Cougars Open 2025 FB Season with New Facility, plus Hoops Update
Houston vs. SFA Game Preview
BY GARRETT ROSS | 365 SPORTS
Game week is here for the Coogs as they get set to host FCS No. 23 Stephen F. Austin on Thursday at TDECU Stadium for a 7:00 p.m. kickoff. It marks the fourth meeting all-time between the Coogs and Lumberjacks, with SFA leading the series 2-1.
Houston’s defense will be tasked with slowing down an SFA offense that ranked 13th nationally in total offense last season and returns 10 starters, headlined by quarterback Sam Vidlak, who threw 27 touchdowns while guiding the team to a 7-5 record in 2024.
Connor Weigman and the Houston offense will face an SFA defense that ranked inside the top-10 in scoring defense last season. The Jacks are vulnerable in the secondary and desperately need to see their linebackers grow up fast.
The Consensus Line from Las Vegas has Houston -22.5, o/u: 55.5 and predicted to win 41-16 behind a confidence rating of 3.5 out of 5.
New Digs
Ahead of the season-opener, Houston Athletics gave the media a tour of the $130 million Memorial Hermann Football Operations facility last week.
The 105,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility now puts the Coogs on par with their fellow Big 12 counterparts. Director of Athletics Eddie Nuñez spoke on the importance of having a modern facility to allow your athletes to compete at the highest level consistently.
“For a long time, the arms race was what you fought for, and I think right now we want to continue to be not just relevant but compete at the highest level, so this was a necessity,” Nuñez said. “This was a need because the facility that our student athletes have been practicing in for football for the last 35 years where they used to be there was limited space, limited location, made it hard to get from point a to point b from practices to the locker room so for us to have the efficiency to be able to be here, this was a need. We will continue to improve, but the arms race for us is making sure we do what we need to do and invest what we need to invest to get the best out of them.”
Fans will also have an opportunity to benefit from the project, as premium seating will be added featuring 14 Suites, 400 new club seats and the 300 capacity Queenie O’Rourke Party Patio.
Hoops Roster and Exhibition
Kelvin Sampson and the Coogs Men’s Basketball Team revealed their roster for the upcoming 2025-2026 season over the weekend.
Houston also announced that they will face Mississippi State in an exhibition game at the Fort Bend Epicenter in Rosenberg, Texas, on Sunday, Oct. 26. This game will be part of a doubleheader that features Arizona State versus Texas A&M.