I tried to start this piece in 4 or 5 different ways. