Houston Football Enters Game Week With Expectations Willie Fritz Created
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Two years ago, Houston went 4-8, and nobody was watching. However, something was different in 2025.
Houston head coach Willie Fritz has turned this team from the bottom of the Big 12 to a contender to win the conference.
Fritz created those expectations by winning, and in his third season, he has a team that has to rise to them.
Houston is Ready For a Big Year
Houston is opening its season against Oregon State at home on Sept. 5, ranked No. 23 in the AP poll. It is the Cougars' first time being ranked in the preseason since 2022. In 2024, the Cougars opened unranked and finished in the bottom half of the conference.
Fritz enters his third year in Houston after a 10-win season and a Texas Bowl win against LSU. With that success, Fritz returns with 12 starters and all three coordinators.
Offensive coordinator Slade Nagle, defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong and special teams coordinator Chris Couch enter their second years in Houston after improving nearly every stat.
Nagle turned a team that ranked 132nd in scoring offense to 55th and 126th in passing offense to 81st. Armstrong put Houston's defense in the top 50 in multiple categories and Couch turned kicker Ethan Sanchez into a three-time Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week honoree.
For players, quarterback Conner Weigman had 2,705 passing yards and 25 touchdowns, while wide receiver Amare Thomas had 966 yards and 12 touchdowns. On defense, defensive back Will James had three interceptions and is on both the Bronco Nagurski Award and Bednarik Award watch lists.
Fritz turned a 4-8 team into a 10-3 team that ranked No. 22 in the AP poll in 2025 but the margins are thin. The Cougars went 7-0 on the road and 6-1 in one-score games. Those types of stats are hard to replicate.
Doubts about Houston being a legitimate contender for the Big 12 Championship Game arise: Can Houston have another successful year? Was 2025 a one-off for the Cougars?
The case for Houston lies in Fritz's winning history. At Tulane, he needed seven years to win the conference and won the American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in back-to-back seasons.
He has turned the Cougars around much quicker than that.
Houston has never put together back-to-back 10-win seasons, which is what Fritz was hired to change.
Fritz did that in his final two seasons with the Green Wave. Now he has a chance to do it for the Cougars.
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Micah Clay is a staff writer for the Houston Cougars on SI. He is currently a freshman at the University of Houston and majoring in Sports Administration. He also works for The Cougar organization. You can find Clay on his Instagram(@mcjosh_btw_podcast)