2025 Houston Cougars football team

2025 Houston Cougars football
2025 Houston Cougars football
Conference	Big 12 Conference
Record	4–0 (1–0 Big 12)
Head coach	Willie Fritz (2nd season);
Offensive coordinator	Slade Nagle (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Austin Armstrong (1st season)
Home stadium	TDECU Stadium
	Seasons ← 2024 2026 →

Last updated September 29, 2025

2025 Big 12 Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 14 Iowa State	2	–	0	5	–	0
No. 25 Arizona State	2	–	0	4	–	1
No. 23 BYU	1	–	0	4	–	0
Houston	1	–	0	4	–	0
No. 11 Texas Tech	1	–	0	4	–	0
Cincinnati	1	–	0	3	–	1
Utah	1	–	1	4	–	1
Baylor	1	–	1	3	–	2
Kansas	1	–	1	3	–	2
Kansas State	1	–	1	2	–	3
Arizona	0	–	1	3	–	1
TCU	0	–	1	3	–	1
UCF	0	–	1	3	–	1
Oklahoma State	0	–	1	1	–	3
Colorado	0	–	2	2	–	3
West Virginia	0	–	2	2	–	3
Championship: December 6, 2025
^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant As of September 28, 2025 Rankings from AP Poll

The 2025 Houston Cougars football team represents the University of Houston in the Big 12 Conference during the 2025 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cougars are led by Willie Fritz in his second season as their head coach. The Cougars play their home games at TDECU Stadium, soon to be renamed Space City Financial Stadium, located in Houston, Texas.

Offseason

Transfers

Outgoing

Player	Position	Destination
Maurice Williams	S	Arizona State
Justin Benton	DL	East Carolina
Parker Jenkins	RB	East Carolina
Teagan Wilk	S	East Carolina
Justin Wood	LS	FIU
Jeremiah Wilson	CB	Florida State
Jett Runion	TE	Houston Christian
Ja'Ryan Wallace	WR	Houston Christian
Andon Mata	WR	Howard Payne
Sam Secrest	IOL	Louisville
A. J. Haulcy	S	LSU
Tony Mathis	RB	Marshall
Pierson Parent	LS	McNeese
Keionte Scott	S	Miami (FL)
Juwon Gaston	CB	Middle Tennessee
Ray'Quan Bell	IOL	Prairie View A&M
Hershey McLaurin	S	Purdue
Jalyn Stanford	S	Sam Houston
Torren Coppage-El	DL	Stephen F. Austin
Joseph Manjack	WR	TCU
Jonah Wilson	WR	Texas A&M
Garfield Lawrence	DL	Texas Southern
Anthony Holmes	DL	Texas Tech
Taleeq Robbins	DL	Troy
Ui Ale	QB	Troy
Matthew Byrnes	TE	UNLV
Jalen Emery	CB	Western Kentucky
Caleb McMickle	QB	Western Kentucky
Nadame Tucker	EDGE	Western Michigan
Carter Jenkins	S	Unknown
Richmond Ugochukwu	LB	Unknown
Blake Hogshooter	WR	Unknown

Incoming

Player	Position	Previous School
Joshua Donald	DL	Appalachian State
Keionte Scott	CB	Auburn
Alvin Ebosele	OT	Baylor
Matthew Wykoff	IOL	California
Eddie Walls	EDGE	FIU
Marc Stampley	S	Georgia Southern
Harvey Broussard	WR	Louisiana
Carmycah Glass	LB	Louisiana
Blake Thompson	S	Louisiana Tech
Jordan Allen	S	LSU
McKenzie Agnello	OT	New Mexico
Zac Yoakam	K	Notre Dame
Jason Brooks	IOL	Oklahoma State
Ethan Sanchez	K	Old Dominion
Dean Connors	RB	Rice
Zelmar Vedder	CB	Sacramento State
C. J. Douglas	S	Samford
Will James	S	Southern Miss
Myles Parker	DL	Tennessee Tech
Conner Weigman	QB	Texas A&M
Dalton Merryman	IOL	Texas Tech
Jesus Machado	LB	Tulane
Luke McGary	LB	Tulsa
Will Spain	LS	Troy
Amare Thomas	WR	UAB
Sione Fotu	LB	Utah
Alvin Williamson Jr.	CB	Vanderbilt
Khalil Laufau	DL	Washington State
Tanner Koziol	TE	Wisconsin
Wrook Brown	S	Wyoming
Keany Parks	CB	Wyoming

