Willie Fritz on Houston's Loss to Texas Tech: 'Not Our Best'

The Houston Cougars faced the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the Big 12 opener on Friday and ultimately lost a close contest, 28-26. This was the big test for Houston, and while it didn't result in a win, it showed a lot about the character of the Cougars and how they can really make noise in the Big 12 this year.

There were positives for Houston, but it ultimately came down to the Cougars' shortcomings as a reason for their defeat. Coach Willie Fritz gave his analysis on what took place postgame, and there was a lot to takeaway.

Fritz on the Issues and Two-Point Conversion

Houston head coach Willie Fritz walks the sideline during a Big 12 Conference football game, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, at Galaxy Stadium. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

“Really proud of the effort that our guys put forth. We played extremely hard and in a bunch of areas we can improve,” Fritz said in his opening statement.

“We just didn’t play as well as we were capable of playing. We gave up some big plays,” Fritz said.

The first area he mentioned was the four-point plays and kicking two field goals instead of touchdowns.

Houston had to kick a field goal on a promising opening drive and notably had to settle for a field goal after initially facing a third-and-one in the second half in the red zone.

Defending the run and tackling were inconsistent during the game. It started out well, but Houston wasn’t able to do that throughout the course of the game. Additionally, there were some coverage issues.

“We had a couple of busts where they got behind us. We’ve got to have great communication. We do a lot of stuff on defense, and if one guy is off on the point of attack, then we got problems,” Fritz said.

He mentioned some of Tech’s stop-and-go routes that caused them problems.

The tackling was an issue in the season opener and remains a key area of improvement. When Houston was in position to make the play, it just didn’t get the hit down. That allowed the Red Raiders to get even more yards after the catch thanks to some poor attempts on the second and third level.

“We just did not tackle very well,” Fritz said.

He admitted Texas Tech’s running backs were good, but Houston missed on the attempted tackles, even some of the “fairly easy ones”, per Fritz.

“When you play a game like that against a quality opponent, you got to play well and we played okay, not our best,” Fritz said.

The two-point conversion involving senior quarterback Conner Weigman was a key point of debate across the country after he came up inches short before he extended the ball over the goal line. Fritz was asked about the play call.

“The guy we were going to didn’t do a very good job of getting open, and Conner was forced to have to run,” Fritz said. “We thought we were getting a good look for that call.”

Houston was hoping that the referees would rule in its favor. Some of the angles were unclear, but it did seem certain that Weigman’s knee was down just before, in agonizing fashion for the Cougars.

“We thought there was a chance his knee did not touch, but they didn’t see it that way,” Fritz said.

Houston’s effort was on full display and earned the credit of viewers across the nation. There’s a reason why Houston is still ranked No. 25.

“There were some good things we did, but when you play a close ball game like that, you have to be close to error-free, and we did not,” Fritz said.

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