What Happened the Last Time the Houston Cougars Faced Everyone on Their 2026 Schedule
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The Houston Cougars saw quite the turnaround in the 2025 season, their second under head coach Willie Fritz, going from 4-8 in 2024 to 9-3, and fighting for a spot in both the Big 12 Championship and College Football Playoff for a majority of the year.
Quarterback Conner Weigman enjoyed a pleasant welcome home with the Coogs after an injury-filled tenure with the Texas A&M Aggies and having transfers such as tight end Tanner Koziol and wide receiver Amare Thomas helped his with his efficiency in his first season in H-Town.
And now the schedule has officially been released for the 2026 season, and some marquee matchups seem to be in place for the Cougars.
What Happened Last Time?
Here is the complete schedule for Fritz's team in 2026, along with the last time the teams squared off and a small summary.
Oregon State Beavers: September 26, 2025
Kicker Ethan Sanchez played hero for the Cougars in Corvallis earlier in the year, booting a 24-yard field goal in overtime to keep the team undefeated, and hand the Beavers their fifth straight loss to open 2025.
All-time record: Houston leads, 3-1
Southern Jaguars: First meeting
The Cougars welcome the Southern Jaguars to TDECU Stadium for the first time ever in Week 2 of the 2026 season, one of only two scheduled games for the Jaguars in the year.
Georgia Southern Eagles: First meeting
Houston's first game outside of Space City takes place at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia, where they meet the Eagles for their first-ever matchup.
Colorado Buffaloes: September 12, 2025
The Coogs were hot out of the gate against NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes, putting up the first 13 points of the game and then the first 17 of the second half on their way to a statement 36-20 win.
All-time record: Series tied, 1-1
Baylor Bears: November 29, 2025
In the regular season finale for this season, Weigman outdueled Baylor quarterback Sawyer Robertson, accounting for 322 total yards and three touchdowns on offense as the Coogs took a 31-24 win in Waco thanks to a late touchdown run from halfback Dean Connors.
All-time record: Series tied, 15-15-1
Oklahoma State Cowboys: October 11, 2025
The Cowboys stayed with the team through the early part of the second quarter, tied at 10 apiece, but 29 unanswered points is pretty hard to come back from, and Houston left Stillwater with an easy 39-17 victory.
All-time record: Houston leads 11-10-1
Cincinnati Bearcats: September 21, 2024
The last meeting with Cincinnati was a highly forgetful one for Houston, as a three-turnover day led to a 34-0 shutout from the Bearcats, with Houston only scrapping together 233 total yards of offense.
All-time record: Series tied, 15-15
UCF Knights: November 7, 2025
The 2025 Space Bowl went down to the wire, as Ethan Sanchez sank two field goals in the later stages of the game, and an interception of quarterback Davi Belfort by Kentrell Webb sealed the deal in the 30-27 win for Houston.
All-time record: UCF leads, 8-4
Kansas State Wildcats: November 2, 2024
In what served as the Cougars' final win of the 2024 season, quarterback Zeon Chriss went a perfect 11/11 in the passing game and also scored the game-winning touchdown, a 41-yard run with 2:31 left in the contest to take the 24-19 victory.
All-time record: Series tied, 1-1
Texas Tech Red Raiders: October 4, 2025
In a battle of two undefeated Texas schools, Conner Weigman went down early with a concussion, and Tech quarterback Behren Morton completed 70 percent of his throws for 345 yards and a touchdown as the Raiders laid the Cougars' perfect season hopes to rest in a 35-11 result.
All-time record: Houston leads, 18-17-1
Utah Utes: October 26, 2024
A 43-yard field goal from Jack Martin played hero for the Cougars as they took a 17-14 win over the Utes.
All-time record: Houston leads, 5-0.
West Virginia Mountaineers: November 1, 2025
Conner Weigman's four touchdowns and 309 yards were impressive, but his two interceptions were anything but, as one of them resulted in an 80-yard pick-six as the Mountaineers walked into TDECU Stadium and came to play, upsetting the heavily favored Cougars 45-35.
All-time record: Series tied, 1-1