^[1]^[2]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 28	7:00 p.m.	No. 23 (FCS) Stephen F. Austin *	TDECU Stadium Houston, TX	ESPN+	W 27–0	28,150
September 6	6:00 p.m.	at Rice *	Rice Stadium Houston, TX (rivalry)	ESPN+	W 35–9	30,116
September 12	6:30 p.m.	Colorado	TDECU Stadium Houston, TX	ESPN	W 36–20	37,899
September 26	9:30 p.m.	at Oregon State *	Reser Stadium Corvallis, OR	ESPN	W 27–24 ^OT	29,338
October 4	6:00 p.m.	No. 11 Texas Tech	TDECU Stadium Houston, TX (rivalry)	ESPN
October 11		at Oklahoma State	Boone Pickens Stadium Stillwater, OK
October 18		Arizona	TDECU Stadium Houston, TX
October 25		at Arizona State	Mountain America Stadium Tempe, AZ
November 1		West Virginia	TDECU Stadium Houston, TX
November 7	7:00 p.m.	at UCF	Acrisure Bounce House Orlando, FL	FS1
November 22		TCU	TDECU Stadium Houston, TX
November 29		at Baylor	McLane Stadium Waco, TX (rivalry)
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll - Released prior to game All times are in Central time

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Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:**██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	—
Coaches	—	—	—	RV	RV	RV
CFP	Not released																Not released

Game summaries

vs No. 23 (FCS) Stephen F. Austin

Pregame line	Over/under

No. 23 (FCS) Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (0–0) vs Houston Cougars (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 23 (FCS) Lumberjacks	0	0	0	0	0
Cougars	7	10	7	3	27

at Space City Financial Stadium • Houston, Texas

Date: August 28
Game time: 7:00 p.m.
Game weather:
Game attendance: 28,150
Referee: Kevin Mar
TV announcers (ESPN+): Pete Sousa, Taylor McHargue

Game information

First quarter

HOU – Tanner Koziol 11-yard pass from Conner Weigman (Ethan Sanchez kick), 5:12. Cougars 7–0. Drive: 7 plays, 41 yards, 2:58.

Second quarter

HOU – Ethan Sanchez 40-yard field goal, 8:24. Cougars 10–0. Drive: 10 plays, 33 yards, 3:47.
HOU – J'Marion Burnette 39-yard pass from Conner Weigman (Ethan Sanchez kick), 3:06. Cougars 17–0. Drive: 10 plays, 96 yards, 3:46.

Third quarter

HOU – Amare Thomas 20-yard pass from Conner Weigman (Ethan Sanchez kick), 8:36. Cougars 24–0. Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 6:24.

Fourth quarter

HOU – Ethan Sanchez 43-yard field goal, 14:06. Cougars 27–0. Drive: 4 plays, 3 yards, 0:49.

Statistics	SFA	HOU
First downs	7	18
Plays–yards	58–144	73–343
Rushes–yards	25–39	46–191
Passing yards	105	152
Passing: comp–att–int	17–33–2	16–27–0
Turnovers	2	0
Time of possession	25:11	34:49

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Stephen F. Austin	Passing	Gavin Rutherford	4/7, 53 yards, INT
	Rushing	Jalyen Jenkins	5 carries, 16 yards
	Receiving	Clayton Wayland	2 receptions, 43 yards
Houston	Passing	Conner Weigman	15/24, 159 yards, 3 TD
	Rushing	Dean Connors	15 carries, 50 yards
	Receiving	Tanner Koziol	7 receptions, 63 yards, TD

at Rice (rivalry)

Pregame line	Over/under

Houston Cougars (1–0) at Rice Owls (1–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Cougars	0	7	7	21	35
Owls	0	3	0	6	9

at Rice Stadium • Houston, Texas

Date: September 6
Game time: 6:00 p.m.
Game weather:
Game attendance: 30,116
Referee: Kevin Randall
TV announcers (ESPN+): Kyle Youmans (play-by-play), Dave Steckel (analyst) and Maria Trivelpice (sideline)

Game information

First quarter

No scoring plays.

Second quarter

RICE – Enock Gota 42-yard field goal, 9:20. Owls 3–0. Drive: 14 plays, 47 yards, 6:27.
HOU – Dean Connors 54-yard run (Ethan Sanchez kick), 0:40. Cougars 7–3. Drive: 5 plays, 74 yards, 0:35.

Third quarter

HOU – Conner Weigman 9-yard run (Ethan Sanchez kick), 6:24. Cougars 14–3. Drive: 15 plays, 76 yards, 6:50.

