The Houston Cougars have jumped out to a 5-1 record and find themselves just outside the ranked logjam at the top of the Big 12 standings. Due in large part to an improved roster and the coaching of Willie Fritz.
The Cougars are coming off a dominant 39-17 win over Oregon State last Saturday. Houston's next challenge is a home game against the Arizona Wildcats, who are coming off of two losses against Big 12 opponents in the last three weeks. A win this week would make the Cougars bowl eligible for the first time in three years. It would also mark the first time the program has been bowl eligible under Fritz.
Houston currently sits in the middle of the pack in the Big 12 standings. They took care of business early in the season with decisive wins over SF Austin, Rice, Colorado and Oklahoma State. The Cougars also have a tough fought win over Oregon State and a bad loss to the No. 11 Texas Tech.
Two of those top teams, BYU and Utah will face off this week in their annual “Holy War” matchup. Arizona State is also in a big matchup vs. No. 7 Texas Tech. The Holy War game will result in one ranked Big 12 team losing. Both Arizona State and Texas Tech are ranked ahead of Houston. With two teams ahead of them guaranteed to take a loss, there is room for Big 12 standings movement.
Fritz's season has caught the attention of many important award. He was added to the Paul Bear Bryant Coaching Award watchlist on Wednesday. Fritz finds himself among a number of big coaching names like Indiana's Curt Cignetti, Miami's Mario Cristobal, Oregon's Dan Lanning, and others.
Leader of men 🗣️
— Houston Football (@UHCougarFB) October 15, 2025
Coach Fritz is on the Bear Bryant Coach of the Year Watch List. pic.twitter.com/A4sU11NZ1e
Fritz's road to where he's at now was not easy. After joining the Cougars under head coach Dana Holgorsen in their first Big 12 season, the Cougars finished an unimpressive 4-8. In his first season as the head coach in Houston, Fritz again finished 4-8 last year.
However, in year two at the helm, Fritz executed an influx of talent by utilizing the transfer portal and bringing in his first full recruiting class. The future looks very bright for Fritz’ Cougars. A win against Arizona and bowl eligibility would distance what they are now from what they have been in the last couple seasons.
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