Before Saturday, the Houston Cougars were on cloud nine. They were 7-1, coming off their biggest win in years with a road victory over the Arizona State Sun Devils, and made their first appearace in the AP Poll since 2022. It was looking like a dream season for Willie Fritz’ squad.
Then, it wasn’t. The Cougars suffered their second loss of the season Saturday against the West Virginia Mountaineers, who entered the day at 2-6 and on a five-game losing streak, by a score of 45-35. After playing such clean football for most of the season, they were uncharacteristically sloppy in this game, giving up over 400 total yards and turning the ball over four times.
It was an incredibly disappoting loss for a team that has done so much right this season, but in the Cougars’ eyes, also a learning experience.
Nov 1, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Cougars quarterback Conner Weigman (1) fumbles the ball against the West Virginia Mountaineers in the first half at TDECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images / Thomas Shea-Imagn Images
After the game, Fritz said that, while there were some positive takeaways from this game, the negatives were far more prevelant. He was adamant that the Cougars can be, and will be, better than this, but they’ll have to act fast with a short week before Friday’s road game against the UCF Knights.
“There were a good amount of good things in today’s game, but there were a lot more bad things that we can easily fix, us as coaches even,” Fritz told reporters. “We as a whole program need to get better because we know that the level we played today isn’t our level, and there is a lot of cleaning up to do before we play UCF.”
Fritz also agreed with a reporter that Saturday’s game served as an “eye-opening experience,” and specifically pointed to the turnovers as something that needs to change. He pointed out that his win percentage when his team loses the turnover battle is in the 30s, and said “It’s difficult for Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers to win when you do that” regarding the four turnovers.
Despite the loss, the Cougars still believe they can get back on track quickly. Defensive back Kentrell Webb said that, win or loss, the Cougars must move forward all the same.
“We have a lot of good leaders on the team,” Webb said. “I feel like it’s not going to affect us a lot. We’ve lost to a really good team earlier in the season, and we lost to a good team today. Day-by-day, we flush it, both wins and losses. You don’t treat it differently. I don’t think we’ll have a tough time shaking back.”