Editor’s note: This is one of a series of college football previews by The Dallas Express.
HOUSTON COUGARS
2022 SEASON: 8-5 (5-3 in American Athletic Conference), beat Louisiana in Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl
Three of Houston’s first five games went to overtime last season, and the Cougars only managed to win one — a season-opening victory over eventual Conference USA champion Texas-San Antonio. Close calls against Texas Tech and Tulane and a blowout loss to Kansas had Houston struggling at 2-4, but a one-point win over Memphis helped turn the corner.
Houston won five of its final seven games, losing a 77-63 thriller to SMU and by a touchdown to Tulsa in the season finale, to salvage a winning record at the season’s end.
Quarterback Clayton Tune led the way, setting AAC records for single-season touchdown passes (40) and career touchdowns responsible for (119) and finishing his career with the second-most passing touchdowns in program history (104). Wide receiver Nathaniel “Tank” Dell led the country with 17 touchdown catches and was among the national leaders in receiving yards and total receptions.
The season culminated with a 23-16 win over Louisiana in the Independence Bowl as Tune and Dell connected on one final touchdown pass with 12 seconds remaining.
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2023: Not Ranked.
WHAT’S NEW
Houston is one of four new teams joining the Big 12 from the American Athletic Conference as part of the latest wave of conference realignment throughout college sports. The Cougars have been one of the consistent contenders in the AAC over the years but come to the Big 12 with many question marks.
Tune and Dell are both gone, as are several important players on the defensive side of the ball. Luckily, the Cougars return many contributors on the offensive side of the ball and have landed former Texas Tech quarterback Donovan Smith, who helped engineer the Red Raiders’ overtime win over Houston last season, to replace Tune via the transfer portal.
Defensively, only one player who tallied an interception last season returns. The top five tacklers from last year’s squad are all gone, meaning many of the 19 transfers and 17 freshmen joining the program might see substantial playing time.
As a result, Houston was projected to finish 12th out of the 14 teams in the preseason Big 12 media poll.
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2023 SCHEDULE
Sep 2 (Sat) 6 p.m. CT vs UTSA
Sep 9 (Sat) 6 p.m. CT at Rice
Sep 16 (Sat) 7 p.m. CT vs TCU
Sep 23 (Sat) 6 p.m. CT vs Sam Houston, Family Weekend
Sep 30 (Sat) at Texas Tech
Oct 12 (Thu) 6 p.m. CT vs West Virginia
Oct 21 (Sat) vs Texas
Oct 28 (Sat) at Kansas State
Nov 4 (Sat) at Baylor
Nov 11 (Sat) vs Cincinnati, Homecoming
Nov 18 (Sat) vs Oklahoma State, Senior Day
Nov 25 (Sat) at UCF
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PLAYER TO WATCH
RB Tony Mathis Jr
Mathis will be fighting off Stacy Sneed and USC transfer Brandon Campbell for the running back duties but enters as the projected starter. The West Virginia transfer has 874 yards over the past two seasons and is the most experienced out of the three, conceivably giving him a leg up in the competition.
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FRESHMAN TO WATCH
WR Mikal Harrison-Pilot
Harrison-Pilot is the highest-rated player in Houston’s freshmen class, ranking as the No.28 player in Texas and 153rd in the country. Most recruiting services considered him an “athlete” (ATH), and he is listed on Houston’s roster as a wide receiver. Two of the team’s top four receivers from last year return, but the freshman should be in the conversation after catching 48 passes for 978 yards and 14 touchdowns during his final high school season.
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BREAKOUT CANDIDATE
WR Matthew Golden
Golden is Houston’s leading returning receiver in terms of yardage but has big shoes to fill. His 584 receiving yards from a year ago were over 800 yards less than Dell, but he will get plenty of opportunities as he steps into the No.1 receiver role. If he makes the most of them, he will have a big season.
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WHY CAN THEY CONTEND?
In all likelihood, Houston is not contending in the Big 12 this season because of all the question marks and turnover. The Cougars do have a veteran quarterback with a veteran offensive line and underrated playmakers. Their schedule is easier than some others across the conference, but there are too many questions to be answered.
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OBSTACLES
The defense and getting the offense to adjust and gel while putting the right playmakers in place are two crucial struggles the Cougars could have, especially at the start of the season. It is just tough to compete in a more challenging new conference with all the personnel changes.
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2023 PREDICTION
Record: 5-7
Bowl: None
Houston is fighting an uphill battle this season and will struggle to win games. There are just too many more skilled and experienced teams on the schedule, and Houston will be missing some of the players who helped pull out those kinds of wins a year ago. However, there will be plenty of opportunities to play spoiler in the Big 12 title race and develop and build toward future seasons.