When Willie Fritz took over as head coach at Houston following the 2023 season, it appeared a long road was ahead to get the Cougars on a winning track.
Turns out, that road wasn’t as long as expected.
Houston head coach Willie Fritz, left, talks with referee Jim Wharrie, right, during the first half of the Kinder’s Texas Bowl NCAA football game against LSU, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)
A year ago, Houston had a resurgent season and it comes into this year aiming for more.
This summer, BuffZone is previewing each of Colorado’s opponents for the 2026 season and in this installment, we look at Houston. CU will host the Cougars on Nov. 13 at Folsom Field.
Houston had been a top team in the American Athletic Conference for several years, but struggled in its jump to the Power Four. As a first-year member of the Big 12 in 2023, Houston went 4-8. In 2024, Fritz’s first year on the job, the Cougars went 4-8 again.
Last year, however, the Cougars started and finished strong, going 10-3, including 6-3 in Big 12 games.
“Yeah, you know, you want to do that every single year,” Fritz said. “Everybody’s expectations right now that’s here today and tomorrow in the Big 12 is to win the Big 12 Championship. We’re no different.
“But obviously, it helps when you have more depth and talented players. We kept our coaches. We’re one of the few teams in the country that have the same offensive, defensive, special teams coordinator and the same starting quarterback coming back. I think there’s maybe 11 schools like that in the country.”
That quarterback — Conner Weigman — and those coordinators helped Houston get off to a 4-0 start last year and cap the season with a win against LSU in the Texas Bowl.
Fritz has been down this road before. He led Blinn College to back-to-back 12-0 seasons in 1995 and 1996. Then he turned Central Missouri into a perennial winner, and rebuilt Sam Houston State, Georgia Southern and Tulane before coming to Houston.
“Well, I think it’s the culture that you have,” Fritz said of turning around a program. “You know, one of the proudest seasons I had was when I was at Tulane, and we had to leave New Orleans and went to Birmingham for 30 nights. We didn’t have a great record that year, but I had zero problems. I think that’s indicative of the culture that you have.
“It’s something that’s hard to put your thumb on all the time. You know it when you got it, and everybody is striving to have it, but if you got good coaches and good players and great culture, you’re going to have a fantastic team.”
Houston expects to have a great team this year, led by Weigman, one of the top dual threat quarterbacks in the Big 12. After three years at Texas A&M, he blossomed in his first year at Houston.
This year, Weigman will have one of the better receiving corps in the conference, led by preseason All-Big 12 selection Amare Thomas.
A year ago, the run game was led by Dean Connors, who is now in the NFL. Taking his place is transfer Makhi Hughes, who played sparingly at Oregon last year (17 carries for 70 yards) but who was a star at Tulane, earning first-team All-AAC twice. As a freshman in 2023, Hughes rushed for 1,378 yards and seven touchdowns. He followed that with 1,401 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2024.
Two starters return to the line, so there could be three transfers in the lineup, but it’s a very good group led by Shadre Hurst, a two-time All-AAC selection at Tulane.
Defensively, the Cougars were solid last year, allowing just 22.8 points per game (47th nationally) and they return six starters.
Pass rusher Brandon Mack II (five sacks in 2025), inside linebacker Sione Fotu (56 tackles), cornerback Will James (three interceptions, five pass breakups) and safeties Jordan Allen (48 tackles) and Kentrell Webb (71 tackles) are the top returners.
Houston did a nice job filling holes defensively in the portal, as well.
As Fritz enters his third season in Houston, his team expects to be in contention for the Big 12 title.
“You know, we don’t talk about it a whole lot as far as season goals are concerned,” he said. “We talk about doing the very best we can day after day after day after day. You know, we’ve certainly got the location. We’ve got the university. We’ve got the facilities. There’s no reason why we can’t do that at the University of Houston.”
Houston defensive back Will James (15) reacts after making a tackle during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Central Florida, Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
Houston Cougars
Head coach: Willie Fritz, 3rd season (14-11; 222-127 career)
2025 season: 10-3, 6-3 Big 12; beat LSU in Texas Bowl
Series with CU: Tied 1-1
Matchup with the Buffs: Friday, Nov. 13, 8:15 p.m., at Folsom Field in Boulder
3 Guys to Watch
QB Conner Weigman: The former Texas A&M quarterback, now in his fifth season, found a home at Houston last year, starting full time for the first time in his career. He completed 65.2% of his passes in 2025, throwing for 2,705 yards, 25 touchdowns and only nine interceptions. He added 700 yards and 11 touchdowns as a runner.
WR Amare Thomas: A preseason All-Big 12 selection, Thomas caught 67 passes for 966 yards and 12 touchdowns a year ago. He previous played two seasons at UAB, catching 115 passes for 1,107 yards 11 touchdowns.
CB Will James: Named preseason All-Big 12, he recorded 38 tackles, four tackles for loss, three interceptions and five pass breakups a year ago for the Cougars.
Notables
This will be Houston’s first-ever trip to Boulder. The Cougars have played in Colorado before, however, with visits to Colorado State in 1973 and 2008. … During the offseason, Houston added 19 transfers, according to 247Sports, and most of them are projected for the two-deep depth chart. That group includes guard Shadre Hurst (Tulane), who was named to the preseason All-Big 12 team, receiver Trent Walker (149 catches for 1,724 yards the past two seasons at Oregon State) and tight end Patrick Overmyer (58 catches the past two years at UTSA). Defensively, end Ashton Porter (Oregon), nose tackle De’Marion Thomas (Oklahoma State), linebacker Jaden Yates (Mississippi), cornerback Jalen Mayo (Stephen F. Austin) and nickel Javion White (Tulane) are all potential starters. … The Cougars lost 17 players to the transfer portal, but most of them were backups. The lone key player they lost on offense was starting center Demetrius Hunter, who is now at CU. The biggest loss on defense was linebacker Corey Platt Jr. to Texas Tech. … Houston signed the No. 1 prep quarterback in the 2026 class, Keisean Henderson. The five-star will be Weigman’s backup, but could get opportunities to play right away.