Houston Cougars On SI

Houston Cougars Return to Latest College Football Playoff Rankings

Houston football gets back into the College Football Playoff rankings after Week 14.
Maanav Gupta|
Nov 29, 2025; Waco, Texas, USA; The Houston Cougars celebrate after a play against the Baylor Bears during the second half at McLane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images
Nov 29, 2025; Waco, Texas, USA; The Houston Cougars celebrate after a play against the Baylor Bears during the second half at McLane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images | Chris Jones-Imagn Images

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Houston Cougars

Houston Cougars football received encouraging news on Tuesday evening as they jumped back into the College Football Playoff Top 25 Rankings. 

After Houston’s 31-24 win at Baylor in its final regular season game of the season, the Cougars jumped all the way to No. 21 in the penultimate CFP rankings of the year. The committee clearly has taken note of the impressive turnaround led by second-year head coach Willie Fritz as UH went 9-3, with a 6-3 conference record in the Big 12, good for fourth.

After finishing 12th in the conference last season with a 4-8 record, the Cougars won five more games in 2025 and went an undefeated 6-0 on the road, the only FBS team to do so. Houston posted the best single-season turnaround among Power Four conferences. 

What This Means for Houston Football

Houston
Nov 29, 2025; Waco, Texas, USA; Houston Cougars head coach Willie Fritz reacts on the sidelines against the Baylor Bears during the second half at McLane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images | Chris Jones-Imagn Images

The Cougars have been noticed nationally as one of the better Big 12 programs in the country this season. Houston was ranked No. 23 in the Week 12 CFP rankings before dropping out after the disappointing 17-14 loss at home to TCU. That was the first time UH was ranked in the College Football Playoff committee’s Top 25 since the 2021 season. 

The No. 21 spot in this week’s CFP rankings for Houston is its highest in almost four years. In 2021, the Cougars earned a final rank of no. 20 in the selection-day CFP committee rankings after a successful 11-2 season in the American Athletic Conference. Houston was the highest-ranked AAC team in the final rankings and won the Birmingham Bowl over Auburn a couple of weeks later. 

That season, UH cracked the CFP Top 25 four times, including No. 24 on Nov. 16, 2021. Additionally, the Cougars were in the AP poll since week nine of 2021, and ended up at No. 17 in the country. 

2025 has been the best season since then, and the Cougars made it into the AP poll twice this year. Houston was ranked No. 22 in the AP poll after their week nine upset at Arizona State. After a road win at UCF, UH cracked the poll at No. 24. Each time after being ranked this season, the Cougars lost. 

Either way, the chances of Houston getting a quality bowl game are much higher. The respect for Houston has certainly gone up in 2025. 

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Maanav Gupta
MAANAV GUPTA

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.

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