Houston head coach Willie Fritz speaks with the media during 2025 Big 12 Football Media Days at The Star. Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

Three Potential Bowl Landing Spots for Houston Cougars Football

Originally posted on Houston Cougars on SI
By Diego Saenz | Last updated Aug 23, 2025 8:00 AM ET

The Houston Cougars could be one of college football’s biggest surprises in 2025. With a proven leader in head coach Willie Fritz and a talented quarterback in Conner Weigman, Houston has quietly flown under the radar all offseason.

The Big 12 remains wide open and history shows this conference favors underdogs. Just last season, Arizona State began the year with the worst odds in the league, yet finished only a play away from reaching the College Football Playoff Semifinals.

Heading into 2025, Houston could emerge as this year’s version of Arizona State. With that in mind, here are a few bowl projections the Cougars could realistically be in the mix for.

Frisco Bowl

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One of the most realistic landing spots for Houston is the Frisco Bowl, set for December 23 in Frisco, Texas. The bowl’s basic requirement is simple: teams must finish with at least a .500 record. For the Cougars, that likely means a 6–6 finish, a reasonable step forward from last season’s 4–8 campaign.

The Frisco Bowl is tied to the American Athletic Conference but often brings in an at-large opponent, which opens the door for a Big 12 participant. Last year’s matchup featured Memphis against West Virginia, so another Big 12 appearance wouldn’t be out of the question. If Houston can hit bowl eligibility, the Frisco Bowl could very well be their destination.

Prediction: Houston vs. San Jose State

Texas Bowl

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Another likely landing spot for Houston is the Texas Bowl, scheduled for December 27 in their own backyard of Houston, Texas. Like the Frisco Bowl, teams must finish at least .500 to qualify. The matchup traditionally pits a Big 12 team against an SEC opponent, giving Fritz’s squad the chance to square off against a marquee program in primetime.

Given Texas A&M’s three appearances in the Texas Bowl over the past decade, a Weigman reunion with his former team feels entirely plausible. It's the kind of narrative bowl organizers would have a hard time passing up.

Prediction: Houston vs. Auburn

Pop Tarts Bowl

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Compared to the earlier projections, the Pop-Tarts Bowl would be more of a long shot for Houston. The game features the ACC’s second selection after the New Year’s Six bowls (often the ACC title game runner-up) against the Big 12’s third selection.

Last year, Iowa State claimed the Big 12 slot with a 7–2 conference record. For Houston, that would mean improving by at least four wins from last season’s 4–8 finish. Sounds complicated, but not impossible.

Fritz has a track record of engineering major year-two turnarounds, and with a strong transfer class plus Weigman’s elite upside at quarterback, the Cougs could find themselves eating the Pop Tarts mascot.

Prediction: Houston vs Georgia Tech

This article first appeared on Houston Cougars on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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