What Southern Does Better Than Houston and Why It Matters
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The start of the highly anticipated 2026 Houston Cougars football season is just under four months away. Houston begins the season at home and will face the Southern Jaguars in the second game of the season on September 12.
While this game is expected to be a very favorable non-conference matchup for the Cougars, Southern is going through a complete transition and new look for the 2026 season led by new head coach Marshall Faulk, who is one of the greatest running backs of all time.
With a balanced return of starters and new transfer talent, Houston is truly poised to be in the running for the Big 12 title. Southern was tied for the worst record in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) last season at 2-10. It doesn't seem like this would be a competitive game, and it very well might not be.
However, Southern could still make a surprise early in the season with a team that won't have much film for Houston to look at. The Jaguars will play different from last year and had a high level of turnover. There could be an area where Southern could be better than Houston during the game, even if it doesn't result in a win for the Jaguars.
What Southern Could Do Better Than Houston
Southern is led by Faulk but also has Todd Lyght, a former 12-year NFL veteran as defensive coordinator and Curtis Johnson, a 41-year coaching veteran at all levels of football as the associate head coach. That is a strong group of coaches, all with NFL experience. They know what it takes to win at the highest level.
Johnson was a former head coach for the Houston Gamblers, who played home games at TDECU Stadium. Faulk was a former running backs coach for Colorado. This coaching staff is more than capable of coming up with an excellent game plan.
Houston's coaching staff led by coach Willie Fritz has also done an excellent job. While Slade Nagle helped revive the offense last season, there were times when the group would get predictable and stagnant. Southern's defense looked strong during the spring season, and Lyght has worked with the Philadelphia Eagles and Notre Dame as a defensive backs coach.
His defense looks to be built big, disciplined and stout at stopping the run. If Houston's offense starts out slow, the pressure could be on the Cougars. Houston had a couple games with a higher amount of turnovers, and Southern's defense has shown ability to force them.
If there's any weakness for Houston, it would be the interior defensive line presence. The Cougars lost Carlos Allen Jr. after the season and have great edge rushers. However, the interior run defense isn't really proven at the moment. Southern's offensive line looks to be big in size, and expect Faulk to have some run plays designed.
If Southern is able to run the ball, and do a better job on defense in stopping the run than Houston, that's an area that could be an advantage for them.
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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.