Houston’s preseason buzz is starting to feel real, and the Cougars are walking into Sept. 5 with a level of attention they haven’t had in years. They open at home against Oregon State in just over a week, and after a four-win season in 2024, the turnaround has put Willie Fritz’s team firmly on the radar.
The numbers back up the hype. Houston is ranked No. 23 in the Preseason AP Poll and No. 24 in the Preseason Coaches Poll, marking just the program’s third appearance in a preseason poll since 1991. After a 10-3 season that ended with a Texas Bowl win over LSU, expectations have clearly shifted for Fritz in his third year leading the program.
That shift is part of why ESPN analyst EJ Manuel made such a striking call about the Cougars.
“With all the pieces they have coming back offensively, I wouldn’t be shocked if Houston is the team out of the Big 12 that makes it into the CFP.” - ESPN’s @EJManuel3 pic.twitter.com/jRvL6bx4R4
It’s a bold forecast, and it comes with a steep road. If Houston is going to reach the College Football Playoff, it would almost certainly need to win the Big 12 Championship to claim that berth. Manuel also suggested the Cougars would likely need around 11 wins to get there.
Still, the idea isn’t built on blind optimism. Houston won 10 games last season and finished fourth in the Big 12 with a 6-3 mark, and the roster gives Manuel reasons to believe the offense can keep climbing. At the center of that belief is senior quarterback Conner Weigman.
“The last four or five games of the season, when he was healthy, Weigman was really hard to stop. His ability to push the ball down the field he was accurate, he was poised. But also his ability to run the football really makes that second dimension of his offensive game really hard to beat," Manuel said.
Manuel’s perspective carries weight. He won the ACC Championship and Orange Bowl as a senior at Florida State before going 16th overall in the 2013 NFL Draft. He also brought some of that dual-threat profile himself, rushing for 310 yards and four touchdowns in his final college season.
Houston’s offense has more than one centerpiece, though. Manuel also pointed to senior transfer running back Makhi Hughes, who dealt with injuries last season at Oregon but put up around 1,400 rushing yards in each of his two seasons at Tulane. Hughes was also a freshman All-American under Fritz.
Another major returnee is senior receiver Amare Thomas, a preseason All-Big 12 selection who was Weigman’s top target a year ago. Thomas finished with 966 yards and 14 touchdowns on 67 catches, and he’s expected to be back in that same role this fall.
In Other News...
Houston Linebackers Could Quietly Become A Defensive Strength
Houstons linebacker room is shaping up as one of the more interesting groups to watch going into the upcoming season. Sione Fotu and Carmycah Glass return, and Houston also added Jayden Yates from Ole Miss, a transfer who is expected to be a key starter. After losing Jalen Garner and Corey Platt, the Cougars need that unit to absorb some of the production that walked out the door, but the early message from the program has been steady growth and better play on the back end.
Christian Brathwaite and Richmond Ugochukwu are part of the depth picture, and their development through practice and game snaps could matter more than it might in a typical year. The staff and players have pointed to confidence and coverage improvement as the biggest themes for the group, which makes this one of those spots where Houston may not need a headline-grabbing overhaul to get better. It just needs the linebackers to keep stacking progress and turn that quiet work into something that holds up on Saturdays. [Read more 🡒]
Houston Has 3 Newcomers Who Could Change Its Big 12 Ceiling
Houston heads into the 2026 season with an experienced core, bringing back 12 starters and a roster that already knows the expectations in the Big 12. That kind of continuity matters, but the Cougars also made it clear they were not content to rely on what they already had. The transfer additions of wide receiver Trent Walker, running back Makhi Hughes and defensive back Javion White give the program a different kind of flexibility, adding proven pieces at spots where depth and impact can tilt a season.
For a team trying to raise its ceiling in a loaded league, those moves are about more than filling holes. Walker gives the passing game another layer, Hughes adds another option in the backfield and White helps the defense on the back end, where reliable depth can be the difference in close conference games. Houston already has the benefit of experience, but the real question now is how quickly these newcomers blend in, because the Cougars Big 12 ambitions may hinge on whether those additions become immediate difference-makers. [Read more 🡒]
Houston Has A Big 12 Storyline Fans Can't Ignore This Fall
Preseason Big 12 chatter already has a way of shaping the way Houston fans look at the fall, and this years conversation comes with a few familiar points of intrigue. Texas Tech is the conference favorite in the forecast, while the individual projections point to a league that could be driven by big plays and fresh faces, with names like Drew Mestemaker and LJ Martin expected to help define the race for the top statistical spots.
For Houston, the storyline worth watching is more specific than the wider title chase. The Cougars have an offensive piece projected to stand out among Big 12 receivers, and the expectation around him only adds to the sense that this team could matter in more than one way this season, especially with new personnel around the league threatening to change the balance of power. Whether that early projection holds up will tell us plenty about how far Houstons offense can push in conference play. [Read more 🡒]