Fourth quarter

HOU – Will James 37-yard interception return (Ethan Sanchez kick), 14:53. Cougars 21–3.
RICE – Chase Jenkins 3-yard run (pass failed), 9:02. Cougars 21–9. Drive: 12 plays, 75 yards, 5:51.
HOU – Stephon Johnson 74-yard pass from Conner Weigman (Ethan Sanchez kick), 8:19. Cougars 28–9. Drive: 2 plays, 75 yards, 0:43.
HOU – Dean Connors 42-yard run (Ethan Sanchez kick), 3:40. Cougars 35–9. Drive: 3 plays, 49 yards, 0:57.

Statistics	HOU	RICE
First downs	14	16
Plays–yards	60–392	66–228
Rushes–yards	38–204	53–177
Passing yards	188	51
Passing: comp–att–int	15–22–0	11–13–1
Turnovers	0	2
Time of possession	27:14	32:46

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Houston	Passing	Conner Weigman	15/22, 188 yards, TD
	Rushing	Dean Connors	13 carries, 132 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Stephon Johnson	1 reception, 74 yards, TD
Rice	Passing	Chase Jenkins	10/12, 50 yards, INT
	Rushing	Daelen Alexander	10 carries, 55 yards
	Receiving	Aaron Turner	3 receptions, 24 yards

vs Colorado

Pregame line	Over/under
HOU -3.5	43.5

Colorado Buffaloes (1–1) vs Houston Cougars (2–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Buffaloes	0	14	0	6	20
Cougars	10	6	10	10	36

at Space City Financial Stadium • Houston, Texas

Date: September 12
Game time: 6:30 p.m.
Game weather: Sunny; 89 °F (32 °C)
Game attendance: 37,899
Referee: David Alvarez
TV announcers (ESPN): Anish Shroff (play-by-play), Andre Ware (analyst) and Paul Carcaterra (sideline)

Game information

First quarter

(6:42) HOU – Ethan Sanchez 52-yard field goal (Drive: 10 plays, 63 yards, 3:57; Houston 3–0)
(3:52) HOU – Dean Connors 4-yard run, Ethan Sanchez kick (Drive: 5 plays, 79 yards, 1:35; Houston 10–0)

Second quarter

(14:13) HOU – Ethan Sanchez 43-yard field goal (Drive: 8 plays, 44 yards, 3:05; Houston 13–0)
(7:34) COL – Simeon Price 38-yard run, , Alejandro Mata kick (Drive: 10 plays, 93 yards, 4:14; Houston 13–7)
(1:45) – Ethan Sanchez 47-yard field goal (Drive: 12 plays, 46 yards, 5:49; Houston 16–7)
(0:26) COL – Ryan Staub 19-yard run, Zach Atkins fumble recovery, Alejandro Mata kick (Drive: 6 plays, 88 yards, 1:13; Houston 16–14)

Third quarter

(6:25) HOU – Ethan Sanchez 35-yard field goal (Drive: 17 plays, 57 yards, 8:35; Houston 19–14)
(1:21) HOU – Conner Weigman 1-yard run, Ethan Sanchez kick (Drive: 9 plays, 76 yards, 4:14; Houston 26–14)

Fourth quarter

(11:39) HOU – Conner Weigman 7-yard run, Ethan Sanchez kick (Drive: 3 plays, 61 yards, 1:22; Houston 33–14)
(4:34) COL – Joseph Williams 37-yard pass from Ryan Staub, two-point conversion failed (Drive: 6 plays, 83 yards, 2:22; Houston 33–20)
(3:34) HOU – Ethan Sanchez 49-yard field goal (Drive: 4 plays, 7 yards, 0:51; Houston 36–20)

Statistics	COLO	HOU
First downs	15	21
Plays–yards	58–300	77–431
Rushes–yards	23–96	53–209
Passing yards	204	222
Passing: comp–att–int	19–35–2	15–24–0
Turnovers	2	0
Time of possession	23:15	36:45

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Colorado	Passing	Ryan Staub	19/35, 204 yards, TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Simeon Price	5 carries, 51 yards, TD
	Receiving	Omarion Miller	3 receptions, 54 yards
Houston	Passing	Conner Weigman	15/24, 222 yards
	Rushing	Dean Connors	22 carries, 89 yards, TD
	Receiving	Stephon Johnson	5 receptions, 117 yards

at Oregon State

Pregame line	Over/under

Houston Cougars (3–0) at Oregon State Beavers (0–4) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Cougars	0	10	0	14	3	27
Beavers	7	7	3	7	0	24

at Reser Stadium • Corvallis, Oregon

Date: September 26
Game time: 9:30 p.m.
Game weather:
Game attendance:
Referee:
TV announcers (ESPN): Anish Shroff (play-by-play), Andre Ware (analyst), and Paul Carcaterra (sideline)

