Arizona Wildcats Face Do-or-Die Showdown Against Houston Cougars
Arizona’s Brent Brennan and Houston’s Willie Fritz are two of the Big 12’s newest head coaches, as both took over at their respective programs before this season.
Few would have thought it would be the Cougars with the better overall record entering Friday’s game against the Wildcats. But here we are.
When the pair face each other at 8:15 p.m. mountain at Arizona Stadium, the Wildcats (3-6, 1-5 in Big 12) will be desperate to win. Why? If they don’t, they cannot reach bowl eligibility.
Even worse, the Wildcats have lost five straight games and are coming off a terrible 56-12 loss at UCF in which they were basically run over.
The Cougars (4-5, 3-3) are rolling. They’ve won three of their last four after losing four of their first five to start the season. Along the way, Houston has beaten Utah and Kansas State back-to-back. The Cougars still need two wins to make a bowl game. But they’re much closer than most expected to start the season.
Here is a preview of the Wildcats and the Knights.
Houston at Arizona
Arizona Stadium, Tucson, Ariz.
Time: 8:15 p.m. MT, Friday
TV: FS1
Radio: KCUB 1290-AM (Flagship), KHYT 107.5-FM (sister station)
Coaches: Arizona — Brent Brennan (3-6 at Arizona, 37-54 career as head coach); Houston — Willie Fritz (4-5 at Houston, 251-126-1 overall).
Records: Arizona — 3-6 (1-5 in Big 12); Houston — 4-5 (3-3).
Fun fact: Both have been the coach of the year in a conference. Brennan claimed the award in the Mountain West with San Jose State in 2020. Fritz has done it three times in two different conferences — the Sun Belt in 2014 with Georgia Southern and in the American with Tulane in 2022 and 2023.
All-Times Series: Houston leads series, 3-1.
Last meeting: Houston 45, Arizona 18 (Sept. 8, 2018).
Series notes: This is the fourth time the two teams will meet in Tucson. The only meeting in Houston was in 2018.
Last week: Both teams were idle.
About Houston: When Houston fired Dana Holgorsen, it turned to Fritz, who has a reputation for winning everywhere he’s been. But he’s well-known in that area. He led Blinn College in nearby Brenham to a pair of NJCAA national titles. He led Sam Houston in nearby Huntsville to a pair of FCS title game appearances. As he joked at Big 12 media days, “My wife would have killed me if I hadn’t taken the job.”
He's turned around junior college, Division II, FCS and FBS programs. He’s the ultimate fix-it coach and it’s because what he believes in — running the football — travels. Still, he took a huge risk in moving quarterback Zeon Chriss into the starting lineup over veteran Donovan Smith going into the TCU game. Houston won.
That jump-started the Cougars’ recent run of success. At his last job, Tulane, it took him three years to get them above .500. By 2022 he had the Green Wave in the Cotton Bowl beating USC. That’s the kind of success Houston wants — and the kind Fritz has a track record of delivering.
About Arizona: Let’s be honest — nothing is working right. The Wildcats that just about everyone thought would be contenders in the Big 12 in year one just hasn’t materialized.
Don’t worry — there is plenty of blame to go around. Injuries have taken some of Arizona’s best players off the field for the season. Quarterback Noah Fifita has regressed and is making the types of mistakes expected of him last season. There is little semblance of a running game.
Brennan has tried to be steady and there were rumors that he might tinker with the staff during the bye week. Instead, he got them on the road recruiting. Regardless of whether the Wildcats make a bowl game or not, they need to put the finishing touches on the kind of recruiting class that can help give them a boost next year. Brennan isn’t going anywhere, either. His buyout likely precludes any sort of move.
The Wildcats get three more weeks to give their fans some kind of satisfaction after a season in which little has gone right. Then it’s off to 2025, and it could be tumultuous, starting with the almost-certain departure of wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan.
Next Up: Arizona is at TCU on Nov. 23. Houston hosts Baylor on Nov. 23.
