Houston is heading into Week 1 with Willie Fritz preaching the same message he says he always does: keep the focus narrow, do the work, and don’t let the outside noise change the plan.
On Monday, as the Cougars opened game week ahead of Saturday’s season-opener against Oregon State, Fritz said preparation had already been underway for 10 days. He pointed to the early work as part of his usual process, saying Houston has been trying to make sure every detail is covered before kickoff.
“I always do 10 days out, 10 practices out when we prepare for our first opponent, just so we cross all our T's, dot all our I's, and I think they've done a very good job,” Fritz said.
The matchup brings some added uncertainty because Oregon State is also bringing in a new head coach in JaMarcus Shephard, along with new coordinators on offense, defense and special teams. Fritz said Houston has studied what those coaches have done elsewhere, but he expects Week 1 to still come with some surprises.
“We know what they've done in other places that they've been at, so we've got a guess, but I'm sure there's going to be some things that we're not totally prepared for. There's always a little bit of the unknown week one.”
Fritz also made clear that Houston’s 10-3 finish last season and the expectations that now follow have not changed his approach. He said the program wants those expectations, but his coaching message stays locked on one game at a time.
“Really not at all. I'm not doing anything different,” Fritz said.
“We want expectations, without question. The big thing I've been able to do in my career, and got our teams to do, is make every week a season.
We're just worried about Oregon State and, you know, playing as good as we can until approximately 2:30 on Saturday, and so that's what we're doing.”
He added that the work only matters if Houston can carry it into the game itself.
“There's two components to playing great, you know? You've got to have great preparation.
We've been preparing for a long time. We've got to finish this preparation until the ball is kicked off Saturday at 11:07, then you've got to turn it loose the right way physically and mentally when the ball's kicked off.
You've got to be able to do that for three and a half hours, you know? So that's what we'll focus on after kickoff, but right now, it's all about preparation.”
Fritz also spoke highly of Shephard, saying Houston’s staff had heard strong things about him and that the Oregon State coach is stepping into a rare opportunity.
“He's been in some really, really good programs. I don't know if I've met him before, but I've heard a lot of great things about him, and I'm sure he's chomping at the bit for this opportunity.
There's only 138 of these jobs in the United States. He's got one of them.
So do I.”
Fritz said Shephard will have help around him, too, noting that Oregon State’s staff includes veteran coaches with plenty of experience calling plays across all three phases.
“He's got some mentors that have helped him along the way, and I'm sure he's excited about the guys that he's hired. He's got some veteran coaches that have been calling offenses and defenses and special teams at a lot of different places. So he's got a very experienced staff.”
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