Last week, the Cougars' schedule for 2023 - their inaugural season in the Big 12 - was released:
Sat Sep 02 UT-San Antonio
Sat Sep 09 at Rice
Sat Sep 16 TCU
Sat Sep 23 Sam Houston State
Sat Sep 30 at Texas Tech
Sat Oct 07 (off)
Thu Oct 12 West Virginia
Sat Oct 21 Texas
Sat Oct 28 at Kansas State
Sat Nov 04 at Baylor
Sat Nov 11 Cincinnati
Sat Nov 18 Oklahoma State
Sat Nov 25 at Central Florida
On one hand, this is a schedule that will definitely sell some tickets. That October 21st date against the Texas Longhorns will doubtlessly be the biggest game in TDECU Stadium history, but games against CFP runner-up TCU and Oklahoma State will also be big draws. ESPN chose Dana Hologrsen's showdown against his former employer, West Virginia, for an interesting Thursday night game. Even the out-of-conference games, against a UTSA team that took the Cougars to the wire last year and a Sam Houston State program transitioning to FBS, should be well-attended. UH faithful who always wanted a schedule full of regional rivals and marquee programs got their wish in spades this year.
On the other hand, this schedule is such a big upgrade from UH's previous slates that I honestly don't see more than four wins this fall. Every opponent on this schedule, in fact, has the ability to beat a Houston team that underachieved last fall, will be starting a new quarterback this fall, and is still coached by the underwhelming Dana Holgorsen. The second half of the schedule - starting with the Longhorns at home and followed by back-to-back roadies against KSU and Baylor - is going to be especially brutal.
That said, there are some aspects of this schedule that will benefit the Cougars. Namely, the relative lack of travel. Houston plays eight games in the City of Houston and only leaves the State of Texas twice, for trips to Kansas and Florida. There are two pairs of back-to-back home games. The Thursday night game against the Mountaineers gives the Cougars an extra couple of days to prepare for Texas. The Coogs miss having to play a Kansas team that embarrassed them last year and don't have to face Oklahoma or BYU.
The bottom line: it's fantastic that, after wandering in the wilderness that is the Group of Five for the last 27 seasons, the University of Houston's football program once again has a seat at the table with the big boys. For Cougar fans such as myself, this has been a long time coming and I am certainly going to enjoy it, win or lose.
But with joining the big boys comes growing pains. The Cougars better be prepared to experience some this fall.
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