80 Days Until Kansas Football: Big 12 Expansion Primer – Houston

An early look at the soon-to-be Big 12 Houston Cougars.

For those who are a fan of the current 10-school Big 12 (Big 12 2.0?) setup, soak up this 2022 year. The latest iteration of the Big 12 (3.0?) is set to kick off in 2023 as the four newest members—Houston, BYU, Cincinnati, and UCF—have received the green light to make the move.

The Big 12 will be the Big 14 for up to two years until 2025, which is the reported exit date for Texas and Oklahoma. But enough about them. This is about those four transfers looking to boost the conference’s depth.

So, it’s time to get to know the newbies of the Big 12. And since this is part of our 100 Days Until Kansas Football countdown, we’ll take a specific look at the gridirons for each school. Plus, let's be honest: Football considerations were the biggest considerations in the room anyway.

We'll take a look at one new school each week. This week, we’re kicking it off with the Houston Cougars.

University Overview

Location: Houston, Texas

School type: Public

Year founded: 1927

Undergrad enrollment: 39,165

Football History

Houston is entering its 74th season and has compiled a record of 448-361-14 while winning 11 conference championships and appearing in 29 bowl games. Among those was a 1979 Cotton Bowl win and a 2015 win in the Peach Bowl after going 13-1. The 1989 Cougars included Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware but because of rules violations, they couldn’t play in a bowl.

Football in 2022

Fans of the 2.0 Big 12 will recognize the main man on the Cougars’ sideline. Houston’s head coach is Red Bull drinker, visor enthusiast, and former West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen.

And Holgorsen has Houston on the rise after two sub-500 seasons in 2019 and 2020. Last year, Houston was 12-2, played in the American Athletic Conference championship game, and beat Auburn in the Birmingham Bowl before sending three players to the NFL Draft (more than Texas, for those counting at home). The Cougars are led by a fifth-year QB in Clayton Tune, have Texas Tech and USC transfers in the backfield, and at receiver, Nathaniel Dell led the conference in catches, yards, and touchdowns last season.

The offense is lethal but the defense is no slouch, ending in the top 12 in FBS nationally in sacks, tackles for loss, and stop rate (percentage that a defense prevents the other team from scoring).

And in case you forgot, Kansas will be traveling to Houston for a showdown with the Cougars on September 17. So KU fans will get an up- close look at this new conference foe.

Why they were chosen

For one, the location didn’t hurt. Houston is the fifth largest metropolitan area in the US (according to the 2020 census) and Texas is a football hotbed. TV markets play a big role in conference realignment and will be a theme in this series.

But the conference already has Baylor and TCU, you might say. Sure, but again, this is another more than seven million people just in the Houston metro alone, many of whom now have a direct reason to care about the Big 12. This metro is also close to Louisiana, knocking on the door of SEC territory. And Houston had the third largest population increase, so this is a region to bet on.

Still, the production has to be seen on the field. And Houston both has football history and recent success to be a worthy candidate. 

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