Houston Cannot Afford to Waste Its Shot at Utah

The No. 14 Houston Cougars are visiting the No. 10 Utah Utes this Saturday in a massive matchup.

Both teams know how important it is to win this game. But Houston can't waste this opportunity to change the trajectory of the program.

Houston Is a Rising Program With a Chance On Saturday

Head coach Willie Fritz has accomplished remarkable things in Houston. The Cougars struggled at first to transition from the AAC to the Big 12, which led to Dana Holgorsen's firing.

Houston hoped to turn things around by hiring Fritz, the Tulane Green Wave head coach. He, too, struggled with the Cougars at first, but turned things around last season with a surprising 10-3 season, including a Texas Bowl win over the LSU Tigers.

Houston entered 2026 with higher-than-usual expectations, thanks to the return of quarterback Conner Weigman and a pretty good transfer portal class. So far in 2026, the Cougars have been a surprisingly great team.

They sit at 6-1, with their only loss being a 28-26 road loss to the No. 8 Texas Tech Red Raiders. Houston made a statement last week by defeating the No. 18 Oklahoma State Cowboys 35-32. How Houston will conclude its 2026 season will be intriguing, but through six games, it has been remarkably impressive.

On Saturday, the Cougars visit the Utes in Salt Lake, hoping to pull off an upset. The Utes have one of the toughest environments in the Big 12 and are undefeated so far. Recently, Utah defeated rival Colorado, the Buffaloes, 27-24, and is trying to make a national statement.

Such a win for Houston, though, would be a massive statement and give the Cougars a huge chance at an unbelievable season. The Cougars proved they can win on the road in an extremely tough place to play, and Houston won't face another ranked opponent for the rest of the season.

The Road Ahead Looks Quite Friendly

The Cougars' schedule after their big game with Utah have the following schedule: vs. Cincinnati Bearcats, at Colorado Buffaloes, at West Virginia Mountaineers, and vs. the Baylor Bears.

Those teams can present big challenges, but none are ranked, and frankly, none are even close to being ranked. Houston should be heavily favored in most of those matchups and could go 4-0 in that stretch.

That's why Saturday's win over Oklahoma State was huge for Houston: even if the Cougars lose to Utah, Houston can go 10-2 and still have a shot at the College Football Playoff. This is especially true if Houston loses by only a little to Utah, given how close it was to beating Texas Tech.

Fritz and the Cougars will obviously try to lock down a CFP spot and give themselves a solid chance at the Big 12 by taking down the Utes. If Houston can go 11-1, it is a lock for the CFP and will likely head to the Big 12 Championship.

In fact, even an 11-2 Houston team (even if it loses to the Big 12 Champion) deserves a CFP bid. A 10-3 Alabama Crimson Tide team made the CFP in 2025 because they shouldn't have been "punished" for making the SEC Championship.

All in all, this game against Utah is a chance for the program to make a statement. This team is no longer the Houston it was in the 2000s or 2010s. This is a Houston team that can compete for the Big 12 and for a CFP spot. Fritz can accomplish something very special on Saturday against Utah.