Houston football takes on the Colorado Buffaloes to open up their Big 12 conference schedule in an early pivotal moment for the 2025 program.
There has been a lot of hype with the quick 2-0 start, with dominant wins over Stephen F. Austin 27-0 and Rice 35-9.
Now in head coach Willie Fritz’s second season at the helm, a step forward has been expected with the new look team. With that, there are several things UH needs to do to come away with a win.
Cougars Must Fix Offensive Consistency vs. Colorado
In both of the games so far, Houston has gotten out to a slow start offensively, specifically vs. Rice.
The Cougars only put up seven points in the first half against the Owls, and that came with just 40 seconds to go in the second quarter. Against a FCS opponent in Stephen F. Austin, UH put up their first touchdown at the five minute mark of the first quarter after getting stopped on their first few drives.
While the offense would eventually break out in both games, it was not the impressive showing early that Cougars fans would have liked against Rice. Houston only had 49 total yards in the first quarter and the score remained 14-3 until later in the fourth quarter.
The Cougars had a couple of big plays on the ground with senior running back Dean Connors. and Houston also had one through the air in the form of a 74-yard bomb from junior quarterback Conner Weigman to junior wide receiver Stephon Johnson.
But the kind of offensive production they had early will not get it done against a Big 12 team in Colorado. If the offense can be more consistent throughout the game and produce close to what they are doing in the second half, it will give them a good chance.
UH Defense Faces Real Challenge vs. Colorado
The UH defense has been a standout so far, allowing nine points in the first two games combined. Overall, the tackling and fundamentals, something Fritz preaches a lot, have been on point. A unit ranked in the top 30 in the country last season has picked up where they left off under new defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong. The Cougars allowed only 144 total yards to SFA and only 51 passing yards to Rice.
Colorado is a true challenge now for this team, who bring Big 12 talent. Fritz mentioned in his press conference on Monday how the Buffaloes are very talented out on the perimeter. Senior wide receiver Sincere Brown is 6-foot-5 and sophomore Joseph Williams is 6-foot-2.
It will be a good matchup on the outside with Houston’s corners and secondary overall, that have stood out with senior Latrell McCutchin Sr. and sophomore transfer Will James, who had his first interception and pick-six of his career last week vs Rice.
Colorado is obviously a well-known program with head coach Deion Sanders leading the way. The Buffs have lost both quarterback Shedeur Sanders and two-way talent Travis Hunter to the NFL this past offseason and are currently 1-1 to start the year with a win last week vs Delaware and a loss in the season opener to Georgia Tech.
Sanders even gave praise to Fritz during his press conference earlier this week.
“I’m very impressed by what he’s accomplished as a coach… God bless you coach. Love what you’re doing and what you’re building there,” Sanders said.
There has been an interesting quarterback controversy for Colorado and Sanders, who have not confirmed the starting QB as of Thursday. There have been some reports of sophomore Ryan Staub getting the start after his good performance last week against Delaware where he went 7-for-10 for 157 yards and threw two touchdowns. At the top of the depth chart is senior Kaidon Salter who has put up modest numbers, with only 102 yards passing last week.
With the uncertainty, it bodes well for the Cougars defense to take advantage and get after whoever might be the Buffaloes signal-caller.
Altogether, it brings forth a difficult challenge the Cougars will need to pass if they want to compete in the Big 12 this season.