Houston Offense Continues Hot Streak Under New Coordinator
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The Houston Cougars are now bowl eligible for the first time since the 2022 season with their recent 31-28 win over the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday at TDECU Stadium.
The offense has made a complete turnaround from last season and has moved up in the conference.
So far, offensive coordinator Slade Nagle has been an excellent hire and the offense has led the team to the program’s best start since 2016.
How Slade Nagle Rebuilt Houston’s Offense
Head coach Willie Fritz and Nagle first crossed paths in their time together at Tulane, where they turned the program around and finished as high as No. 9 in the AP Poll in 2022.
After the previous offensive coordinator, Kevin Barbay, was fired in November of the 2024 season, the Cougars hired Nagle from LSU to lead the offense.
Last season, the Cougars finished at the bottom of the conference in total offense and they averaged only 14 points per game.
Houston also scored the least amount of points in the conference with 168, which is almost 100 points lower than Arizona which finished second-to-last.
In just one year, Houston has jumped up to No. 11 in the conference in scoring offense and averages 29.4 points per game.
While at first glance the ranking seems low, the Cougars are just a few good offensive games away from emerging as a top offense in the conference.
Houston has also improved their rushing attack and ranks No. 8 overall in the Big 12. The Cougars have rushed for 1,187 yards and average 169.6 per game.
Fritz has been impressed with Nagle this season and the program looks completely different compared to the 4-8 finish last year.
In the win over Arizona, Fritz praised Houston’s first-year offensive coordinator and knows he is a big part of their success.
“I thought coach Nagle did a good job of getting them to tip their hand a little bit and call the proper play based on what they showed,” Fritz said.
Fritz and staff did an excellent job in the transfer portal in the offseason, and that is a big part of the offensive success.
Nagle has done a great job by utilizing players to play to their strengths and it has shown in several areas.
Weigman has been outstanding this year, passing for almost 1,400 yards and 11 touchdowns this season.
Houston also uses Weigman’s legs a lot in the offense and it has been successful. This season he has 66 carries for 243 yards and six touchdowns and he is a threat in short yardage or red zone situations.
Other notable transfer that have stepped up on the offensive side of the ball include: junior receiver Amare Thomas, senior tight end Tanner Koziol and senior running back Dean Connors.
Overall, Houston’s offense has been great, and the Cougars have been impressive in the second year of the Fritz era.
Ashton Grissom is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He is currently a senior at the University of Houston and majoring in Sports Media Production with a minor in Marketing and Spanish. He also works for two student organizations: The Cougar and CoogTV. You can find Grissom on his Instagram (@ashtonagrissom8) or Twitter (@ashtongrissom8).