{"id":138391,"date":"2026-07-08T18:30:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T22:30:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/if-youre-looking-for-a-big-12-winner-not-named-texas-tech-or-byu-consider-the-houston-cougars-138391"},"modified":"2026-07-08T18:30:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T22:30:07","slug":"if-youre-looking-for-a-big-12-winner-not-named-texas-tech-or-byu-consider-the-houston-cougars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/if-youre-looking-for-a-big-12-winner-not-named-texas-tech-or-byu-consider-the-houston-cougars-138391","title":{"rendered":"If you’re looking for a Big 12 winner not named Texas Tech or BYU, consider the Houston Cougars"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

With Big 12 Media Days wrapping up on Wednesday afternoon, there is no doubt who the heavy favorites of the conference are.<\/p>\n

Most media members are in agreement that this year’s version of the Big 12 appears to be a two horse race, or rather, a Red Raider<\/a> and Cougar race.<\/p>\n

That’s right, the two darlings of the conference in 2026 are none other than Texas Tech<\/a> and BYU.<\/p>\n

COLLEGE QUARTERBACK WHO BET ON HIS OWN TEAM ALLOWED TO PLAY IN LANDMARK RULING, NCAA FILES APPEAL IN COURT<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The Red Raiders had their fair share of controversy throughout the offseason thanks to the Brendan Sorsby gambling saga<\/a>, but they still have far and away the most talented roster in the Big 12 and will be expected to take the title by brute force.<\/p>\n

Joining them in the favorites circle is BYU, a team that was a stone’s throw away from the College Football Playoff and played for the Big 12 title last year, ultimately falling to the aforementioned Red Raiders of Texas Tech.<\/p>\n

Some of you might not be too keen on picking heavy favorites to win a conference, so what if I told you there was another team a little further down the list that might have a chance to unseat the incumbent champs?<\/p>\n

I am speaking of none other than the Houston Cougars<\/a>, a program on the rise that might be flying criminally under the radar in 2026.<\/p>\n

The Cougs are entering year three of the Willie Fritz era, and that’s usually when many coaches reach their stride (Fritz included).<\/p>\n

Fritz is coming off of a ten-win season in 2025 and had the Cougars ranked in the final AP Poll for the first time since the end of the 2021 season.<\/p>\n

JOEY MCGUIRE CALLS STEVE SARKISIAN’S BLUFF, DARES TEXAS TO PLAY TEXAS TECH IN WEEK 1<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Houston also has both of its coordinators returning in 2026, including young and up-and-coming defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong, who had the unit rolling last season and finished with a defense ranked in the top-50 in scoring (22.9 ppg) and top-40 in average yards per rush allowed (3.7 ypa).<\/p>\n

The schedule is manageable, even by Big 12 standards, as the Cougars avoid playing BYU, Arizona, and Arizona State this coming season, and have a very forgiving back stretch.<\/p>\n

Most importantly, Houston gets Texas Tech in September to open conference play, meaning there’s a chance they could catch the Red Raiders early before their team gels or they have a chance to figure out their quarterback situation.<\/p>\n

If the Cougars can spring the upset, they would be in the driver’s seat for the rest of the season in conference play.<\/p>\n

Speaking of gelling, Houston ranks second in the Big 12 in returning production, and rank top-ten in the country in returning offensive production, so this should be a well-oiled machine from the jump.<\/p>\n

While Houston\u2019s transfer portal returns on the whole aren\u2019t anything to write home about, I loved the pick up of running back Makhi Hughes from Oregon<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t yield a ton of production last season, but his 2024 season at Tulane was incredibly impressive, putting up over 1,400 yards on the ground and finding the end zone a total of 17 times.<\/p>\n

Overcoming the conference’s Goliath in Lubbock won’t be easy, but I really like the makeup of this team.<\/p>\n

The returning coordinators, veteran leadership, and forgiving schedule could be the perfect storm needed to send Houston to the big dance in December.<\/p>\n

