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Either the Cougars become bowl eligible for the first time since 2022, or the Wildcats take another step closer to bowl eligibility and best their win total from last season.Ìý

Reaching "a bowl game would be a monumental step for them," said Houston Cougars insider Joseph Duarte from the Houston Chronicle. "Everything else after that, if you ask the fanbase, it's gravy and a little extra bonus."Ìý

The Cougars are led by Texas A&M transfer and former five-star quarterback Conner Weigman, who has 1,216 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions this season. Weigman also has runs of 46, 27 and 14 yards this season, along with five rushing touchdowns.Ìý

"They like to get their quarterback involved when they can," said Arizona safety Dalton Johnson. "He doesn't run as much as the previous quarterback we just played (Bear Bachmeier), but they like to use him when they can. I would expect it and we're ready for it."Ìý

Leading up to the Arizona-Houston game, Duarte joined "Spears & Ali" on ESPN Tucson to provide insight on the Cougars.ÌýÌý

What has been key to Houston's turnaround in its second season under second-year head coach Willie Fritz?

A: "We can go back to almost a year ago in Tucson and they just looked lifeless, especially on offense. ... The offense has done a complete turnaround. They averaged 14 points last season, second-to-last in the nation, and they're averaging more than double that this year. They went out into the portal and filled a lot of spots as needed, namely at quarterback.

"It's still a work in progress, but when you have a Top 25 defense, it's allowed them to bring them along. If they didn't have that defense, they wouldn't be 5-1. It's a new team and it was done by going through the portal in the offseason and addressing some serious areas of concern."

In addition to Weigman's dual-threat abilities, Houston has big-bodied targets in the passing game. Who are some players to keep an eye on?Ìý

A: "They went out and got arguably the top tight end available in the portal in Tanner Koziol. ... He's a huge target. He's 6-7 and you can throw the jump-ball up and he'll grab it. He's as dependable and a security blanket as they have there. ... (UAB transfer receiver Amare Thomas) had 157 (yards) against Oklahoma State over the weekend and out of his 23 catches, 18 of them are first-down catches. He's their guy in those situations. ... Compared to the last few years, they have some length and guys who are bigger types and can really create matchup problems."

Both Arizona and Houston are very similar in the sense of both schools have historical basketball programs and a strong hoops fanbase, and the football programs are rebuilding. What do you make of Arizona and Houston's similar identity?

A: "If you tell (Houston men's basketball coach Kelvin Sampson) to put the basketball court in the middle of the field, we could get 40,000 in there. We get Arizona to bring their basketball team and have one of the outside-of-the-basketball-venue games, like they do on an aircraft carrier, we could probably pack it in. These schools are very similar. We're about a month away from two Top 15 teams (playing).

"It's been mostly basketball, but the football programs are starting to make that move. Texas is Texas, it's supposed to be a football state and your school is supposed to be a football school, but certainly here, it's basketball. With the Willie Fritz hire, they're trying to change the narrative that it can be both. I think they're on their way to doing that."Ìý