Willie Fritz wasted no time putting Houston fans on notice after the Cougars’ big road win at Kansas State: next Saturday night, show up.
The Houston head coach was blunt in his pitch for the upcoming Big 12 showdown with Oklahoma State, a game that now has both teams ranked and set for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff at TDECU Stadium.
“I heard Oklahoma State won, is that correct?” Fritz said.
“OK, so we’ve got two teams who are ranked, going to be playing next Saturday at 6:30. Not 11. 6:30 p.m.
We need to get as many Cougs out there as humanly possible. “
He kept selling the atmosphere from there, making clear he sees this as one of the league’s marquee games on next week’s slate.
“I think it’s going to be a great game. Two fantastic quarterbacks, probably two of the better quarterbacks in the nation.
Two really good teams. Right there in Houston.
TDECU Stadium. Let’s get some people out there, 6:30 this upcoming Saturday.
It won’t be hot. It will be nice and cool.
I heard it’s going to be about 75. Come on out.”
Houston has earned the right to make the ask.
The Cougars are 5-1 overall and 2-1 in Big 12 play, with their only setback coming in a 28-26 road loss to Texas Tech. Since then, they’ve ripped off three straight wins, including a 27-17 comeback against UCF and Saturday’s 35-16 road thumping of Kansas State.
That win in Manhattan was the kind of performance that grabs attention. Houston rolled up 475 total yards and limited Kansas State to 299. Conner Weigman threw for 242 yards and four touchdowns, all four of them to tight end Patrick Overmyer, as the Cougars built a 28-3 third-quarter lead and put the game away.
Now the stage gets even bigger.
Instead of another early start in Texas heat, Houston gets a night game at home with two ranked Big 12 teams and real conference weight attached to it. Fritz has made the point plainly: the Cougars have done their part, and now he wants TDECU Stadium full and loud when Oklahoma State comes to town.
In Other News...
Willie Fritz Just Put Houston Fans At The Center Of This Game
Houstons win at Kansas State changed the mood around the program in a hurry, and the reward showed up in the AP Poll with the Cougars climbing to No. 20. Now the attention shifts home for a Big 12 matchup with No. 18 Oklahoma State at TDECU Stadium, the kind of late-season proving ground that tells you whether a teams breakthrough is for real.
Willie Fritz has made it clear he wants the place full and loud for the next step, knowing this is the sort of game that can turn a good run into something bigger. For Houston, it also brings back a rare kind of stage at home, with a top-25 matchup in its own building carrying the kind of weight fans around the program have been waiting to feel again. [Read more 🡒]