Houston Cougars Shoot Up AP Poll After Win over Georgia Southern
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The Houston Cougars beat the Georgia Southern Eagles on the road 42-28 on Saturday in their final non-conference game of the season. Houston improved to 3-1 after Week 4.
However, there were a lot of questions surrounding the defense that gave up four touchdowns and over 350 yards to a Sun Belt team. The Cougars were practically perfect on offense with six straight touchdown drives.
Regardless, this week's AP Poll ended up going strongly in Houston's favor. Even without a truly convincing win that was initially expected in Statesboro, Georgia, Houston still rose in the Week 4 rankings.
Houston's New Ranking in AP Poll
Houston moved up five spots to No. 20 in the Week 4 AP Poll. The Cougars are now part of the top 20. This may have come as a bit of a surprise, but four other teams moved out of the top 25 in Penn State, Louisville, Texas A&M and Michigan. That paved the way for Houston to move up from No. 25 to 20 this week.
The No. 20 ranking is the highest for Houston since the 2021 season and it marks the first time the Cougars have been ranked five consecutive weeks to begin a season since 2016.
This is Houston's highest ranking since the final poll of the 2021 season when it finished No. 17.
Houston is one of four programs in the state of Texas that are ranked in the Week 4 poll. Texas is No. 1, Texas Tech is No. 12 and SMU is No. 21.
The Cougars are also one of five Big 12 teams in the top 25. Besides Texas Tech, BYU is No. 10, Utah is No. 13 and Oklahoma State jumped in for the first time this season at No. 19. That would set up a potentially intriguing ranked matchup in Week 7 against the Cowboys at TDECU Stadium.
Houston has big areas to fix on defense as it heads into conference play for the rest of the season. The Cougars will have their Big 12 home opener on Saturday against UCF in the "Space Game". This will also be the Houston Blue uniform game.
This is also the start of the biggest four-game stretch of the year that could decide how the season plays out. Houston faces Kansas State on the road, followed by a potential ranked game before going on the road again against Utah.
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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.