Things finally clicked for Cougar Football in a big way in Manhattan.
UH didn’t just beat Kansas State, 35-16. It controlled the game from start to finish and looked like a team that had figured out how to put all the pieces together at once. The offense kept the pressure on and found its rhythm again in the red zone after the slow finish against UCF, but the defense was the unit that really announced itself.
That side of the ball was relentless. Kansas State came in having allowed no sacks all season, and UH broke through twice against Avery Johnson.
Those sacks came from across the front line, with Latraveon McCutchin, Khalil Laufau, Myles Parker and Quindario Lee all involved. PFF stats credited UH with 18 pressures overall, including 11 from the front four.
It was the kind of defensive performance UH had been waiting to show after the first quarter of the season, when better tackling and more pass rush were high on the wish list. Against Kansas State, those things were no longer just goals. They were happening all over the field.
The result pushed UH to 5-1 at the midpoint of the season, and it fit a pattern that’s become hard to ignore under Willie Fritz. Over the last three seasons, game 6 has been the point where the Cougars start to look like themselves.
In 2024, that turnaround showed up at TCU. UH entered that game at 1-4 after back-to-back shutouts against Cincinnati and Iowa State, then walked out with a 30-19 win.
It was the first sign that “Willie Ball” could actually win. The next week brought a letdown at Arrowhead against Kansas, but after that came Kansas State and Utah back-to-back.
The 2025 version has followed a different path, but the timing has been familiar. UH opened 4-0 without looking especially sharp.
The offensive line had issues, and the offense wasn’t easy to watch. They needed a huge comeback at Oregon State just to force overtime and win, and then Texas Tech handled them at home the following week.
But in game 6 against Oklahoma State, the offense caught fire in the middle of the second quarter and rolled over the Cowboys. Oklahoma State wasn’t a strong team, but it was the first real glimpse of the group that later finished 10-3 with a bowl win over LSU.
Now the defense has delivered its own version of that breakthrough in game 6. Early in the year, that unit was still finding its footing. Against Kansas State, UH showed what it can look like when the defense is locked in and the whole team is moving together.
It tracks with the way UH basketball seems to develop every year: improvement week to week, clear coaching, and a team that keeps getting harder to handle as the season goes on.
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