Houston Needs to Replicate These Two Trends if Coogs Are Going to Win The Big 12

Houston needs to win road games and win close games to have a shot at winning the conference this season.

Houston needs to replicate these two trends to win the Big 12 | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Houston finally found its footing as a Power 4 program in 2025. The Cougars won nine games in the regular season and knocked off LSU in the Texas Bowl to cap off their best season since 2021, and the team's first winning season in the Big 12.

With the foundation laid, now Houston is looking to take the next step: winning its first conference championship since 2015, and its first Power 4 conference championship in school history.

To take that next step and outduel teams with bigger roster budgets, like Texas Tech, the Coogs need to run back their good habits from a season ago.

Specifically, the following two methods in which Houston won games at a high rate during the 2025 season:

Houston Must Keep Winning Close Games

Houston Cougars quarterback Conner Weigman with wide receiver Koby Young and tight end Tanner Koziol against the Arizona State Sun Devils | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Nothing defines a football team like being able to pull off wins in close games. The Cougars won almost every one-score game they played last season. The one loss was to TCU at TDECU Stadium, 17-14, in the home finale in Houston.

Three of those came on the road, against Oregon State (27-24), Arizona State (24-16), and UCF (30-27). Granted, the Beavers and Knights were bottom-feeders. Still, the Sun Devils were the reigning Big 12 champions. No Power 4 football game on the road is easy.

Willie Fritz's program had opponents beat in third-down situations (40.8% to opponents' 35.9%) and fourth-down situations (59.4% to opponents' 50.0%). The Cougars had opponents beat in time of possession by an average of five minutes per game.

It's the little things that have Houston winning those close games. That needs to continue this season for the team to make good on Big 12 title dreams.

Keep Winning on the Road

In addition to the aforementioned wins over Oregon State, Arizona State, and UCF, the Cougars defeated Rice, Oklahoma State, and Baylor and finished undefeated on the road in 2025. That trend of going on the road and letting the home crowd down is the mark of a great team, and one that Houston must continue in 2026.

Obviously, It's a much more difficult road slate this season, with Texas Tech, Georgia Southern, Kansas State, Utah, Colorado, and West Virginia offering variety all over the map. The matchup with the Red Raiders, of course, looms especially large.

If the Cougars can at least win four or five of those games, this should be another season of at least nine wins.

Needless to say, getting to 10 wins, which could be necessary to win the conference, will likely require Houston to replicate both of these feats from last year.