We might lose one, maybe two games, tops. The cushy schedule ends the year after next, and we'll be ready.
UH goes down back to earth next year, late season bowl qualification. CU and OK State have their number
From espn's B12 preview: https://www.espn.com/college-footba...otball-preview-predictions-top-transfers-more Fritz is one of the most underrated coaches of the 21st century. He won two juco national titles, reached two FCS title games with Sam Houston, engineered immediate FBS success at Georgia Southern and turned Tulane into a mid-major powerhouse. In his latest move, the 66-year-old needed only one year to create something viable at Houston: After a 4-8 debut, his Cougars charged to 10-3 with only their second SP+ top-40 finish in nine years. In his first year in a job, Fritz's all-time win percentage is just .507. But it rises to .730 in Year 2 and holds steady at .725 in Year 3. And with a veteran quarterback, a new/old running back and dynamite additions on both lines, I could see the Coogs overachieving their No. 36 projection. Both of last year's new coordinator hires clicked. Austin Armstrong held the fort on defense after Shiel Wood left for Texas Tech, while the offense surged from 118th to 44th under Fritz's former Tulane coordinator Slade Nagle. Quarterback Conner Weigman (2,705 passing yards, 795 non-sack rushing yards, 36 total TDs last season), leading slot receiver Amare Thomas and sophomore big-play man Koby Young return, and Fritz put together an exciting transfer class. He grabbed three all-conference linemen in tackle Drew Terrill (Miami-Ohio), guard Shadre Hurst (Tulane) and sophomore center Anthony Boswell (Toledo), landed Oregon State's leading receiver (Trent Walker) and added an old friend in Makhi Hughes, who rushed for 2,779 yards and 22 TDs at Tulane in 2023 and 2024 before a surprising dud transfer to Oregon. Returning to a Fritz-Nagle offense could get Hughes going again. And Nagle can feel comfortable in continuing to run Weigman a lot knowing that if he gets banged up, five-star freshman Keisean Henderson, a top-five recruit in 2026, could fill in capably. The defense was secondary-driven last year, with aggressive on-ball coverage and strong big-play prevention. Losing corner Latrell McCutchin Sr. hurts, but safeties Kentrell Webb and Jordan Allen and corner Will James return, and Fritz added another Tulane veteran in nickel Javion White. The front six returns outside linebackers Brandon Mack II and Latreveon McCutchin, sure-tackling linebacker Sione Fotu and veteran big men Khalil Laufau and Myles Parker. Fritz didn't mine the portal for too much on defense, but in addition to White he grabbed an aggressive corner in Jalen Mayo (Stephen F. Austin) and an intriguing trio of tackles in Ashton Porter (Oregon), De'Marion Thomas (Oklahoma State) and Ejiroghene Egodogbare (Yale). The schedule isn't particularly kind -- Houston will play at Texas Tech, Kansas State and Utah -- but the Coogs could have some of the best trench play in the Big 12 and plenty of upside elsewhere. And Year 3 Willie Fritz definitely gets the benefit of the doubt.
