Willie Fritz Explains What Went Wrong For Houston in Shocking Loss to Colorado
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The Houston Cougars suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of the Colorado Buffaloes on late Friday night, by a 10-point margin at 42-32. Houston was on the wrong side of a field storming in Boulder, Colorado, and saw its Big 12 Championship and College Football Playoff hopes come to a shattering end.
There will be a lot to dissect and answer as to what happened to a Houston team that was one of the most consistent in the country. Coach Willie Fritz tried to explain the problems in the postgame press conference and how this loss came to be. It was clear that this was a shock for Fritz in the moment as well. The way Houston lost was practically unbelievable.
Fritz on Houston’s Embarrassing Loss
“Very disappointing. I don’t think we played our best in all three phases. Really, the first game where our opponent ran on us effectively,” Fritz said. “At the beginning of the second half, we had a takeaway and we turn it over ourselves on the very next play, a little indicative of the evening for us.”
For Colorado to be the first team that ran effectively on Houston is absolutely mind-boggling. The Cougars were a top-five rushing defense in the Big 12, but gave up 249 yards on the ground in this one to what was the worst rushing offense in the conference.
Not only that, but Houston gave them up in massive chunks. The Buffs scored a 38-yard touchdown, a 67-yard touchdown, and a 32-yard touchdown, all on the ground in the second quarter.
“They did a good job running the ball on us offensively,” Fritz said. “We just had really poor leverage.”
Fritz mentioned how they got out leveraged and were fighting underneath the blocker.
“If he stays outside, we have an opportunity to stop them,” Fritz said.
Houston didn’t properly run fit and get in the gaps.
“There are a few times we really screwed up the leverage,” Fritz said.
Additionally, the offense also struggled for a long stretch before and after halftime with a scoreless third quarter.
“It’s just one or two guys goofing up at the point of attack. We goofed up on protection a couple of times. Didn’t see it and check protection correctly,” Fritz said.
A lot of Houston’s mistakes were self-inflicted.
“We did not play very well. We had some untimely penalties, didn’t have anything to do with the noise, just 1 guy goofing up,” Fritz said. “I just told them to point the finger at me. It was a team loss.”
Houston’s veteran head coach, who’s in his 34th year overall of coaching, repeated a statement on just how good the Big 12 is and to never underestimate anyone.
“Everybody in this league is good. If you don’t play well, you’re gonna get your butt beat, and we found that out tonight,” Fritz said.
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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.