Preview: No. 22 Houston Cougars vs. West Virginia

Who: Houston Cougars (7-1, 4-1 Big 12) vs. West Virginia Mountaineers (2-6, 0-5 Big 12)

What: Week 10 Big 12 conference matchup

When: Saturday, Nov. 1 at 11 a.m. CST

Where: TDECU Stadium in Houston, Texas

TV/Streaming: FS1

TV Announcers: Connor Onion (Play-by-Play), Mark Helfrich (Analyst)

Radio: KPRC 950 AM, The Varsity Network- “Search Houston”, SiriusXM: 138 or 199, and on the SiriusXM App, Mountaineer Sports Network by Learfield

Radio Announcers: Kevin Eschenfelder (Play-by-Play), Ted Pardee (Analyst), Jeremy Branham (Sideline), Matt Thomas (Pregame)

Last Season: Houston went 4-8 for the second straight year, but slightly improved in Big 12 play with a 3-6 record compared to 2-7 in 2023. UH finished 12th out of 16 teams in head coach Willie Fritz’s first season with the Cougars and did not qualify for a bowl game. West Virginia had a 6-7 record, but had a winning 5-4 mark in Big 12 play. WVU finished ninth out of 16 teams. The Mountaineers lost in the Frisco Bowl to no. 24 Memphis 42-37. 

Series History: Houston has won the only matchup between these two teams, with their first meeting ever coming in 2023. The Cougars won 41-39 for their first Big 12 victory ever in crazy fashion on a 49-yard Hail Mary pass from quarterback Donovan Smith to wide receiver Stephon Johnson. West Virginia ended up going 9-4 that season and won a bowl game.

Meet the Coaches

Willie Fritz, Houston: Fritz, 65, enters his second season at Houston, where he has an 11-9 record so far. Overall, this is Fritz’s 33rd season coaching, and he has a total 258-130-1 record. Fritz was named the 16th head coach in UH football history in December 2023 after eight seasons at Tulane.

Fritz was named to the Bear Bryant Award Watch List for the third time in four seasons. Fritz won the award in 2023. Fritz ranks fourth nationally among active FBS head coaches with 219 victories.

The Shawnee Mission, Kan., native owns eight career 10-plus win seasons and seven conference championships, including the 2022 American Athletic Conference title. In 2022, Fritz led the Green Wave to complete the biggest turnaround season in FBS history, improving to 12-2, winning the Cotton Bowl, and a No. 9 final AP Poll ranking after finishing just 2-10 the previous season. 

Fritz was a four-year starter at defensive back at Pittsburgh State. He worked as a graduate assistant during his first stint with Sam Houston from 1984-85. 

Rich Rodriguez, West Virginia: Rodriguez, 62, enters his eighth season as the head coach of West Virginia; however, 2025 is the first season of his second stint. Rodriguez has compiled a 62-32 record with WVU going back to his first stint from 2001-2007, where he won five straight Big East conference championships and a Sugar Bowl in 2005.

His overall record is 192-135-2. Rodriguez has 192 career victories, ranking No. 3 among active Power Four coaches with Fritz coming in at No. 2.

Rodriguez ranks No. 9 among active coaches for most career wins against AP Top-25 opponents (22), including 12 at WVU. He is a former West Virginia alum from 1986, and he served as a student assistant in 1985. Rodriguez was most recently the head coach at Jacksonville State, where he won Conference USA. 

What to Know about West Virginia

The Mountaineers have struggled this season with a 2-6 record and have not won a Big 12 game yet. Houston is expected to win this game against one of the worst teams in the conference.

After starting 2-1, WVU has lost five games in a row. Their only two wins have come against Robert Morris and Pittsburgh. The Mountaineers are coming off a 23-17 homecoming loss to TCU, where the Horned Frogs were up 20-7 at halftime. 

WVU has given up a lot of points and has been outscored 195-78. Their offense has really struggled, averaging just 17 points per game.

They are led by true freshman quarterback Scotty Fox Jr. who had an impressive performance last week with 300 yards and two touchdowns. Fox Jr. looks to lead this no-huddle, spread offense against a tough Houston defense.

The Mountaineers are No. 11 nationally in red zone offense and No. 6 in the Big 12 in rushing offense. WVU also has redshirt sophomore Cam Vaughn leading their wide receiver room as a preseason All-Big 12 third-team selection.