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	HOU	ORST
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Houston	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Oregon State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

vs No. 11 Texas Tech (rivalry)

Pregame line	Over/under

No. 11 Texas Tech Red Raiders (4–0) vs Houston Cougars (4–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
No. 11 Red Raiders			0
Cougars			0

at Space City Financial Stadium • Houston, Texas

Date: October 4
Game time: 6:30 p.m.
Game weather:
Game attendance:
Referee:
TV announcers (ESPN):

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	TTU	HOU
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Texas Tech	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Houston	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Oklahoma State

Pregame line	Over/under

Houston Cougars (0–0) at Oklahoma State Cowboys (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Cougars			0
Cowboys			0

at Boone Pickens Stadium • Stillwater, Oklahoma

Date: October 11
Game time:
Game weather:
Game attendance:
Referee:
TV announcers ( ):

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	HOU	OKST
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Houston	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Oklahoma State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

vs Arizona

Pregame line	Over/under

Arizona Wildcats (0–0) vs Houston Cougars (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Wildcats			0
Cougars			0

at Space City Financial Stadium • Houston, Texas

Date: October 18
Game time:
Game weather:
Game attendance:
Referee:
TV announcers ( ):

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	ARIZ	HOU
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Arizona	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Houston	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Arizona State

Pregame line	Over/under

Houston Cougars (0–0) at Arizona State Sun Devils (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Cougars			0
Sun Devils			0

at Mountain America Stadium • Tempe, Arizona

Date: October 25
Game time:
Game weather:
Game attendance:
Referee:
TV announcers ( ):

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	HOU	ASU
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Houston	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Arizona State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

vs West Virginia

Pregame line	Over/under

West Virginia Mountaineers (0–0) vs Houston Cougars (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Mountaineers			0
Cougars			0

at Space City Financial Stadium • Houston, Texas

Date: November 1
Game time:
Game weather:
Game attendance:
Referee:
TV announcers ( ):

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	WVU	HOU
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
West Virginia	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Houston	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at UCF

Pregame line	Over/under

Houston Cougars (0–0) at UCF Knights (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Cougars			0
Knights			0

at Acrisure Bounce House • Orlando, Florida

Date: November 7
Game time:
Game weather:
Game attendance:
Referee:
TV announcers (FS1):

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	HOU	UCF
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Houston	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
UCF	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

vs TCU

Pregame line	Over/under

TCU Horned Frogs (0–0) vs Houston Cougars (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Horned Frogs			0
Cougars			0

at Space City Financial Stadium • Houston, Texas

Date: November 22
Game time:
Game weather:
Game attendance:
Referee:
TV announcers ( ):

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	TCU	HOU
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
TCU	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Houston	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Baylor (rivalry)

Pregame line	Over/under

Houston Cougars (0–0) at Baylor Bears (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Cougars			0
Bears			0

at McLane Stadium • Waco, Texas

Date: November 29
Game time:
Game weather:
Game attendance:
Referee:
TV announcers (FS1):

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	HOU	BAY
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Houston	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Baylor	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

References

↑ "2025 Houston Football Transfer Portal". ON3.
↑ "2025 College Football Transfer Portal". 247Sports.
↑ Duarte, Joseph. "Houston completes nonconference football schedules for 2025, 2027". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved December 21, 2024.
↑ "2025 Houston Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved December 21, 2024.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "2025 Houston Football Transfer Portal". ON3.

[2] "2025 College Football Transfer Portal". 247Sports.

[3] Duarte, Joseph. "Houston completes nonconference football schedules for 2025, 2027". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved December 21, 2024.

[4] "2025 Houston Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved December 21, 2024.

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v t e Houston Cougars football
Venues	Robertson Stadium (1946–1950, 1994–2012) Rice Stadium (1950–1964) Houston Astrodome (1965–1997) Reliant Stadium (2013) BBVA Compass Stadium (2013) TDECU Stadium (2014–present)
Bowls and rivalries	Bowl games Baylor Rice SMU Texas Tech
Culture & lore	Shasta "Cougar Fight Song" Spirit of Houston Veer option The Comeback Victory 2022 SMU game
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

2025 Houston Cougars football team

Contents

Offseason

Transfers

Outgoing

Incoming

Schedule

Rankings

Game summaries

vs No. 23 (FCS) Stephen F. Austin

at Rice (rivalry)

vs Colorado

at Oregon State

vs No. 11 Texas Tech (rivalry)

at Oklahoma State

vs Arizona

at Arizona State

vs West Virginia

at UCF

vs TCU

at Baylor (rivalry)

References