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No. 20 Houston Unveils Special Helmets to Go Along With Blue Uniforms

The Cougars made a massive update to their helmet collection heading into Week 5.
Maanav Gupta|
Oct 4, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Cougars quarterback Conner Weigman (1) enters the field before playing against the Texas Tech Raiders at TDECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images
Oct 4, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Cougars quarterback Conner Weigman (1) enters the field before playing against the Texas Tech Raiders at TDECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Houston Cougars

The No. 20 Houston Cougars just added some special swag to their Saturday look. While Week 5 against UCF in the Big 12 home opener was always going to be the Houston Blue game, the Cougars added a completely new element to their design.

Houston wearing the light blue uniforms in itself is a big moment. It pays tribute to one of the original colors of the city. Not to mention, it's very popular among the fans. The Cougars made this Week 5 clash vs UCF even more interesting. It's been dubbed the "Space Game" between Space U and Space City. That has even more meaning now.

Houston unveiled the Gridiron Galaxy helmet on Friday, just the night before the 11 a.m. showdown against UCF at TDECU Stadium. This is a completely different helmet design from the previous Houston Blue edition. It's completely space-related.

Space City Helmets

UH has started its annual Built By Houston game and it features a new theme to honor every season. This year, it's space. Playing UCF likely had a lot to do with that.

Houston's new helmet design is entirely unique and completely drenched in space. Not only that, it's not just one helmet. There are 10 different helmet designs that will be worn by different players in the game.

The 10 helmets represent the eight planets, along with the Sun and dwarf planet Pluto. The designs become rarer the farther the planets are from the Sun. There are 45 Sun helmets as that's the center of the solar system.

The numbers continously get lower such as Saturn with five, Neptune with three and just one Pluto helmet on the team. There are 133 helmets total. The Pluto helmet has "one of one" written on the side to symbolize its rarity.

All of these helmets were hand-painted and feature the planet of choice at the front along with a black background of stars. The Cougars changed the main logo on the side to look more like an astronaut helmet with a gray and white shade.

The whole helmet and black face mask are glossy. There is also a visor in the front. Houston is still written on the front of the helmet with a white and slightly blue tone.

The planet name for each helmet is listed on the bumper in the typical Houston font. On the back is also where the "Built by Houston" logo is, with the American flag below it. The Big 12 x Monster logo is also featured. There are also vents made on the back. The details are tremendous in this design, and it will be a task trying to figure out which players are wearing what on the field.

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Maanav Gupta
MAANAV GUPTA

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.

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