Houston’s rise under Willie Fritz has turned the Cougars into a team people are starting to mention in the Big 12 championship conversation.
That wasn’t the case not long ago. Since Fritz arrived in 2024, Houston has gone through a major rebuild, and the changes have been obvious inside the program. The culture is different, the recruiting approach has changed, and the mindset around the team has shifted in a way that has made the Cougars look much more dangerous.
What stands out most is the standard in the locker room. The expectation now is to win every game on the schedule, something that was practically unheard of for Houston over the past decade. That kind of buy-in has helped reshape how the program is viewed, and it’s a big reason the Cougars are being talked about as a potential powerhouse.
Houston’s bowl win in 2025 only adds to that momentum. With that result in hand, the Cougars are expected to be one of the favorites to reach the Big 12 championship. The road won’t be easy, though, because Texas Tech and Utah are both on the schedule and both are also seen as favorites to get there.
Those matchups will test Houston early, but the Cougars have enough talent to handle both. If the program had not made the changes it did in 2024, those games would probably look very different on paper.
Recruiting has also taken off. Five-stars have started committing to Houston or transferring in, with Keisean Henderson standing out as the quarterback of the future. Conner Weigman is another major five-star addition at quarterback, giving the Cougars even more attention on the recruiting trail.
That momentum has helped Houston bring in more four-star visitors as well, and that matters because several spots on the roster still need depth. The more incentives the Cougars can offer, the better chance they have of filling those gaps with impact talent.
Another encouraging sign for Houston is that much of last year’s roster has stayed together heading into the 2026 season. That helps the program’s long-term stability and shows that players are willing to stay with the Cougars longer, giving Houston more flexibility as it prepares for the year ahead.
In Other News...
Houstons Big 12 Hopes May Come Down To One Familiar Problem
Houstons path in the Big 12 looks a lot clearer if it can clean up the kind of games that tend to turn on one possession, one decision or one stop. The Cougars have enough talent to hang around with the leagues better teams, but the margin for error gets thin fast when the schedule tightens and every late drive starts to matter.
Conner Weigman figures to be at the center of that conversation, because Houston will need him to keep the offense steady, manage the clock and avoid the kind of mistakes that hand momentum away in the final minutes. On the other side, the defense has to keep doing the dirty work too, stalling drives and forcing turnovers when the game is hanging in the balance. [Read more 🡒]