Wk 8 · 2026
Houston Cougars at Utah Utes — Sat, Oct 24
Sat, Oct 24 ·
Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, UT
Weather
No forecast yet. This one is 54 days away and has no kickoff time yet. Forecasts reach about 16 days ahead, so this fills in nearer the game. A seasonal average printed here would look exactly like a forecast, which is why there is not one.
#23 Houston Cougars
Big 12 · no games yet
at
TBDET
UTAH -6.5 · total 50.5 DraftKings
Ratings differential UTAH by 15.7
#21 Utah Utes
Big 12 · no games yet
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 #23 (AP Top 25 · 2026-08-17). Utah is ranked #21 (AP Top 25 · 2026-08-17).
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
No completed games on record.
Utah form
No completed games on record.
Houston this season
No graded games yet this season. Lines are captured before kickoff and graded when a game goes final, so these records start at Week 1.
Utah this season
No graded games yet this season. Lines are captured before kickoff and graded when a game goes final, so these records start at Week 1.
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 2025 regular season
| Passing | Conner Weigman QB #1 | 204/319, 2475 YDS, 21 TD, 9 INT |
| Zeon Chriss-Gremillion QB #9 | 10/21, 108 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT | |
| Rushing | Dean Connors RB #44 | 184 CAR, 851 YDS, 5 TD |
| Conner Weigman QB #1 | 158 CAR, 644 YDS, 11 TD | |
| DJ Butler RB #25 | 60 CAR, 280 YDS | |
| Receiving | Amare Thomas WR #0 | 59 REC, 906 YDS, 10 TD |
| Tanner Koziol TE #9 | 65 REC, 651 YDS, 5 TD | |
| Stephon Johnson WR #5 | 13 REC, 275 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Dean Connors RB #44 | 31 REC, 242 YDS, 3 TD |
Defense
| Tackles | Jalen Garner LB #36 | 75 |
| Kentrell Webb DB #8 | 70 | |
| Carlos Allen Jr. DT #5 | 68 | |
| Sacks | Eddie Walls III DE #90 | 5.5 |
| Brandon Mack II LB #4 | 5 | |
| Corey Platt Jr. LB #9 | 3 | |
| Interceptions | Will James DB #5 | 3 |
| Wrook Brown DB #24 | 2 | |
| Marc Stampley II DB #22 | 2 |
Utah leaders 2025 regular season
| Passing | Devon Dampier QB #4 | 193/303, 2180 YDS, 22 TD, 5 INT |
| Byrd Ficklin QB #15 | 21/35, 301 YDS, 3 TD | |
| Rushing | Wayshawn Parker RB #1 | 133 CAR, 931 YDS, 6 TD |
| Devon Dampier QB #4 | 127 CAR, 687 YDS, 7 TD | |
| Byrd Ficklin QB #15 | 56 CAR, 503 YDS, 10 TD | |
| Receiving | Ryan Davis WR #9 | 57 REC, 659 YDS, 4 TD |
| Dallen Bentley TE #88 | 42 REC, 514 YDS, 5 TD | |
| JJ Buchanan WR #6 | 22 REC, 351 YDS, 4 TD | |
| Larry Simmons WR #12 | 14 REC, 271 YDS, 6 TD |
Defense
| Tackles | Johnathan Hall LB #7 | 65 |
| Jackson Bennee S #23 | 61 | |
| Lander Barton LB #8 | 51 | |
| Sacks | John Henry Daley DE #90 | 11.5 |
| Logan Fano EDGE #0 | 4.5 | |
| Kash Dillon DE #93 | 3.5 | |
| Interceptions | Jackson Bennee S #23 | 4 |
| Trey Reynolds LB #10 | 2 | |
| Elijah Davis CB #9 | 2 |
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.