Buy stock in the Cougars now, because the price will only go up from here.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source – https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/outkick-sports\/big-12-winner-not-named-texas-tech-byu-consider-houston-cougars <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With Big 12 Media Days wrapping up on Wednesday afternoon, there is no doubt who the heavy favorites of the conference are. Most media members […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_2902945987_2902945987":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[16563],"tags":[],"stock_ticker":[],"class_list":["post-138391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-market-news","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIf you're looking for a Big 12 winner not named Texas Tech or BYU, consider the Houston Cougars - Wall Street PR<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/if-youre-looking-for-a-big-12-winner-not-named-texas-tech-or-byu-consider-the-houston-cougars-138391\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"If you're looking for a Big 12 winner not named Texas Tech or BYU, consider the Houston Cougars - Wall Street PR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With Big 12 Media Days wrapping up on Wednesday afternoon, there is no doubt who the heavy favorites of the conference are. Most media members […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/if-youre-looking-for-a-big-12-winner-not-named-texas-tech-or-byu-consider-the-houston-cougars-138391\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Wall Street PR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WallStreetPR\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-08T22:30:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/businessman-showing-business-evolution1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"715\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"423\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/if-youre-looking-for-a-big-12-winner-not-named-texas-tech-or-byu-consider-the-houston-cougars-138391#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/if-youre-looking-for-a-big-12-winner-not-named-texas-tech-or-byu-consider-the-houston-cougars-138391\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/person\/6e00efa2abc413bdc0bca51a90c54d36\"},\"headline\":\"If you’re looking for a Big 12 winner not named Texas Tech or BYU, consider the Houston Cougars\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-08T22:30:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/if-youre-looking-for-a-big-12-winner-not-named-texas-tech-or-byu-consider-the-houston-cougars-138391\"},\"wordCount\":609,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Market News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/if-youre-looking-for-a-big-12-winner-not-named-texas-tech-or-byu-consider-the-houston-cougars-138391\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/if-youre-looking-for-a-big-12-winner-not-named-texas-tech-or-byu-consider-the-houston-cougars-138391\",\"name\":\"If you're looking for a Big 12 winner not named Texas Tech or BYU, consider the Houston Cougars - Wall Street PR\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-08T22:30:07+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/if-youre-looking-for-a-big-12-winner-not-named-texas-tech-or-byu-consider-the-houston-cougars-138391#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/if-youre-looking-for-a-big-12-winner-not-named-texas-tech-or-byu-consider-the-houston-cougars-138391\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/if-youre-looking-for-a-big-12-winner-not-named-texas-tech-or-byu-consider-the-houston-cougars-138391#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"If you’re looking for a Big 12 winner not named Texas Tech or BYU, consider the Houston Cougars\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/\",\"name\":\"Wall Street PR\",\"description\":\"Latest News From WallStreet\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Wall Street PR\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/brand-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/brand-logo.png\",\"width\":537,\"height\":70,\"caption\":\"Wall Street PR\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WallStreetPR\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/WallstreetPRs\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/person\/6e00efa2abc413bdc0bca51a90c54d36\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/360_F_336393115_5gCUfwn76x3MJaCJMYDKLoRebkC8QyrL-300x300.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/360_F_336393115_5gCUfwn76x3MJaCJMYDKLoRebkC8QyrL-300x300.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/360_F_336393115_5gCUfwn76x3MJaCJMYDKLoRebkC8QyrL-300x300.jpg\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/author\/admin\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"If you're looking for a Big 12 winner not named Texas Tech or BYU, consider the Houston Cougars - Wall Street PR","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/if-youre-looking-for-a-big-12-winner-not-named-texas-tech-or-byu-consider-the-houston-cougars-138391","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"If you're looking for a Big 12 winner not named Texas Tech or BYU, consider the Houston Cougars - Wall Street PR","og_description":"With Big 12 Media Days wrapping up on Wednesday afternoon, there is no doubt who the heavy favorites of the conference are. Most media members […]","og_url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/if-youre-looking-for-a-big-12-winner-not-named-texas-tech-or-byu-consider-the-houston-cougars-138391","og_site_name":"Wall Street PR","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WallStreetPR\/","article_published_time":"2026-07-08T22:30:07+00:00","og_image":[{"width":715,"height":423,"url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/businessman-showing-business-evolution1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/if-youre-looking-for-a-big-12-winner-not-named-texas-tech-or-byu-consider-the-houston-cougars-138391#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/if-youre-looking-for-a-big-12-winner-not-named-texas-tech-or-byu-consider-the-houston-cougars-138391"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/person\/6e00efa2abc413bdc0bca51a90c54d36"},"headline":"If you’re looking for a Big 12 winner not named Texas Tech or BYU, consider the Houston Cougars","datePublished":"2026-07-08T22:30:07+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/if-youre-looking-for-a-big-12-winner-not-named-texas-tech-or-byu-consider-the-houston-cougars-138391"},"wordCount":609,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Market News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/if-youre-looking-for-a-big-12-winner-not-named-texas-tech-or-byu-consider-the-houston-cougars-138391","url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/if-youre-looking-for-a-big-12-winner-not-named-texas-tech-or-byu-consider-the-houston-cougars-138391","name":"If you're looking for a Big 12 winner not named Texas Tech or BYU, consider the Houston Cougars - Wall Street PR","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-07-08T22:30:07+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/if-youre-looking-for-a-big-12-winner-not-named-texas-tech-or-byu-consider-the-houston-cougars-138391#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/if-youre-looking-for-a-big-12-winner-not-named-texas-tech-or-byu-consider-the-houston-cougars-138391"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/if-youre-looking-for-a-big-12-winner-not-named-texas-tech-or-byu-consider-the-houston-cougars-138391#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"If you’re looking for a Big 12 winner not named Texas Tech or BYU, consider the Houston Cougars"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/","name":"Wall Street PR","description":"Latest News From WallStreet","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#organization","name":"Wall Street PR","url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/brand-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/brand-logo.png","width":537,"height":70,"caption":"Wall Street PR"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WallStreetPR\/","https:\/\/x.com\/WallstreetPRs"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/person\/6e00efa2abc413bdc0bca51a90c54d36","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/360_F_336393115_5gCUfwn76x3MJaCJMYDKLoRebkC8QyrL-300x300.jpg","url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/360_F_336393115_5gCUfwn76x3MJaCJMYDKLoRebkC8QyrL-300x300.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/360_F_336393115_5gCUfwn76x3MJaCJMYDKLoRebkC8QyrL-300x300.jpg","caption":"admin"},"url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/author\/admin"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138391"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138391\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138391"},{"taxonomy":"stock_ticker","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stock_ticker?post=138391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}