2026 Big 12 Football Schedule Announced For Houston Cougars
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The long-awaited reveal of the 2026 Big 12 football schedule for all 16 programs went live Wednesday morning, and in the case of the Houston Cougars, who will enter Year 3 of the coach Willie Fritz era, it's another step in contention towards a conference championship.
Outside of its season opener at TDECU Stadium as a return home-and-home game against Oregon State and a non-conference road trip to one of Fritz's former coaching stops, the alignment of Houston's Big 12 schedule reveals it to be mostly manageable.
Mark your calendars 🏈 pic.twitter.com/ivcPdzEi9p
— Houston Football (@UHCougarFB) January 21, 2026
One of the biggest takeaways from the schedule lies in it being an all-Saturday slate for Houston, having played four non-Saturday games in 2025, which was unpopular with fans for claims of exposure and the ability to watch or attend at the time. Though the game times have yet to be addressed in fan hopes of limiting early kickoffs, there is no need to mark your calendars for any other day of the week.
Whether viewed as good or bad, Houston's potential toughest test comes at the start of Big 12 play in visiting the defending conference champion Texas Tech Red Raiders at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock for the conference opener on Sept. 19.
In a loud and hostile environment, it's a chance for Houston, having gone 6-0 on the road in 2025, to break a seven-game head-to-head losing streak in the rivalry dating back to the 2010 season, and a chance for the Cougars to grab their first win at Jones Stadium since 1990. If Texas Tech wins the matchup, the all-time series will be knotted 18-18-1.
Beyond the Big 12 opener, it's a mostly favorable alignment that demands Houston's capitalization, with a couple of other notable nuggets:
'SpaceU' in Houston: spoiler alert?
After Houston grabbed its first win in Orlando in nearly a decade and handed UCF its first loss as a program that wore its "SpaceU"-themed uniforms in come-from-behind fashion on Nov. 7, 2025, the Knights look to avenge the Cougars' feat in travelling to the bayou city for the first time since the shortened 2020 season.
Considering the Knights went 0-5 on the road in coach Scott Frost's return to UCF, the implications are higher for them in playing spoiler towards Houston's Big 12 title hopes in the Oct. 3 matchup at TDECU Stadium.
Is Baylor-Houston a Week 14 staple?
For the first time since the 2022 season, its last in the American, Houston will conclude its regular season campaign on senior day, facing Southwest Conference and Brazos River-rival Baylor at TDECU Stadium on Nov. 28.
For the second straight season, the Cougars conclude the regular season against the Bears in a week that typically is billed as 'rivalry week' for most of college football. Considering Iowa State and Kansas State's "Farmageddon" rivalry game typically is part of that billed package, does it create the case for Baylor and Houston's rivalry to become a permanent 'rivalry week' fixture?
Regardless, it's also a chance for Houston to get back in the senior day win column and grab the all-time series lead over Baylor, as the series is currently tied 15-15-1.
Michael Carrara is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He attends the University of Houston, where he is a journalism major and a marketing minor. He is also a sports writer and reporter for the Daily Cougar, having covered baseball as an NCBWA member. You can find Michael on all major social media channels, including X on @michaelcoalec.