The Houston Cougars' secondary has struggled at times this season. Thankfully, the offense behind Maxwell Award semifinalist Conner Weigman and Co. have been very good and have helped this team remain elite.

Tonight, the Cougars are faced with a challenge that won't be easy, especially with a dynamic duo that the secondary has to defend.

Colorado's Dynamic Duo Will Be Very Hard to Defend

The 3-6 Colorado Buffaloes have shown flashes of brilliance this season thanks to the talent they have. A lot of that talent is in the wide receiver room.

Joseph Williams is 12th in the country in receiving yards with 853 yards and six touchdowns on 58 receptions. Williams has been great after the catch and has been a reliable target for a team that has struggled to find a consistent passing game.

Along with Williams, Colorado has a talented receiver in Texas Longhorns transfer Deandre Moore Jr. Moore was the No. 6 WR in the 2026 transfer portal, according to 247Sports. Moore has 37 receptions, 526 yards, and three touchdowns thus far. This duo of two talented WRs presents a large challenge for this secondary.

Quarterback Isaac Wilson, brother of former superstar BYU Cougars QB Zach Wilson, has been inconsistent this season, throwing for 1,412 yards, eight touchdowns, and eight interceptions so far. But sometimes, all you need to do is check the ball down to a wideout, and they'll do the rest.

This has no doubt been another disappointing season for the Deon Sanders-led Buffaloes, but that doesn't take away the fact that they will try to ruin the Cougars season with all their might.

Last week, Williams caught seven passes for 121 yards and a touchdown against the Arizona State Sun Devils (lost 20-10). If Colorado wins, it will likely be on the back of a big night from Williams or Moore.

Houston's Secondary Must Continue to Play Consistent

At the beginning of the season, the secondary was pretty awful. It got smoked by the Oregon State Beavers and then played extremely poorly through the first half of the season.

I can't claim the secondary has played super well lately, but it has played well enough to give the team a real chance. Before, it was just bad; now it is actually not. Guys like cornerback Jalen Mayo, who has quite the story, cornerback Will James, and safety Jordan Allen have started to make the pass defense look a lot better.

Colorado presents a big challenge, but Houston has a ton of back-end talent that is starting to show itself. Against the Cincinnati Bearcats, the Cougars' pass defense wasn't bad. Even against the Utah Utes, the pass defense was pretty good. Against Colorado, I don't want to see this team play lock down coverage that is remarkable.

I would love to see it, but I also know that's extremely hard. Simply put, it would be nice to see the pass defense play well enough that Weigman doesn't have to play like a Heisman candidate to win. That's a dangerous game to play - to rely on QBs having amazing performances to win.

Stepping up and getting turnovers on a turnover-prone team would be a sight to behold for the Cougars, who need to avoid upset bids over the next few weeks to reach the College Football Playoff. Of the five players to watch from the Buffaloes, Moore and Williams were two of them who could be a problem.

This secondary doesn't need to play perfectly, but it can't afford to just be destroyed. It's time for the Cougars to start playing the best brand of football