Willie Fritz has a message for Houston fans, who as we noted last week were embarrassing: No excuses next Saturday night. After the Cougars picked up a huge Big 12 road win over Kansas State, Fritz wasted little time turning his attention toward next week’s showdown with Oklahoma State. And before discussing much else, the Houston head coach made a direct pitch to Houston Cougars fans to pack TDECU Stadium.
“I heard Oklahoma State won, is that correct?” Fritz said. “OK, so we’ve got two teams who are ranked, going to be playing next Saturday at 6:30. Not 11. 6:30 p.m. We need to get as many Cougs out there as humanly possible.“
Fritz continued by selling what should be one of the biggest Big 12 games on next weekend’s schedule.
“I think it’s going to be a great game. Two fantastic quarterbacks, probably two of the better quarterbacks in the nation. Two really good teams. Right there in Houston. TDECU Stadium. Let’s get some people out there, 6:30 this upcoming Saturday. It won’t be hot. It will be nice and cool. I heard it’s going to be about 75. Come on out.”
The timing couldn’t be much better for Houston.
Houston’s 2026 Season Success
The Cougars are coming off a significant road victory over Kansas State and now return home for a matchup with an Oklahoma State team that has also emerged as a factor in the Big 12 race.
Houston has certainly given its fans plenty of reason to show up. The Cougars are now 5-1 overall and 2-1 in Big 12 play, with their only loss coming by two points, 28-26, on the road against Texas Tech. Since then, Houston has won three straight, including a 27-17 comeback victory over UCF and Saturday’s impressive 35-16 road win over Kansas State. The Cougars controlled the Wildcats in Manhattan, piling up 475 total yards while holding K-State to 299. Conner Weigman threw for 242 yards and four touchdowns, all four going to tight end Patrick Overmyer, as Houston built a 28-3 third-quarter lead and never looked back.
And Fritz clearly understands the opportunity.
Rather than another early kickoff in the Texas heat, Houston gets a 6:30 p.m. home game with two ranked Big 12 teams and significant conference implications.
Now Fritz wants Houston fans to make sure TDECU Stadium looks — and sounds — like it.
