Houston head coach Willie Fritz smiles during the fourth quarter of an NCAA College Football match between the University of Central Florida and the University of Houston Cougars on October 3, 2026, at TDECU Stadium in Houston. | Matthew Guzman/The Cougar
Houston Cougars head coach Willie Fritz is in his third year with the football program. After a loss against Utah, Fritz reflected on it in the post-game press conference on Oct. 24.
“There are a bunch of plays that we’d love to have back but unfortunately that’s not the way it works,” Fritz said. “(Utah) made plays when they needed to and did a very good job.”
In the first half, Houston’s defense allowed zero points and limited the offensive potential of Utah’s rushing and passing game. However, Utah quarterback Devon Dampier and company found an opening in the second half to break away.
“Second half we didn’t play quite as well,” Fritz said. “(Dampier) really made a difference. The first team really ran the ball effectively against us.”
Tight end Patrick Overmyer suffered an injury in the game, which was one of Weigman’s top targets throughout this season. Fritz reflected on how much that affected their game.
“(Patrick) has been a great weapon for us in the red zone and we weren’t able to have him down there,” Fritz said. “We still need to score.”
Fritz also talked about how elite teams in the Big 12 have been, since Texas Tech and BYU lost in that same week.
“It’s one of the things about the Big 12; everybody’s pretty good,” Fritz said. “There’s a lot of good teams in this league. You don’t come to play; you’re going to get beat.”
Now, with four more games left in the regular season, Fritz talked about taking one game at a time.
“You got to take em one at a time. One of our slogans is 1-0 and our guys will never catch me looking ahead or looking back behind,” Fritz said.
Houston is currently sitting at No. 17 in the AP poll and is looking to bounce back against Cincinnati on Nov. 7 at TDECU Stadium.
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