At 4-2 through one half of the 2025 season, Arizona has matched its win total from a year ago and is one game better than in 2024. The Wildcats’ 1-2 mark in Big 12 play is the same, and two of those three games have come in Tucson.

Now comes the first of two consecutive road games. Houston (5-1, 2-1 Big 12) was one of the UA’s two conference victims last season but is vastly improved.

How will Arizona, which is a slight favorite after opening as a small underdog, do in this one? Our staff makes its predictions.

Kim Doss — Houston wins 30-27

Was the BYU game a sign of something positive or more evidence that Arizona will continue to be a team that almost gets there before falling short? The first quarter and the last few minutes of regulation, when the Wildcats let the other Cougars run all over them and then became penalty-prone, overshadow the positive parts in the middle of the game. They also make it tough to pick UA on the road against another team with a great record.

Like BYU, Houston’s record looks good but has its share of questionable competition. In this case, even more than BYU’s slate. Victories over 4-2 Stephen F. Austin, which competes in the FCS. A victory over 3-4 Rice. Victories over Colorado (3-4, 1-3), Oklahoma State (1-5, 0-3), and Oregon State (0-7). That’s not a terribly formidable lineup.

That didn’t matter against BYU despite homefield advantage. It’s just too much to think Arizona will overcome its offensive inconsistency, special teams questions, and defensive errors like the two pass interference calls that helped BYU tie the game last week.

Ezra Amacher — Houston wins 27-24

This Saturday morning matchup against Houston is one of the more significant games of the Brent Brennan era up to this point. Arizona, coming off a disappointing double overtime loss to BYU, can’t afford to let go of the rope like it did last season and let one tough defeat snowball into a bad performance. While I don’t expect Arizona to leave Houston with a victory, I do think this game will be really close and come down to a single possession or two in the fourth quarter.

Houston, like Arizona, has an experienced quarterback to pair with a durable running attack. Houston’s defense looks better on paper, but the Cougars haven’t faced a challenging schedule outside a 35-11 loss to a great Texas Tech team. The separator in this game may very well come down to special teams. Houston’s Ethan Sanchez ranks second nationally in made field goals and is the only kicker with multiple four field-goal games. Sanchez is 8 of 10 from 40+ yards, whereas Arizona’s Michael Salgado-Medina is 3 of 8. Houston’s edge in the kicking game has me riding with the Cougars for the second week in a row.

Adam Green — Arizona wins 31-20

Arizona should have beaten BYU. The Wildcats will beat Houston.

It’s easy to look at this weekend’s game and worry because it’s an early kickoff, and those have not been kind over the years. But what happened last season clearly has no impact on what’s going on this year, and what happened years ago certainly doesn’t matter. This Arizona team has shown a level of maturity that’s needed to move on from last week’s disappointment, and this Arizona team has enough talent to win this game, especially against a Houston team that we all know isn’t particularly special.

Houston’s strength of schedule is 97th, and they don’t have a single signature win on their schedule. Arizona’s is 69th and while they also don’t have a great win on their resume, they’ve shown enough to the point where the betting markets see this one going the Cats’ way.

Will it be easy? Probably not. But lest you think there will be a hangover from last weekend, picture more the ‘23 game at Washington State that followed a disappointing triple OT loss to USC, another game that Arizona left knowing it should have won. That confidence carried over into the next game and the rest of the season, which is a scenario we are likely to repeat here (at least for this game).

Juan Serrano — Arizona wins 38-21

After some questionable offensive play-calling last week, I think Seth Doege and Noah Fifita have something to prove this week. While some plays may not have been executed correctly or might not have worked, there were still plays that did. The final play against BYU was there for the Wildcats. Javin Whatley makes that catch nine out of ten times, and if he does catch the ball the season has a whole different narrative right now. It just so happened that it was the one out of ten times he would drop it. There is still a lot of season left for Arizona and it has put itself in good standing for the second half of the season. The trip to Houston is a “get right” game and I think that will show with the offense. Whether it is on the ground with the running backs or through the air, I think Arizona is able to pick apart the Cougars defense.

The defense has been the only consistent unit for Arizona this season. Time and time again they have taken the ball away from its opponents or have been able to bend but not break. The Wildcats have held their opponents to under 20 points per game on average. Houston scores around 30 points per game but against opponents who are not so good.

Last weeks loss lit a fire into Arizona and I think they come out on fire to dominate Houston for a majority of the game to get its first road win of the season.

Brandon Combs — Houston wins 27-21

Last week, I stated that one of the reasons that Arizona would lose to BYU would be a miscue by special teams. Well, I think I nailed that one. One of the plays not being talked about enough is 26-yard punt return that the ‘Cats gifted the Cougars with under three minutes left to go in the game. This set up BYU at the Arizona 47-yard line and the game-tying touchdown. Again, I think special teams will not be so special this game.

The offensive issues have been well documented, especially after the heart-breaking loss last weekend. However, I believe the offense can fix itself (it’ll need to in order to win this game). The nagging thing that I keep going back to is the special teams unit. They haven’t really played a clean game all season. And that is worrisome. Due to that, I believe there will be another issue or two that’ll put Houston in a position to capitalize and win the game.

Brian Pedersen — Arizona wins 23-21

Plain and simple, this is a must win for Arizona.

With four of the last six games on the road, just relying on winning the two remaining home games to get bowl eligible is incredibly risky, especially since the next one isn’t until Nov. 8. The Wildcats need to show they can win away from Arizona Stadium, and this is a great opportunity to do so.

Houston has more wins already than a year ago but its “best” win is against Colorado, and its offensive line is probably the worst in the conference. That can easily be exploited by Arizona’s front seven.

The key will be not falling behind early and taking care of the ball, two things the UA hasn’t managed to do on the road save for once under Brent Brennan.

(straight up/against the spread)