Three Matchups to Watch on Houston Cougars 2025 Schedule
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Houston Cougars football's key to contending for a bowl again and potentially hovering into sleeper Big 12 title contender status hinges on getting over the hump and standing tall amongst old Southwest Conference rivals.
1. Home From the Range, and welcome home, partner
Long awaited was Houston's turn to host Texas Tech at TDECU Stadium for the first time since a 27-24 loss on Sept. 23, 2017 that snapped a 16-game home winning streak for the Cougars, and for the first time in its Big 12 Conference tenure. After a 2021 Texas Kickoff meeting at NRG Stadium and two consecutive meetings in Lubbock, Houston has a chance to add a cushion to its 18-16-1 all-time series lead after Texas Tech had won 11 of the last 12 meetings.
A familiar face will come back to TDECU Stadium on Oct. 4, as defensive coordinator Shiel Wood, who worked two full seasons with coach Willie Fritz, one at Tulane then immediately following him to Houston, took the position under coach Joey McGuire at Texas Tech. Wood signed a contract to the position that would pay him $3.96 million in three years leading up to 2028.
Wood's defense left Houston ranked 47th in FBS in scoring defense and 26th in total defense in 2024, leaving higher expectations to meet for new defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong in 2025, who Fritz saw as a rising star.
The game will mark both the third overall rollout and second in the latest rendition of the Cougars' Houston Blue uniforms, as the matchup trend indicates the uniforms being worn facing prior Southwest Conference opponents.
2. From the Railyard back to the Bank
Houston's Sept. 16, 2023 Big 12 Homecoming loss to TCU left a sour taste in officially marking the beginning of league play in its conference tenure, though it was promptly avenged a season later at Amon G. Carter Stadium with a 30-19 Cougars victory, featuring a 71-yard touchdown run by sophomore quarterback Zeon Chriss and two interceptions off sophomore quarterback Josh Hoover by junior free safety A.J. Haulcy.
Hoover, now in his junior season, was added to the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award watch list and is anticipated by many to have a breakout season beyond the 3,949 yards he threw for in 2024. Meanwhile, Houston lost an elite secondary presence in Haulcy in the portal to LSU, but free safety Kentrell Webb is expected to fill the shoes for his junior season as it also opens up the opportunity for him to record his first career FBS interception.
The Nov. 22 home finale marks the 28th all-time series meeting between Houston and TCU, where the Cougars took a 14-13 lead in the previous meeting, breaking a nine-game head-to-head losing streak against the Horned Frogs dating back to 1993 in the Southwest Conference.
3. Season finale at McLane, timed perfectly for rivalry week
No love is lost in this Brazos River rivalry timed back to the pre-Southwest Conference 1950s, as Houston, after tying the all-time series at 14 a piece with a walk-off two-point conversion by quarterback Donovan Smith in overtime at McLane Stadium on Nov. 4, 2023, found itself in a series deficit the next season at TDECU Stadium.
Houston was held to 3-for-10 on third down and shut out from the endzone offensively, while its defense limited Baylor to 4-for-15 on the mark. The 20-10 loss for the Cougars in their 2024 home finale, featuring the relaunch of its Houston Blue uniforms, was the blow in pushing them out of bowl game contention for a consecutive season.
Baylor and coach Dave Aranda have relied on the return of redshirt senior quarterback Sawyer Robertson, who finished seventh in FBS passer rating in 2024. To counter the Bears' spread with its previous success under then-first-season offensive coordinator Jake Spavital, Houston will combat on a higher scale with Slade Nagle's more explosive West Coast scheme.
The Nov. 29 season finale at McLane Stadium has yet to be determined whether or not it'll be implicative in Houston clinching its first bowl appearance in its Big 12 tenure, but the Cougars' sleeper and considerably favorable first half schedule might address the possibility early.
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.