Trap Game or Tune-Up? Sizing Up Southern on Houston's 2026 Schedule
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The Houston Cougars begin their 2026 football season at home for two non-conference matchups, the second of those against the Southern Jaguars out of Baton Rouge, La. on Sept. 12.
Houston's non-conference schedule last season was a success with a 3-0 record and the Cougars will look to repeat that once again. UH has only played Southern twice previously and won both of those games in Houston by massive margins.
The Cougars beat Southern 55-3 in 2008 and 62-13 in 2013. This will be the first game against the Jaguars in over 15 years. Houston, expected to be ranked at the start of the season and coming off a 10-win Texas Bowl championship year, has high goals set for 2026.
Houston is expected to be a true contender for the Big 12 championship with the return of many key starters, including senior quarterback Connor Weigman, senior wide receiver Amare Thomas and junior cornerback Will James.
This should be a very winnable game for coach Willie Fritz's group going up against a program in Southern that went 2-10 last season, tied for the worst record in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
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Southern has undergone a complete rebuild since its poor last season, and will have a completely different look in 2026. Turnarounds can be more quick these days due to the transfer portal, and the players on Southern are mostly new.
This is a new group of players and the 2-10 record isn't something that's applicable anymore. Southern also made a huge hire at head coach with one of the greatest running backs of all time in Marshall Faulk. He was a New Orleans native, and returned to his home state to bring Southern back to relevancy.
Faulk got his first coaching experience last season as the running backs coach for Colorado. He's assembled a formidable coaching staff with former Los Angeles Rams teammate from the Super Bowl season of 1999-2000 in Todd Lyght as defensive coordinator.
Lyght was a former 12-year NFL veteran at cornerback. He was a two-time consensus All-American at Notre Dame and was the fifth overall pick in 1991. Lyght has previous experience as a defensive backs coach with the Philadelphia Eagles and Notre Dame.
Curtis Johnson, a 41-year coaching veteran across all levels of the sport, is the associate head coach. The Jaguars defense looks to be the strong point of the team at the moment with a standout spring season. The offense struggled as a whole last season, but it's possible they could see an uptick due to Faulk's philosophy and experience as a running back.
There still hasn't been a starting quarterback decided at the moment for Southern. The Cougars defense could be in store for a big game in this matchup.
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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.