Houston’s Nov. 7 home game against Cincinnati at TDECU Stadium is still waiting on its kickoff window, and the Big 12 said Monday, Oct. 26, that ESPN and FOX will wait until after the Oct. 31 games to lock in the time and network.
That means Houston fans will need to sit tight a little longer before knowing when the Cougars’ next game at TDECU will be played. The conference said the first three weeks of the season, plus a handful of other games throughout the year, are announced in advance, while the rest are placed on either a six-day or 12-day notice. For this matchup, ESPN and FOX went with the six-day window, giving them room to sort games into specific time slots and networks based on results.
Houston is one of several Big 12 games still to be determined. Iowa State at Baylor, UCF at Kansas, Oklahoma State at Kansas State and West Virginia at Texas Tech are also in the same boat.
The two exceptions are No. 8 BYU at No.
6 Utah at 11 a.m. Central and Colorado at Arizona State at 6:30 p.m.
Central.
The Cougars could be positioned for a prominent broadcast, too. Houston sits at No. 18 in the AP poll, is 6-2 overall and 3-2 in conference play. The Cougars have already seen three ranked teams this season - Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Utah - and have split those games, dropping two and winning one.
Cincinnati isn’t exactly fading into the background either. The Bearcats are 5-2 and 2-2 in the conference, with wins over Texas Tech and Kansas State. If Cincinnati beats Utah on Oct. 31, it could crack the rankings and become the fourth ranked opponent Houston faces this season.
That possibility could matter when ESPN and FOX make their selection for Nov. 7, with a ranked Cincinnati team potentially pushing the game into a better time slot and onto a bigger network.
No matter where it lands, Houston won’t get much time to catch its breath afterward. The Cougars have a quick turnaround before heading to Colorado to face the Buffaloes on Friday, Nov. 13, in a game set for 9:15 p.m.
These teams also bring a recent memory with them. Cincinnati beat Houston 34-0 in the 2024 season, a result that evened the all-time series at 15 apiece and set up this matchup as the tiebreaker.
In Other News...
How Houston's Portal Exits Are Making Some Cougars Fans Cringe
Houstons offseason turnover has had a familiar college football feel, with several former Cougars finding new homes across the sport and giving fans a reason to keep one eye on the transfer portal. Names like A.J. Holmes, Jayden York and others have resurfaced elsewhere after contributing at Houston, and each departure adds another layer to the long list of roster changes that can reshape a program from one year to the next.
Corey Platt Jr. is one of the exits that stings a little more because of what preceded it, as back-to-back season-ending injuries altered his path before he ended up at Texas Tech. David Ndukwes move to Syracuse also remains a tough one to process for Houston fans, especially with his injury history still hanging over the story and his new chapter not yet offering much on-field clarity. For a Cougars program trying to build momentum, these are the kinds of portal losses that linger well beyond the original roster move. [Read more 🡒]
Houstons Big 12 Hopes Now Rest On A Brutal Three-Week Wait
The loss to Utah put Houston in a precarious spot in the Big 12 race, one that leaves the Cougars needing help as much as they need to handle their own business. At 3-2 in conference play, they are still alive in the math, but the road to Arlington is no longer in their control after a result that tightened the standings and made every remaining week matter a little more.
Houstons next three weeks now feel less like a sprint and more like a wait-and-watch exercise, with the Cougars forced to win out and keep an eye on the rest of the league. For that path to stay open, the right breaks would also have to show up around the conference, turning a clean finish into a puzzle built on other teams dropping games and the Big 12 tiebreakers shaking out in Houstons favor. [Read more 🡒]
Former Houston Cougar Robert Gasser Just Put UH In Rare Company
Robert Gassers name now sits in an unusual slice of World Series history, and it comes with a familiar Houston tie. The former Cougars left-hander started Game 3 of the 2026 World Series for Milwaukee and delivered a performance that put the Brewers in control of the series, continuing a postseason run that has moved them within reach of their first championship.
What Gasser did on the sports biggest stage also placed him in rare company for a left-handed starter in World Series history, a distinction that underscores how sharp he was against a lineup with no room to breathe. For Houston, it is another reminder that the programs reach shows up in October, and for Milwaukee it only sharpened the focus on where this series could go next. [Read more 🡒]