Rested and refreshed, No. 23 Houston plots to take down TCU

Houston coach Willie Fritz got exactly what he wanted from a late-season bye week, with his focus on health and wellness playing out to expectations in advance of the stretch run.

The 23rd-ranked Cougars (8-2, 5-2 Big 12) host TCU on Saturday, two weeks removed from a 30-27 road victory over UCF. The Cougars are one game back in the loss column for first place in the league standings. A win this weekend would strengthen the Cougars' hopes for a Big 12 title.

"I think it was really good for us," Fritz said of the late bye week. "We had a team meeting on Monday, and I told them our No. 1 goal was to get as healthy as we possibly can. So we were very careful with probably five or six guys who were banged up. We've been getting them through the last two to three games. Now it looks like all of those guys are really healthy."

With only two games remaining on their schedule, the Cougars used the downtime to self-scout. Houston rejoined the national rankings despite not playing last weekend, but the foremost goal remains unchanged with TCU and Baylor left to play.

"Just trying to get better every single day," Fritz said. "We talked about working on our weaknesses last week. For some guys, it might be blocking, it might be tackling. It might be footwork, it might be being assignment sound. I told our coaches that we've had a few days to work on these guys. Let's make sure we lock in on what we want to do, that way we can rep it this week."

TCU (6-4, 3-4) lost 44-13 at BYU last weekend, a second consecutive setback that dropped the Horned Frogs into a four-way tie for ninth place in the Big 12 standings.

TCU has undergone a methodical reversal of fortunes in its fourth season under Sonny Dykes. The Horned Frogs played in the 2022 CFP National Championship following a 12-0 start that season but have since dropped 17 of 38 games and have drifted back toward the pack.

"When we came here, we started 12-0, and I think that raised everybody's expectations," Dykes said. "There's been some monumental changes that have occurred since then in college football, and the game has changed a lot. And it's a lot different. And we're navigating some uncharted territory, but it doesn't change our expectations. And our expectations are to win every game.

"And we always want to, and if we don't, then we're going to do whatever it takes to get better, to give ourselves the chance to do that."

The Cougars represent a stiff challenge for TCU to get back on the winning track, especially if the contest is closely contested. Houston improved to 4-0 in one-score games this season with its victory over UCF on Nov. 7.

"They're very similar to a lot of teams in the Big 12," Dykes said of the Cougars. "There is a cluster of teams that I think are right there that have beaten each other and played some really close games.

"Houston has done a really good job of finding ways to win football games, in particular close games."

--Field Level Media