Houston Cougars football has arrived in 2025, courtesy of the earliest season opener by date in program history. Houston takes the field on Aug. 28 against Stephen F. Austin for a Thursday night FBS-FCS showdown, where the Cougars are a massive 22.5-point favorite. Houston must dominate and start their season off with a bang, coming off a relatively healthy fall camp.
Head coach Willie Fritz, now in his second year at the helm, looks to take a big jump in performance from last season, when Houston was 4-8. The Cougars ended up 12th in the Big 12 with a 3-6 record, a slight improvement from 2023’s 2-7 conference showing.
Expectations for the Season Opener
The Cougars being heavy favorites and having an 87% chance of winning according to ESPN is expected, but to really create excitement for the program this year from the fans, Houston needs to win by well over 30 points. Yes, Houston is 20-0 coming in vs. FCS opponents. Yes, SFA is from the Southland Conference, and a victory is likely, but the Cougars need to pile it on offensively. Houston did not score much on offense last season and needs to try and crack 40 points after scoring 20-plus only three times in 2024.
The offense has a completely new look this year, with at least eight new starters. This includes a couple of transfer wide receivers, such as senior Amare Thomas from UAB and junior Devan Williams from Tulsa, as well as a revamped offensive line. Senior running back Dean Connors also transferred over from Rice. Houston got a big-time target in senior tight end Tanner Koziol, widely expected to be one of the best in the country this season as a nominee for the Biletnikoff Award and Mackey Award.
Junior transfer quarterback Connor Weigman, a former five-star recruit from Cypress who began his career at Texas A&M, returns home to Houston with big expectations. With a veteran quarterback and some established playmakers, look for some fireworks in the third ward come game time.
“We had legitimate competition in a lot of spots; we didn’t have that last season,” Fritz said.
Standouts for Stephen F. Austin
SFA brings in an experienced squad with an offense that can make some plays. Redshirt senior quarterback Sam Vidlack had an incredible junior year, throwing for 27 touchdowns and just four interceptions along with a Southland Conference-leading 176 passer rating. The Lumberjacks also feature preseason All-American senior wide receiver Kylon Harris after a breakout 2024 with over 1,000 yards receiving. This SFA connection must be kept in control by new defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong.
Though overlooked, the Cougars’ defense proved to be one of the nation’s best last season, finishing 25th overall under then-coordinator Shiel Wood. Armstrong’s resume at Florida was a situationally strong defense (red-zone, third down, and turnovers), and look for Houston to hunker down on this lethal duo that has been nominated for the FCS Walter Payton Award watchlist.
In the season opener, the coaches will get a clearer picture of the teams they have, but the new talent must deliver in a statement win.
A Rivalry is Back
This is an old Texas rivalry reignited, as the Lumberjacks and Cougars are facing each other for the first time since 1948, when the two programs were together in the Lone Star Conference.
“Had a few Sam Houston friends reach out to me to tell me how important this ball game is, as if I didn’t know,” Fritz said, being a former head coach at Sam Houston from 2010-13. The Battle of the Piney Woods is a big rivalry between the Bearkats and Lumberjacks.
Houston looks to tie up the all-time series at 2-2, and notch a statement season-opening victory for their first win over SFA since the first meeting in 1946.