Rieken

Quick Summary

No. 23 Houston is entering the 2026 season with high expectations after a breakout 10-win season in coach Willie Fritz's second year, led by quarterback Conner Weigman who threw for a career-high 2,705 yards and 25 touchdowns last year. The team returns 12 starters, including Weigman and running back Makhi Hughes, a transfer from Oregon, who joins an experienced offense that should get a boost with the addition of the new players. Houston's defense has some weaknesses, having lost top pass rusher Eddie Walls III and defensive tackle Carlos Allen Jr., but is looking to linebacker Brandon Mack II to step up and make up for their absence. The Cougars have several key games lined up, including matchups against No. 12 Texas Tech, Kansas State, and No. 21 Utah.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-08-21, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Conner Weigman, quarterback for the No. 23 Houston Cougars, is returning to lead the team this season, having thrown for a career-high 2,705 yards and 25 touchdowns in his first year at Houston in 2025. The Cougars are expected to be one of the top teams in the Big 12 conference, after improving their record by six games last season to win 10 games under coach Willie Fritz. Weigman will be protected by an experienced offensive line, and the offense should receive a boost with the addition of running back Makhi Hughes, who transferred from Tulane where he ran for 2,779 yards in two seasons. Despite this, Weigman is expected to remain the starter due to his past performance, even with the arrival of five-star recruit Keisean Henderson, who was ranked as one of the top recruits in the country last season.

Written for “Houston Football Outlook” on 2026-10-16, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Houston Football Outlook
Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

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Claims extracted
21
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
5%
1 of 21 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
63/100
Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-08-21 · how these are computed

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Running correction rate · 21 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Kristie Rieken
26 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Ryans said Harrison should arrive in Houston on Monday and they will try to get him acclimated quickly so he can help this week.
2026-10-12 · assertive framing · Texans land Marvin Harrison Jr. after first win, aiming for a quick impact
🔮 “I definitely think it’s a form of fear because the thought of what everybody else around them would think,” Montgomery said.
2026-10-06 · assertive framing · Montgomery’s scouting pride: Texans back hopes his story will inspire more kids like him to join
🔮 “You’ve just got to finish, lock in, do your job,” defensive end Will Anderson said.
2026-10-05 · assertive framing · An 0-4 hole and another fourth-quarter collapse: What’s breaking down for the Texans
🔮 “It’s frustrating, but it’s the NFL,” defensive end Will Anderson said.
2026-10-05 · assertive framing · Texans' misery deepens: CeeDee Lamb’s late TD seals Cowboys’ win, drops Houston to 0-4
🔮 Javonte Williams ran for a career-high three touchdowns — all in the second half — to help the Cowboys to the victory.
2026-10-04 · assertive framing · CeeDee Lamb’s late TD caps a wild Cowboys rally to beat winless Texans 34-30
🔮 If he plays Sunday, it will be his first action of the season after he was inactive for the first three games while upset about his contract situation and dealing with a back issue.
2026-10-04 · assertive framing · Joey Porter Jr. active for Cowboys days after trade, eyeing first action of season
🔮 The takeaway The Razorbacks have trouble on both sides of the ball and will have to clean up their problems quickly if they hope to avoid another bad season after going 2-10 last year.
2026-10-04 · assertive framing · Texas A&M powers past Arkansas 34-7 behind KJ Edwards’ 2 TDs
🔮 HOUSTON (AP) — Already without a general manager, the Houston Astros could be searching for a new manager this offseason, too.
2026-10-02 · assertive framing · Astros face another shake-up as Joe Espada’s contract expires after wild-card sweep
🔮 HOUSTON (AP) — Chicago White Sox manager Will Venable was already looking ahead just minutes after his team won its first playoff series in 21 years by sweeping the Houston Astros in their AL Wild Card Series.
2026-10-01 · assertive framing · With their playoff slump broken and a pope on their side, the White Sox want more this October
🔮 “I’m proud of the guys and certainly happy for them as they’re probably the only ones in this country that believed that they could be in this spot,” manager Will Venable said.
2026-10-01 · assertive framing · White Sox pounce early, finish sweep of Astros for first playoff series win since 2005
Also by Kristie Rieken
Texans land Marvin Harrison Jr. after first win, aiming for a quick impact
2026-10-12 · Toronto Star
Montgomery’s scouting pride: Texans back hopes his story will inspire more kids like him to join
2026-10-06 · Toronto Star
An 0-4 hole and another fourth-quarter collapse: What’s breaking down for the Texans
2026-10-05 · Toronto Star
Texans' misery deepens: CeeDee Lamb’s late TD seals Cowboys’ win, drops Houston to 0-4
2026-10-05 · Toronto Star
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 26 articles by Kristie Rieken →

