Recapping Ups and Downs of Houston’s Regular Season
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A little progress each day adds up to big results.
For the Houston Cougars football program, that saying applies easily, as it was a roller coaster season that saw many highs and lows, and it took a ton of adversity to get through.
Entering the 2025-26 campaign, Willie Fritz’s roster knew that it was going to be competing in rough games that may go their way and may not go their way. What went right was winning every single road game the Cougars played, while three games were losses to Big 12 conference foes, with other wins against non-conference opponents.
Road Trip Success
To start the season, the schedule builders elected for Houston to travel right down the road to Rice, which was only a 12-minute ride, where the offense was still learning how the system would be run, with junior quarterback Conner Weigman joining the program after transferring from Texas A&M.
Offensive coordinator Slade Nagle was still digging through his bag of tricks to call the perfect game, and it was close when the Cougars secured a 35-9 win thanks to running back Dean Connors' 132 rushing yards and Weigman’s 188 yards passing.
On the next road trip, it was the first trip to the State of Texas, as Houston traveled to Corvallis, Oregon, to take on Oregon State, which at the time didn’t have a win. Through three quarters, it looked like there was no chance that the offense was going to have enough fuel to get to the finish line after trailing by 10 late in the fourth quarter. Miraculously, there were 14 unanswered points to send the game to overtime, where kicker Ethan Sanchez saved the perfect season, drilling a game-winning field goal to win 27-24.
Stillwater, Oklahoma, was the next destination on Houston's schedule, as the Cougars faced Oklahoma State after the school chose to fire former head coach Mike Gundy, leaving the program searching for its next leader.
Since there wasn't much of an identity for the Cowboys, the Cougars took full advantage of that and walked away with a 39-17 morning win with Weigman having one of his best games at quarterback, throwing for 308 yards in the air which was his career best being with the Cougars after he suffered a minor injury the week before against the Red Raiders.
A flight to Tempe, Arizona, was next for Houston, where Arizona State awaited its next opponent, knowing it needed a win to keep its playoff chances alive after making it to the playoffs one season ago. That day, unfortunate news broke that one of the heart and souls of the coaching staff, Kurt Hester, who was the strength and conditioning coach, had passed away from melanoma cancer at age 64. It was a tough day to soak in the news, but every player played their hearts out in remembrance of Hester.
Houston’s defense gave the offense a cushion with a dominant first half, leading to a 24-0 contest, before nearly blowing the lead when quarterback Sam Leavitt exited, with the backup quarterback entering. Luckily, defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong was able to rally his troops and not let the lead fade away, securing the hard-fought victory, 24-16.
Securing another win wasn’t easy on the visit to Orlando, Florida, where UCF hosted Houston at the “Bounce House,” where another lead almost faded. This time around, Houston headed to the locker room trailing 24-17, but somehow gathered itself together and tallied seven points in the third and six points in the fourth quarter to win a scary 30-27 game. The offense posted 433 yards with Weigman throwing three interceptions, but maintained his composure, leading a drive downfield for Sanchez to nail a go-ahead 22-yard FG once again.
With one road trip left to McLane Stadium, the seniors had possibly one last game to leave behind their legacy, with decisions to make about getting ready for the NFL Combine and NFL Draft, and not a single teammate wanted to exit with a loss. Three touchdowns were accounted for by Weigman, who got tight end Tanner Koziol, Connors, and Sanchez involved. Baylor let them exit with a 31-24 win on its home turf, which earned the program fourth in the Big 12.
3-3 At TDECU Stadium
Kicking the season off, Stephen F. Austin travelled to Houston’s home turf, where it was Weigman’s first time stepping foot on the field in front of Coogs Nation. He was not quite sure it would be the right system for him after already being with two coaches at A&M. Turns out it worked out well, as he knew the playbook.
That evening, the ground game got going, with the unit recording 191 rushing yards and seven players combining for carries. Weigman threw for three touchdowns, and it was the first of four straight wins he contributed to.
Colorado came into Houston with a quarterback problem, not knowing who would start, which made it harder for the Houston defense to study and prepare for whoever was under center. Luckily, only 20 points were allowed, three sacks happened, and two turnovers went in favor of Houston, which won the time of possession category and wiped out a shot for coach Deion Sanders to leave town with a win. Offensively, Weigman accumulated 431 total yards of offense, picking up two rushing touchdowns.
Following a massive victory that brought confidence heading into a game against No. 11 Texas Tech, Houston found itself in an unfortunate situation: the first-ranked match of the year was at home in primetime, but it got embarrassed on national television. Houston allowed 345 passing yards and 207 rushing yards. In the 35-11 loss, wide receiver Amare Thomas had the only touchdown on a 64-yard score.
A must-win situation against Arizona was at stake to stay in the Big 12 Championship race, and after clinging to a 28-14 lead, the entire game plan almost collapsed after quarterback Noah Fifita stormed back with two straight scores to tie the game up at 28. To seal the deal, Sanchez again used his strong leg for a clutch 41-yard FG to keep the season alive.
West Virginia caught the college football world off guard with a 45-35 win with two weeks left in the season, which all but sent any playoff hopes to sleep after a total disaster in which Houston registered four turnovers, with Weigman throwing two interceptions, even though he had an alright day with 309 yards.
Defensively, there was no stopping quarterback Scotty Fox Jr. and the ground game, which had 246 yards, devastating for Fritz & Co.
Disappointing sequences continued in the last home game of the year against TCU, where the seniors played their final game in a Houston jersey. Even though it was a 17-14 loss, the senior players will remember that the offense was unable to close out the game after getting a fourth-and-short stop that would’ve sealed the game entirely, but instead kept it going.
Weigman received one more chance, but couldn’t get the Cougars to the red zone, where Sanchez should have tied the game on an easy 38-yard field goal, but missed it. Not a way to go out, but he redeemed himself the following week with one made against the Bears.
The Big 12 Championship Game is right around the corner, but Houston isn’t participating in it after concluding the season overall in fourth place. Bowl season begins this month, but it is uncertain where the program will play. Projections have Houston traveling to the Pop Tarts Bowl or the Alamo Bowl.
Kolton Becker is a journalist for Texas A&M Aggies and Houston Cougars On SI from Port Lavaca, Texas. He is a graduate from Texas A&M University with a degree in agricultural communications and journalism and a minor in sport management. As a former sports reporter with TexAgs and The Battalion, he has covered Texas A&M football, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, track & field, cross country, swim & dive and equestrian. In his spare time, he loves to hunt, fish, cook, do play-by-play announcing at high school sporting events, spend time with family/friends as well as be involved with his local church.
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