No. 22 Houston routs Southern 77-6 in game played briefly without stadium lights

HOUSTON -- — Conner Weigman threw for 120 yards and three touchdowns before giving way to his backup, and No. 22 Houston routed Southern 77-6 Saturday night in a game played briefly without stadium lights due to a power outage. The teams wrapped up the blowout by agreeing to an 8-minute fourth quarter. The Cougars (2-0) piled up 388 rushing yards from 10 different ballcarriers. Weigman was 9-of-12 passing in 1 1/2 quarters before being relieved by Keisean Henderson, who added two more touchdown passes. “I thought everybody ran hard,” Houston coach Willie Fritz said. “Good job by everybody in the run game. It’s hard to run it when they know you’re going to run it every down.” The teams played the final two minutes of the first half without the stadium lights. There was a two-minute delay after the power outage before the teams agreed there was enough daylight to play the rest of the half. The lights came back on during halftime. Henderson completed 6 of 7 passes and also rushed for a 54-yard score. Houston totaled 591 yards compared to 121 yards for Southern (1-2). Makhi Hughes, Re’Shaun Sanford II, DJ Butler, John Hebert and Luke Carney each had touchdown runs. Koby Young caught two touchdown passes, and Amare Thomas, Patrick Overmyer and Hebert each had a touchdown reception. Fritz was pleased that the majority of the team was able to play. “I think everybody on the team except five guys got a chance to go in there at least one time,” Fritz said. “A bunch of guys it was their first time they’ve ever experienced playing in a Power Four football game. It was great to get those guys in.” The Cougars scored 28 points in the first quarter, tying the school record. Houston led 49-0 at the half. Wyatt McCauley threw a 79-yard touchdown pass to Wydell Clark Jr. with 4 ½ minutes left in the third for the Jaguars’ lone score. “That was awful,” Southern coach Marshall Faulk said. “That wasn’t really a game. That was a preseason crash dummy test for Houston to work on all their good plays. We didn’t show up.” The takeaway Southern: The Jaguars were overmatched throughout, finishing with four first downs and minus-6 yards rushing. Southern did not cross midfield until the start of the second quarter. Houston: The Cougars had their second straight game of at least 500 yards. Houston also forced three turnovers and converted them into 21 points. Up next Southern: Hosts Louisiana Christian on Saturday. Houston: At No. 13 Texas Tech on Friday night. ------ Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here. Visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full college football coverage here.