UNLV looking to spoil Willie Fritz's Houston debut

The Willie Fritz era kicks off Saturday night when Houston hosts Mountain West contender UNLV.

Fritz, 64, takes over for Dana Holgorsen, who was fired after going 4-8 in Houston's first season in the Big 12. Fritz was a two-time American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year (2022, 2023) at Tulane after leading the Green Wave to back-to-back AAC titles and a wild 46-45 victory over Caleb Williams-led Southern California in the 2023 Cotton Bowl.

"I'm very excited," Fritz said. "I tell our guys, most of the players and most of the coaches probably work 350 days of the year for these 12 opportunities, and one of them is going to be Saturday. You want to take advantage of every single minute of preparation."

Fritz inherits just six returning starters, including quarterback Donovan Smith. Fritz used the transfer portal to help repair a defense that ranked 112th nationally (allowing 423.9 yards per game) and brought defensive end Keith Cooper Jr. and safety Kentrell Webb along with him from Tulane.

Smith, who completed 64.5 percent of his passes for 2,801 yards and 22 touchdowns last season, had shoulder surgery in the offseason but practiced with no limitations in fall camp.

"He's 100 percent," Fritz said. "We tried to put him on a pitch-count. He's a competitor. He didn't want us to do that. We treated him like anybody else. His surgery was very successful and he's doing everything we're asking of him and more."

UNLV was picked to finish second in the Mountain West preseason poll behind Boise State after a 9-5 season that ended with three straight defeats, including 49-36 to Kansas in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl.

Fourteen starters return, including preseason All-American receiver Ricky White III, but quarterback Jayden Maiava, the Mountain West Freshman of the Year, transferred to USC.

Rebels coach Barry Odom was coy about his new starting QB, listing Hajj-Malik Williams, a sixth-year transfer from Campbell, Holy Cross transfer Matthew Sluka and returning senior Cameron Friel as co-starters on this week's depth chart.

"We've talked very openly about it with all three of those guys, what the rotation will look like," Odom, the reigning Mountain West Coach of the Year, said. "I've said a number of times in here and to our team: 'Everyone on the roster, if you're in a position to play winning ball, you're a snap away from being quote, unquote, starter.' So they all know where we're at going in."

This is the fourth meeting between the schools with Houston holding a 3-0 series edge.

--Field Level Media