Inside The Huskies

UW, Houston Reportedly in Talks to Play Home-and-Home Football Games

The Cougars conceivably would fill schedule gaps created by Ohio State's pullout.
Dan Raley|
UW, Houston Reportedly in Talks to Play Home-and-Home Football Games
UW, Houston Reportedly in Talks to Play Home-and-Home Football Games

In this story:

Washington Huskies

The University of Washington and Houston are said to be in discussions to hold home-and-home football games, beginning in 2024, which would fill the schedule gap created when Ohio State asked out of a pair of outings against the Huskies.

The Houston Chronicle, citing an unnamed source, reported this development.

These teams previously have played just twice, with the Huskies winning both times — 35-7 in 1984 at Husky Stadium and 29-12 in 1985 at the Astrodome. 

Houston, which comes off an 8-5 season and an Independence Bowl win over Louisiana, joins the Big 12 this season and is trying to upgrade its future non-conference schedules. 

Ironically, the Cougars and UW both will play Boise State this coming season, with Houston also facing UTSA and Sam Houston.

Houston is coached by Dana Holgorsen, who took over that job in 2019 after leading West Virginia for eight seasons. 

The Huskies have been scrambling to fill its open date on Sept. 14, 2024, after Ohio State informed the athletic department it was pulling out of the game set for Seattle and another one the following season in Columbus. 

With USC and UCLA joining the Big Ten in 2024, it's been speculated the Buckeyes didn't want to chance having to travel and play two road games on the West Coast that season.

The Huskies will host Weber State and Eastern Michigan to begin 2024 before the open date comes up on the schedule. 

The following season, they host Colorado State and UC Davis before running into the other schedule gap left by Ohio State. 

Go to si.com/college/washington to read the latest Inside the Huskies stories — as soon as they’re published.

Not all stories are posted on the fan sites.

Find Inside the Huskies on Facebook by searching: Inside Huskies/FanNation at SI.com or https://www.facebook.com/dan.raley.12

Follow Dan Raley of Inside the Huskies on Twitter: @DanRaley1 or @UWFanNation or @DanRaley3

Have a question, direct message me on Facebook or Twitter.

Published
Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

Home/Football