With UH football on the upswing, there's no reason not to turn out for showdown vs. Oklahoma State

Willie Fritz will sometimes run the steps, stopping to take in the view of the downtown skyline from the upper deck at TDECU Stadium. 

"Every seat is a good seat," the University of Houston's third-year football coach said. "That's unique this day and age with stadiums."

If Fritz has his way, every seat will be filled (preferably in red) when the No. 20 Cougars host No. 18 Oklahoma State on Saturday in what could be their biggest regular-season home game in more than a decade.

It's a key midseason meeting between two contenders in the Big 12 race.

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Two explosive offenses.

Two of the nation's top quarterbacks, UH's Conner Weigman and OSU's Drew Mestemaker.

And, for once, it's a 6:30 p.m. game.

"We oughta have a sellout," Fritz said. "That's the goal."

Still not sold? 

Just ask Willie the Weatherman.

"It won't be hot," Fritz continued. "It will be nice and cool. I hear it's going to be about 75 degrees."

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Fritz ticked through his selling points just minutes after Saturday's 35-16 win over Kansas State in Manhattan, Kan. All that was missing was a PowerPoint presentation and a road map for UH fans who might have forgotten the directions after a decade of mostly uninspired football and unattractive matchups.

That was then.

This is now.

That was Conference USA and the American Athletic Conference.

This is the Big 12.

That was Tulsa, East Carolina, UAB, Temple and USF.

This is Power Four football.

Coming off a 10-win season, the Cougars are halfway to that total just two weeks into October. They are among a half-dozen teams bunched together in a tight Big 12 race. 

"It's a big game," Fritz said. "It's a big game for them, it's a real big game for us. It has a lot of implications for the Big 12 race. This is a huge game. We're very excited about the challenge."

The stakes haven't been this high for a UH regular-season home game since backup quarterback Kyle Postma helped rally the Cougars from a 20-point deficit to beat Memphis 35-34 late in their 2015 Peach Bowl season.

You have to go back to 1990 for the last time UH hosted a game between two ranked major-conference teams. That year, David Klingler and Chuck Weatherspoon led the No. 12 Cougars to a 36-31 win over No. 20 Texas A&M at the Astrodome.

Fritz would like to make big games the norm.

"That's the reason we came here," Fritz said. "We feel like we can compete for a national championship here at the University of Houston. We've got the facilities. We've got the location. Without question. We're finding out a lot of kids go away and they want to come back. We want to be in this situation all the time."

There have been roadblocks at seemingly every turn, many of them self-inflicted. There's the bitterness, still lingering, of being left out of the Big 12 after the SWC breakup.

Ten losing seasons since the turn of the century, the lowlight the only winless campaign (0-11 in 2001) in program history. 

There have been early kickoff times, including the hit-the-snooze-button 11 a.m. window that has often felt like a weekly occurrence. Two of UH's three home games this season, both played in the September heat, kicked off at 11 a.m. UH averaged 27,167 fans for those games, with empty sections at TDECU Stadium beamed to a national audience. 

Since the 40,000-seat TDECU Stadium opened in 2014, UH has played before seven sellouts. 

Seven.

In 75 games. 

"I've played in front of 50 and 110,000," Fritz said.

UH will gladly take somewhere in the middle. Athletic director Eddie Nuñez said the school has planned several in-game features, including a drone show. The pregame SLAB entrance has been a big hit. A school official said attendance could approach 35,000.

A social media post Monday afternoon challenged the student section to reach 10,000.

📣 STUDENTS 📣 We're challenging YOU to pull up 10k strong this Saturday! Ticket claim is now open ➡️ https://t.co/jBRFmqptcx https://t.co/BMawbysuH3

- Houston Athletics (@UHCougars) October 12, 2026

Fritz said fans should give the Cougars a chance.

"We just feel like if we can get people out here one time, they see what we have to offer and the quality of product that the Big 12 puts out on the field," Fritz said. "I ask people, just come out and give it a chance, and you'll be hooked.

"There's no reason not to come out. I'm looking forward to seeing a bunch of red in the stands."

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This article originally published at With UH football on the upswing, there's no reason not to turn out for showdown vs. Oklahoma State.