Topics

Cougars Houston NFL Oregon Tulane

Subjects

Houston ORG · 7× NFL ORG · 5× Weigman PERSON · 4× Cougars ORG · 3× Oregon GPE · 3× Eddie Walls III PERSON · 2× Fritz PERSON · 2× Keisean Henderson PERSON · 2× Makhi Hughes PERSON · 2× Tulane ORG · 2×

Narrative

He threw for a career-high 2,705 yards and 25 touchdowns and added 700 yards rushing and 11 scores in his first season at Houston in 2025 after transferring from Texas A&M. Weigman will be protected by an experienced offensive line and the offense should get a boost with the addition of running back Makhi Hughes.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-08-21
🔮 HOUSTON (AP) — 2025 record: 10-3 Expectations The Cougars should be one of the top teams in the Big 12 a year after making a six-game improvement to win 10 games in coach Willie Fritz’s second season.
2026-08-21 · Toronto Star
With Weigman back at QB, No. 23 Houston eyes a run at the Big 12 title after 10-win breakout season · assertive framing

Claims (21 extracted, 1 hedged)

HOUSTON (AP) — 2025 record: 10-3 Expectations The Cougars should be one of the top teams in the Big 12 a year after making a six-game improvement to win 10 games in coach Willie Fritz’s second season. asserted
Cougars → make → season
“We’ve got to build off it and not live off it,” quarterback Conner Weigman said. asserted
Weigman → get → it
“Some people are like: ‘We won 10 games last year. asserted
We → win → games
That’s going to happen this year.’ asserted
That → go → ?
No, we’re going into Week 1 0-0. asserted
we → go → Week
We’ve go to go and play an even better brand of football than we did last year, but we’re in a good spot right now. asserted
we → go → spot
Houston returns 12 starters, led by Weigman. asserted
Houston → return → Weigman
He threw for a career-high 2,705 yards and 25 touchdowns and added 700 yards rushing and 11 scores in his first season at Houston in 2025 after transferring from Texas A&M. Weigman will be protected by an experienced offensive line and the offense should get a boost with the addition of running back Makhi Hughes. asserted
offense → throw → Hughes
He spent last season at Oregon, where he got limited playing time after running for 2,779 yards in two seasons at Tulane. asserted
he → spend → Tulane
Weigman will remain the starter despite the addition of five-star recruit Keisean Henderson. asserted
Weigman → remain → Henderson
The dual-threat QB was ranked by some publications as the top recruit in the country after throwing for 6,415 yards and 76 touchdowns and running for 661 yards and 14 scores in four high school seasons. asserted
QB → rank → seasons
Fritz could figure out creative ways to get the athletic freshman on the field. uncertain
Fritz → figure → field
Strengths including QBs and RBs Weigman and Henderson make the team’s quarterbacks the undisputed strength of the team. asserted
quarterbacks → include → team
The transfer of Hughes reunited him with Fritz, after he played for him at Tulane in 2023 when he ran for 1,378 yards. asserted
he → reunite → yards
Second on Houston’s depth chart at running back is Re’Shaun Sanford II, who had 444 yards rushing in 2024 but missed all last season recovering from an ACL injury. asserted
who → have → injury
The Cougars also added freshman and Houston product John Hebert, who piled up a whopping 7,210 yards rushing with 80 touchdowns combined in his last two high school seasons. asserted
who → add → seasons
Weaknesses include pass rush asserted
Weaknesses → include → rush
Houston lost top pass rusher Eddie Walls III, after he had seven sacks and 11 1/2 tackles for loss last season. asserted
he → lose → loss
Also gone is defensive tackle Carlos Allen Jr., who led the team with 80 tackles, including 7 1/2 for loss. asserted
who → go → loss
They’ll look to linebacker Brandon Mack II to step up to make up for the absence of Walls after he had five sacks and forced two fumbles in 2025. asserted
he → look → 2025
They also added Oklahoma State transfer De’Marion Thomas to help the interior defensive line. asserted
They → add → line
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