![\"Willie](\"https:\/\/platform.underdogdynasty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/172\/2026\/07\/gettyimages-2253953217.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100\")
<\/a><\/p>\nWillie Fritz and Houston won the Texas Bowl in 2025, completing the program\u2019s first 10-win season as a member of the Big 12.<\/p>\n
Make no mistake about it. The Houston Cougars have arrived.<\/p>\n
It was a three-year acclimation period from the American Conference to the Big 12, but the Cougars are finally in the upper echelon of their new conference. They compiled a 10-3 record, defeated LSU in the Texas Bowl, and finished ranked No. 22 in the final AP Poll.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the next step after a meteoric ascension from 4-8 to 10-3? Becoming the seventh different school in seven years to win the Big 12 Championship Game.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody\u2019s expectation right now here, today and tomorrow in the Big 12, is to win the Big 12 championship,\u201d head coach Willie Fritz said. \u201cWe\u2019re no different. Obviously it helps when you have more depth and talented players. We\u2019re one of the few teams in the country that has the same offensive, defensive, and special teams coordinator and the same starting quarterback coming back. I think there\u2019s maybe 11 schools like that in the country, so if you\u2019ve got that, that\u2019s a really good building block for your program.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last fall, Houston was the surprise story of the Big 12. However, the entire conference is aware of the danger the Cougars present now. Only the 2025 Big 12 Championship participants Texas Tech and BYU drew more selections to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team than the Cougars did. This shifts Houston from the role of hunters to the hunted.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t mind being the hunted,\u201d strong safety Jordan Allen said. \u201cWe definitely are still gonna do our thing and hunt every day, every team on our schedule. Last year 10 wins is good, it\u2019s good to build off that, but you can have a downfall also if you lean on that too much and worry about that too much. Once that new schedule came out and we saw those new opponents for this year, we put last year in our back pocket and we\u2019re worried about trying to win every game on our new schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coming off a 10-win season with coaching continuity and 12 returning starters, Houston players understand there\u2019s a new standard for this program. The foundation for success is finally in place, but maintaining success is harder than building it, and the Big 12 can be unforgiving to teams with considerable hype. Just two years ago, Oklahoma State returned 20 starters fresh off a 10-win season and produced a 3-9 record.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve gotta build off it and not live off it,\u201d quarterback Conner Weigman said. \u201cSome people are like, \u2018We won 10 games last year. That\u2019s gonna happen this year.\u2019 No, we\u2019re going into Week 1 0-0. We gotta go and play an even better brand of football than we did last year, but we\u2019re in a good spot right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Houston CB Jalen Mayo played against the Cougars in the 2025 opener while at Stephen F. Austin. Getty Images<\/p>\n While Houston\u2019s staff is the embodiment of continuity with Fritz and all three coordinators back, there was still some turnover in the coaching department. Safeties coach Josh Christian-Young accepted the same position at Kentucky and cornerbacks coach PJ Hall slid into that vacancy, leaving an opening for a cornerbacks coach.<\/p>\n Filling that role is Marcus Trice, who spent 2022-25 coaching defensive backs at Stephen F. Austin at the FCS level. Houston played Stephen F. Austin in its 2025 opener, and the Lumberjack defense impressed despite entering as heavy underdogs, limiting the Cougars to 152 passing yards and 27 points, while forcing seven punts.<\/p>\n \u201cCoach Trice, that\u2019s my dog,\u201d Allen said. \u201cI actually met Coach Trice as soon as he got here and I\u2019m already sold about him. He\u2019s consistent. Every single day it\u2019s the same amount of energy. Every single day he holds us to a high standard. He\u2019s not even my individual coach. If you think we came to work and you\u2019re BSing or not giving full effort, he\u2019s letting you know in front of you.\u201d<\/p>\n Trice wasn\u2019t the only Stephen F. Austin transplant to make the in-state trek from Nacogdoches to Houston this offseason. First team all-conference cornerback Jalen Mayo followed, and he is expected to carve out a significant role on this defense to replace the NFL-bound Latrell McCutchin.<\/p>\n \u201cSome guys it can be hard coming from the FCS level to the FBS,\u201d free safety Kentrell Webb said. \u201cSometimes the game speed is a little more, guys are a little bigger or more physical. Mayo has adjusted well, and having Coach Trice is good for him. He\u2019s comfortable. Me and (Jordan Allen), we bring him in like family and try to watch as much film with him and extra little stuff. He\u2019ll be ready. Mayo is gonna showcase it this year.\u201d<\/p>\n Another key addition to the defensive back room is Javion White, who registered 50 tackles, three interceptions, and six pass breakups on Tulane\u2019s 2025 College Football Playoff team. White never played under Fritz at Tulane, but he was one of several former Green Wave players to transfer to Houston this offseason, alongside running back Makhi Hughes and guard Shadre Hurst.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t get to play with J-White, but I was really familiar with him,\u201d said Webb, who played at Tulane from 2022-23. \u201cI still had times when I visited New Orleans, so me and him had a connection. When he got in the portal, I was like, \u2018Bro, let\u2019s do it. You can come here and do what we did at Tulane.\u2019 He was all with it, and ever since he got here, he\u2019s a workhorse.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n