Built for the dark: Why No. 14 Houston at No. 10 Utah will be decided two feet from the football.

Caiden Bellard Takes Us Inside His Top 10 and Why Houston Made the Cut.

A look at the early lines: Houston keeps climbing, and the thin air doesn’t scare the Cougars.

The Cougars are the nation’s best at staying on the field. Utah is the nation’s best at stopping plays behind the line. Something gives Saturday night.

Houston’s McKenzie Agnello grades as PFN’s No. 2 right guard, trailing only Kentucky’s Tegra Tshabola.

Houston’s Conner Weigman earns Big 12’s top offensive honor after five-TD performance.

Conner Weigman’s career-high 343 yards and five touchdown passes lifted Houston past Oklahoma State and earned him Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honors. Now comes a top-15 showdown at unbeaten Utah.

Houston’s Amare Thomas named Panini Senior Bowl Offensive Player of the Week after fourth-down heroics.

From Bayou to Bayou, Houston Is Still Standing in Caiden Bellard’s Top 10.

Houston climbs six spots to No. 14 in the AP poll, and the hunt now heads to No. 10 Utah.

The best hunters don’t chase. They read the ground, pick a trail and let the animal tire itself out. Houston hunted that way Saturday night at TDECU. It tracked Oklahoma State for four quarters and ran the Cowboys down 35-32. By Sunday the voters had seen the tracks. The Cougars (6-1) jumped six spots in the AP Top 25, from No. 20 to No. 14, with 785 points. Oklahoma State arrived ranked No. 18 and left with 128 votes, now listed among the others. In the hunt, that’s the difference between the one holding the rifle and the one in the brush. Houston built this team on a $15 million roster. In a sport where plenty of programs spend far more, that’s a lean outfit. A lean outfit can’t afford a wasted motion, and these Cougars don’t make many. They shorten the field, kill the clock and make third down feel like a closed door. They don’t win with fireworks. They win by tightening, one snare at a time, until the other sideline runs out of room. A roster like that survives on discipline and patience. Above Houston, the poll turned over. Georgia fell to Auburn and dropped from No. 1 to No. 5. Miami (6-0) takes the top spot with 1,697 points and 40 first-place votes. BYU (6-0) sits at No. 2 with 1,675 points and 20 first-place votes, just 22 behind. Ohio State is third with 1,649 and nine first-place votes. When the top three sit that close, the order is more a mood than a verdict. BYU’s six-spot jump from No. 8 makes the Cougars from Provo the highest-ranked Big 12 team in the poll. Texas Tech (6-0) is No. 8 and picked up a first-place vote, so one voter had the Red Raiders at the very top. Utah (6-0) is No. 10 with 1,153 points. Houston is No. 14, and Arizona (5-1) holds No. 25 with 136 points. That’s five ranked teams, three of them unbeaten and inside the top ten. A league that spent years apologizing for its depth is now being credited for it. The conference also plays itself. BYU goes to UCF, Texas Tech to Cincinnati and Arizona hosts Iowa State. The game that matters most to Houston is the one in the mountains. The Cougars now trade the Gulf plain for the Wasatch Front and a bigger animal. Utah is unbeaten, holds a 368-point edge on Houston in the AP rankings and will be at home. College GameDay will be there too. The hunt gets harder when the quarry knows the terrain. It asks whether a patient, clock-killing offense can keep its rhythm when the stadium is loud and the air is thin. It asks whether a defense that took away Oklahoma State’s room can do the same to a team that hasn’t lost. The poll rewards what Houston did Saturday and raises the price of what comes next. Fourteenth in the country is a good place to stand, but nobody stays there by admiring the view. A $15 million roster doesn’t get to rest on a ranking. Houston has run one opponent down. The hard part is doing it again on somebody else’s ground.

Houston Runs Down Oklahoma State, Climbs to No. 16 and Now Heads to the Mountains, With GameDay in Tow.

Cougars rise two spots in the US LBM Coaches Poll as Miami takes No. 1 and BYU carries the Big 12 banner. Next up: a trip to Salt Lake City to face No. 9 Utah.

Snaps Clothing Co. 5 Snaps to Watch: No. 18 Oklahoma State at No. 20 Houston.

Houston’s secondary, Oklahoma State’s arm and the details that will decide a Big 12 showdown at TDECU

Big Sherm Comes to TDECU, Where Houston Keeps Building Where Games Are Won.

Kingston Rodgers Comes to TDECU Looking for a Program That Can Match His Motor.