Houston Cougars 2026 College Football Preview
Posted August 1, 2026
2025 Recap
Record – 10-3
ATS – 9-4
The Cougars were expected to make a leap in year two of the Willie Fritz regime, and boy did they deliver. Houston roared out to a 7-1 start with their only loss coming to mighty Texas Tech, and they were right in the thick of the Big 12 chase. Unfortunately, the COOGS lost a pair of home games in November — one of them to the corpse of West Virginia — and that was that. The season ended on a high note as they snuck past LSU in a very entertaining Texas Bowl to finish with ten wins. Six of those victories came by one score, but we give them full marks for gutting out a bunch of close ones.
Houston Cougars 2026 Outlook
OFFENSE
2025 By The Numbers (Big 12):
- Scoring: 29.1 PPG (#9)
- Total Offense: 394.5 YPG (#10)
- Rushing: 178.1 YPG (#11)
- Passing: 216.4 YPG (#12)
- Sacks Allowed: 19 (#5)
The Cougars are going to have to kick things up a notch on offense if they want to truly compete for a spot in the Big 12 title game in December. The good news is that they’ve got the pieces to do just that.
Senior starting QB Conner Weigman is back for a final season, coming off a very efficient campaign (65%, 25-9 TD to INT, 700 rush, 11 TD). Houston retains WR1 Amare Thomas — one of the best in the Big 12 (972 yards, 12 TDs) — and filled a major need at WR2 by snagging Trent Walker from Oregon St. It stinks to lose stud TE Tanner Koziol (74 rec, 727 yards, 6 TD), but they found a quality replacement in UTSA transfer Patrick Overmyer.
The best news on offense just might be the addition of former Tulane standout RB Makhi Hughes, who had a pair of monster seasons in 2023 and 2024 (2,779 yards, 22 TDs) before taking a redshirt at Oregon last year. The depth behind Hughes is serviceable, but Houston is counting on a big season from their shiny new addition.
The offensive line looks solid despite returning only a pair of starters, as they did great work in the portal grabbing experienced talent to fill out the unit.
DEFENSE
2025 By The Numbers (Big 12):
- Scoring: 22.8 PPG (#6)
- Total Defense: 347.8 YPG (#5)
- Rushing Defense: 129.0 YPG (#4)
- Passing Defense: 218.8 YPG (#10)
- Sacks: 28 (#5)
The defense has been solid for two years in a row, allowing an average of 23 PPG on each occasion. We like each layer of the unit heading into 2026, though the defensive line is probably our least favorite group. To be fair, we’re probably nitpicking, but we’d like to see a few proven PENETRATORS to go along with big, productive run-stoppers De’Marion Thomas (6-2, 337) and Khalil Laufau.
Thankfully, the LB room is loaded. They’ll get a reliable pass rush off the edge from LB Brandon Mack (5 sacks), along with steady overall production from Sione Fotu (#5 in tackles) and Ole Miss transfer Jaden Yates. Houston gave up a lot of yards through the air last season, but they posted a respectable 16–12 TD-to-INT ratio. We think they’ll be stingier on the back end this year as they’ve got some very talented playmakers taking care of business, including CB Will James (5 PBUs, 3 INTs), free safety Kentrell Webb (#3 in tackles, 4 PBUs, INT), and Tulane transfer DB Javion White.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Ruh-roh.
The Cougars have been mediocre on special teams in each of the first two seasons under HC Willie Fritz, and things look a bit sketchy as we approach press time. They’ll need to find a new primary placekicker along with a completely fresh set of return men. On the bright side, Australian punter Liam Dougherty returns after a solid campaign where he averaged over 44 yards per boot, but overall, this phase of the game remains a question mark.
Schedule Analysis
Overall – The non-conference schedule is a walk in the park, and we’d be stunned if they didn’t roll up each of their three opponents. The Big 12 schedule is a mixed bag. The COOGS get to face several of the conference bottom feeders, but they’ve also gotta go on the HIGHWAY to battle both Texas Tech and Utah.
Potential ATS Trouble Spot – at Utah (Oct 24)
Rice-Eccles Stadium is one of the toughest road environments in the nation, and the Cougars will be hitting the gridiron for their eighth consecutive week with a bye week on deck.
Season Win Total
Market consensus – August 1
Over 8.5 +130
Under 8.5 -170
MEGALOCKS says:
No leanage.
We really like this roster, but road trips to Utah and Texas Tech are major hurdles. Pencil those two in as losses, and Houston needs to go 9–1 across their remaining 10 games to cash the over.
Note – Our official list of season win total investments will be posted in the blog section of the website.
MEGAmazing Tidbits
In 1947, UH students held a contest to name their new live cougar. The winner? SHASTA — short for “She has to.” As in, “She has to have a cage, she has to have a keeper, she has to have a winning ball club.” Peak 1940s DAD JOKE, yo. Bonus Fun Fact: The name still lives on today with the costumed mascot (and his partner Sasha).
Houston humidity doesn’t just make you sweat — it tries to dissolve you. Summer turf temperatures regularly climb past 140°F, turning practice fields into something between a steam room and a convection oven. UH players don’t so much “train through the heat” as they negotiate a TEMPORARY CEASEFIRE with the atmosphere.
MEGALOCKS Forecast:
Head coach Willie Fritz and the Houston Cougars are ready to make another run in the competitive Big 12 Conference. They’ll be a force to be reckoned with given the talent on both sides of the football, and it certainly doesn’t hurt to have an excellent veteran dual‑threat quarterback leading the way. The schedule is going to be a major obstacle, though, as they face some TOUGH HOMBRES on the road.
We expect another strong season from Houston, but believe they’ll fall a wee bit short of reaching the big game in December. We’d love to see it, but we’re just being real with y’all.
Go Coogs!