Houston Cougars Bowl Projections After Conclusion of Regular Season
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Houston Cougars football completed the largest single-season turnaround among Power Four conference teams this season, going from a 4-8 record in 2024 to winning five more games for a 9-3 mark in 2025. This is Houston’s best record since 2021, and head coach Willie Fritz has this program playing some meaningful December football again.
The Cougars just jumped back into the College Football Playoff rankings this week at No. 21, the highest rank since 2021 as well. Houston is receiving national attention, and that will certainly help them in terms of securing a premier bowl game appearance at this time of year.
Houston clinched a bowl game for the first time since 2022 quite early, after a Week 8 win over now No. 18 Arizona as the Cougars reached six wins in seven games. With the regular season in the books, here are the bowl games that major media outlets are projecting Houston to play in.
Houston’s Bowl Projections After Week 14
ESPN
Pop-Tarts Bowl vs. Miami or Georgia Tech
The Pop-Tarts Bowl is played at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida, on Dec. 27 at 2:30 p.m. on ABC. It’s between a Big 12 and ACC school, and both ESPN bowl gurus, Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach, pick Houston as the Big 12 representative for this game.
Miami has a chance to make the college football playoff ranked No. 12 in the country and is one of the top teams in the ACC with a 10-2 overall record and 6-2 in the conference. This would be a good test for the Cougars going against a well-known program to see how they can match up.
Georgia Tech is right below Houston in the CFP rankings at 22 and was on fire to start with an 8-0 record. The Yellow Jackets have since lost three out of their last four games and this would be an interesting game to watch.
CBS Sports, USA Today, Sports Illustrated, Athlon Sports
Alamo Bowl vs. USC
As hinted in the name, this is played in San Antonio, Texas between a Big 12 and current/former Pac-12 school. The Cougars would take on the Trojans on the night before New Year’s Eve in the Alamodome, a site that some Houston fans would not want to return to after the men’s basketball national championship. This matchup is currently quite popular among projections and looking like the most likely bowl destination for Houston.
Either way, this would allow Cougars fans to make the three-hour drive and give their team support. USC finished fourth in the Big 10 standings with a 9-3 record and 7-2 in conference. Ranked No. 16 in the country, this would be an enticing matchup against a quality name.
College Football News
Pop-Tarts Bowl vs. Georgia Tech
This would probably be the most even matchup being projected.
Pro Football Sports Network
Pop-Tarts Bowl vs SMU
This game would be a lot of fun between old Texas rivals from the American Athletic Conference. SMU has had two successful seasons in the ACC so far, including making the CFP last year ranked 10th. The Cougars can reignite this matchup vs their Dallas foe and it would likely bring fireworks.
Houston will be getting their first quality bowl game since the 2021 season, and it is highly anticipated for Coog fans. The official projections will be announced on Sunday, Dec. 7 along with the CFP matchups.
Maanav Gupta is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He graduated from the University of Houston in the summer of 2025 with his bachelor’s in journalism and a minor in Spanish. Gupta spent three years at the student newspaper, The Daily Cougar, and also covered the 2025 Final Four and National Championship as Houston beat writer for College Basketball Review. He also has his own YouTube channel, Maanav’s Sports Talk, where he has interviewed professional athletes and broadcasters like Jim Nantz, Jose Altuve, J.J. Watt, Rich Eisen, and Alperen Sengun. Gupta was also a contributor to the Houston athletic program as a student. You can find Gupta on X, Instagram and TikTok @MGSportsTalk.