ESPN Analyst Makes Bold Prediction about Houston Cougars Football Success

Houston Cougars football is almost here. This highly anticipated season for Houston will kick off in just over a week on Sept. 5 at home against Oregon State.

The excitement continues to grow now that college football is on the doorstep. This upcoming season for the Cougars is turning into one of the most hyped up seasons in recent program history. It's come a long way from the four-win season of 2024.

Coach Willie Fritz's group was recently ranked No. 23 in the Preseason AP Poll and No. 24 in the Preseason Coaches Poll. This was just Houston's third time being included in the preseason poll since 1991.

With the top 25 ranking and coming off a 10-3 season that included a Texas Bowl win over LSU, the expectations for winning have now changed heading into Fritz's third season at the helm. It looks as if the national media has slowly caught on to the Cougars and what makes them a Big 12 contender.

That includes a big prediction by ESPN analyst EJ Manuel that might even be surprising to Houston fans.

Not Just Big 12 Championship

“With all the pieces they have coming back offensively, I wouldn’t be shocked if Houston is the team out of the Big 12 that makes it into the CFP.” — ESPN’s @EJManuel3 pic.twitter.com/jRvL6bx4R4
— Andrew Pate (@AndyPate05) August 18, 2026

Now, Houston potentially making it to the College Football Playoff is bold. For that to happen, the Cougars would have to win the Big 12 Championship to secure that CFP berth. Houston will likely need around 11 wins in order to make that happen.

Based on the schedule combined with the returners and transfers, that's not out of the window. Houston won 10 games last season and came in fourth in the conference with a 6-3 record. A key reason why Manuel has these thoughts about Houston is senior starting quarterback Conner Weigman.

"The last four or five games of the season, when he was healthy, Weigman was really hard to stop. His ability to push the ball down the field he was accurate, he was poised. But also his ability to run the football really makes that second dimension of his offensive game really hard to beat," Manuel said.

Given that Manuel won the ACC Championship and Orange Bowl as a senior at Florida State before becoming the 16th overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, he knows what he's talking about as a former college and professional quarterback.

Manuel also had a bit of a dual-threat ability, having rushed for 310 yards and four touchdowns in his senior season.

A second key player that Manuel mentions is senior transfer running back Makhi Hughes. While Hughes had injuries last season at Oregon, he ran for around 1400 yards in each of his two seasons at Tulane. His freshman All-American season was under Fritz as well.

Another one of those returning offensive pieces is senior wide receiver Amare Thomas, who's a preseason All-Big 12 team member. He was Weigman's No. 1 target last season and is expected to be once again. Thomas racked up 966 yards and 14 touchdowns on 67 receptions.

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