Major Changes Have Been Made to the Houston Cougars 2026 Football Schedule
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As the Big 12 Conference released its official 2026 schedule matrix on January 21, Houston football got an ordered outline of what its campaign map would look like towards contending for the conference once more.
But on Friday morning, the conference announced an official slate of weekday game selections for the 2026 season, in which an all-too-familiar sight for the Cougars' national spotlight exposure is once again in order for their schedule.
The Big 12 announced nine weekday game selections for the season, with games under the Friday Night Lights composing eight of them.
Big 12 announces weekday schedule pic.twitter.com/WZ1LzgeBMU
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) April 10, 2026
Of those eight Friday features, Houston is scheduled for two of them in tough, gritty Big 12 road environments.
As a tough enough task already, Houston will look to snap a seven-game head-to-head losing streak against Texas Tech, when it takes on the Red Raiders on Friday, Sept. 18 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock. There, the Cougars will also look to grab their first win in Lubbock since a 51-35 blowout win on Sept. 13, 1990, with both programs as members of the Southwest Conference.
The game will present the next opportunity for quarterback Conner Weigman, in his senior season, to absorb full action against Texas Tech after an injury sidelined him for the remainder of Houston's 35-11 loss to Texas Tech on Oct. 4, 2025.
The other Friday spotlight will be a return game from Houston's previous Big 12-opener contest on Sept. 12, 2025, also a Friday contest, in which the Cougars will travel to Folsom Field in Boulder, Colo. to rematch the Buffaloes on Nov. 13.
While Colorado hopes to have already rebounded from its previous 3-9 campaign under coach Deion Sanders, Houston will look to take a 2-1 all-time series lead over the Buffaloes with its first win at Folsom Field in program history. It will be the second meeting all-time in Boulder since Dec. 31, 1971, in a 29-17 Colorado win.
The previous meeting provided an exciting show towards Houston's first 3-0 overall start since 2016, in which Weigman, while racking in 222 yards in the air, compiled 83 rushing yards (good for nearly five per carry) and two touchdowns, one of which came off a viral juke move.
Both matchups will not only provide more national exposure as much as Friday games are a mixed bag to some fans, but one bright spot, from a record standpoint, is that Houston is 10-3 in Friday games since 2021. A complete sweep of Houston's Friday slate from last season included its wins over Oregon State, Colorado, and UCF.
Michael Carrara is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He attends the University of Houston, where he is a journalism major and a marketing minor. He is also a sports writer and reporter for the Daily Cougar, having covered baseball as an NCBWA member. You can find Michael on all major social media channels, including X on @michaelcoalec.