Willie Fritz has turned Houston into a program that looks nothing like the one he inherited, and the No. 20 Cougars are suddenly operating with real staying power in the Big 12.
That didn’t happen overnight. Houston’s arc had already started before Fritz arrived, with Dana Holgorsen guiding the Cougars to a 12-2 season in 2021 and a No. 17 finish in the AP Top 25.
But the momentum didn’t last. Houston dropped to 8-5 in 2022, then slid to 4-8 in 2023, which ended Holgorsen’s run and opened the door for Fritz, who came over from Tulane.
Fritz’s first year in Houston wasn’t pretty either. The Cougars went 4-8 in 2024.
But the second season brought the kind of response Houston was hoping for when it made the hire. In 2025, the Cougars surged to 10-3, beat LSU 38-35 in the Texas Bowl, and finished the year ranked No.
- Now, in 2026, Houston is 5-1 and sitting at No. 20 as a huge game arrives this Saturday.
What Fritz has done matters because the Big 12 has chewed up plenty of teams making the leap from the AAC and other Group of Six leagues. Houston has made that move look manageable, and that’s a credit to the coach’s track record of building programs that hold up over time.
His Tulane work tells the same story. Fritz finished 54-27 there with a 3-1 bowl record, but the early years were rocky.
Through his first six seasons, the Green Wave weren’t much of a threat. Then came the breakthrough.
After a 2-10 season in 2021, Fritz flipped the script in 2022, going 12-2 and leading Tulane to its first major bowl game since 1940, a 46-45 upset of No. USC in the Cotton Bowl.
He followed that with an 11-2 season in 2023 before Houston hired him on Dec. 3rd.
This wasn’t a coach arriving with one hot streak and not much else behind it. Before Tulane, Fritz posted strong numbers at every stop: 97-47 at Central Missouri, 40-15 at Sam Houston State, and 17-7 at Georgia Southern. That kind of résumé explains why Houston trusted him to steady the program and why the Cougars are where they are now.
There’s still room to wonder how high this can go. A win over the No.
18 Oklahoma State Cowboys this Saturday would push Houston deeper into the conversation as both a Big 12 force and a College Football Playoff contender. For now, though, Fritz has already given Houston something it can actually protect: a winning program with real direction.
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For the Cougars, the challenge is as much about staying in the league race as it is about protecting their national standing. Conner Weigman has been a steady presence for Houston this season, and Oklahoma State brings its own answer in Drew Mestemaker, setting up a game where every possession could matter. Houston has earned its place in the conversation so far, but this is the kind of test that starts separating contenders from teams still trying to prove they belong. [Read more 🡒]
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Houston Fans Have A Tank Dell Return Story To Watch
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The most intriguing name in the group is Tank Dell, who has taken a meaningful step in his rehab by opening his 21-day practice window from injured reserve. For Houston fans, that kind of update always matters, because Dells next move will be watched closely after a lost stretch of availability, and the coming days should provide a better sense of how close he is to getting back into game action. [Read more 🡒]