Houston Cougars Are a Betting Odds Underdog to Win the Big 12
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The Houston Cougars head into the 2025 season in year two with head coach Willie Fritz at the helm. In Fritz’s first year in Houston, the Cougars won a total of four games, with the highlight being an upset victory over then-ranked No.15 Kansas State Wildcats, but finished the season with three straight losses.
Now in year three in the Big 12, the Cougars are still seen as one of the lower teams in the conference, with current betting odds set at +3500 to finish the season as Big 12 conference champions per BetMGM.
Houston finds itself in the bottom half of the conference in the betting odds, tied with the Cincinnati Bearcats with the same odds. Rounding out the bottom half are the West Virginia Mountaineers at +4000, the Arizona Wildcats also at +4000, the Oklahoma State Cowboys at +5000, and lastly the UCF Knights at +6000.
A Quick Glance at Houston's Big 12 Opponents with the Best Odds
Of their nine conference games, the Cougars face four of the bottom teams in the conference per the betting odds in Oklahoma State, Arizona, West Virginia, and UCF, all of which could feasibly be victories for Houston. However, the Cougars will also have a difficult challenge taking on four of the teams with the best odds in the Big 12.
The Cougars will host the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Oct. 4, Texas Tech is currently tied with the Utah Utes for the best odds to win the conference at +550. Coming off an eight-win season and a bowl game appearance, there is a lot of hype surrounding head coach Joey McGuire's squad. Especially after finishing with the top-ranked transfer portal class per On3, the Red Raiders brought in a total of 21 commits for their 2025 team.
Houston will welcome in the defending Big 12 champion Arizona State Sun Devils on Oct. 18. Arizona State’s odds are tied for the second-best with Kansas State at +600. Head coach Kenny Dillingham loses a big part of his offense after running back Cam Skattebo left for the NFL, but with one of the top returning quarterbacks in the conference in Sam Leavitt, the Sun Devils should be one of the top contenders in 2025.
Not too far behind are the Baylor Bears, who currently have the third-best odds, at +650. The Cougars will head up to Waco for their last game of the season on Nov. 2. The Bears finished the 2024 season on a hot streak, winning their last six straight regular-season games. A string of momentum that head coach Dave Aranda will look to bring over into the new season, as he heads into his sixth year at the helm.
The final Houston opponent in the upper half of the betting odds is the TCU Horned Frogs at +800 to win the Big 12. Head coach Sonny Dykes’ team comes off a nine-win season, including a bowl game victory. The Cougars beat the Horned Frogs a season ago in Fort Worth; this year, TCU repays the visit, traveling to TDECU Stadium on Nov. 22.
Houston will open the regular season against Stephen F. Austin on Aug. 28 at 7 p.m.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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