With the 2022 college football season approaching, expectations are high for UH football as the Cougars enter the season back in the AP Top 25 right at No. 17, up four spots from where they finished in 2021.
As excitement and anticipation begin to fill the air around TDECU Stadium, we take a peek into the upcoming year for UH football.
The Cougars’ season-opener will take place on the road against the UTSA Roadrunners in San Antonio on Sept. 3, when UH will have a chance to get its season off on the right foot with its first non-conference matchup.
Following UTSA, UH will continue its early-season road trip across Texas to Lubbock, where Houston will get its first Big 12 action since announcing that it will join the conference in 2023.
The matchup against the Red Raiders will also serve as a rematch and an opportunity for revenge from last season’s Texas Kickoff game that took place at NRG Stadium in Houston.
The game against Tech last season resulted in the only loss the Cougars took in the regular season and later was the deciding factor that prevented UH from being awarded home-field advantage during the American Athletic Conference title game that they lost to Cincinnati.
Following Texas Tech, UH will finally return home for their home-opener against Kansas in Week 3. This is yet another future Big 12 matchup and the first game played at TDECU Stadium in the 2022-23 season.
The Cougars will remain in Houston for the next two games, where they will begin conference play and face Rice in Week 4 and Tulane in Week 5.
After the three-game homestand, UH heads back on the road to Tennessee to take on a conference-rival in the Memphis Tigers on Oct. 7 before heading into the bye week.
UH football will resume again on Oct. 22, where UH will head to the northeast to face-off against Navy in Annapolis, Maryland, in Week 7.
After two road games with a bye week in between, the Cougars will return to TDECU Stadium again in Week 8 for the homecoming game against USF on Oct. 29.
After facing USF, UH will travel a few hours north to Dallas in Week 9 to take on SMU in a rematch of last season’s thriller that ended in a game-winning kickoff return touchdown by former Cougar Marcus Jones.
The final push for the postseason will go through Temple, East Carolina and Tulsa in Weeks 10, 11 and 12, respectively.
UH will take on Temple at TDECU Stadium and then head on the road to Greenville, North Carolina, to take on the ECU Pirates. The Cougars handled the Owls easily but barely scraped by the Pirates in overtime a season ago.
Regular season play will conclude back in Houston, where the Cougars will face Tulsa at TDECU Stadium for senior and fan appreciation night.
If all fares well for UH, it will have a chance to play in the AAC title game again and officially wrap up the 2022 season with the bowl game it’s selected for.