Houston's Will James Is on the Defensive Heisman Radar. The Tape Says He Belongs There.

cougars Claim the Trenches: Hurst, Laufau Land on Outland Trophy Preseason Watch List.

No. 24 and Rising: Houston Crashes the Preseason Party as Fritz's Year Three Dawns.

Fall camp opens Wednesday morning with the Cougars ranked for the first time in four years — and this time, nobody in Houston is calling it a fluke.

Bayou to Bayou: Houston Refuses to Blink in the Jacolby Campbell Chase.

Willie Fritz and Brian Bell are making sure the four-star Louisiana playmaker knows there is more than one powerhouse program waiting along the bayou.

Big 12 Touchdown King: Weigman Crashes the Pre-Season Maxwell Watch List.

No Crystal Ball Required: Houston's Road to the Ship Runs Through Its Own Trenches.

A rebuilt offensive line, a defense that couldn't finish, and a schedule that saves its haymakers for last — the Cougars' season won't be decided by talent. It'll be decided in the six inches up front.

The Mirror: Houston, Oregon State, and the Two Sides of a Rebuild.

Built From the Inside Out: Why Shadre Hurst Could Transform Houston’s Offense.

Houston needed more than another body on the offensive line. The Cougars needed a tone-setter—and Shadre Hurst arrives with the résumé, toughness and technical dominance to change the identity of the entire unit.

X-Factor Watch: Jordan Allen Is the Big 12's Most Efficient Secret at Safety.

Three years of elite-but-buried PFF grades at LSU finally got a full season of reps at Houston — and the numbers say the breakout is just getting started.

From Breakthrough to Belief: What Houston must become to go the distance in 2026.

The Cougars have enough talent to reach Arlington and enough experience to enter the College Football Playoff conversation. The harder question is whether a program built on being underestimated can survive being expected.

The Hammer Behind the Fireworks: Why Makhi Hughes Could Be Houston’s Big 12 Difference-Maker.

Conner Weigman will supply the electricity. Slade Nagle will create the conflict. But Makhi Hughes may be the force that makes Houston’s entire offense impossible to play honestly.

Built in Texas: Willie Fritz, Houston and the Coaches Powering the Cougars’ Future.

At the THSCA Convention, Houston’s head coach made clear that the Cougars’ future begins with the discipline, structure and relationships forged by Texas high school coaches.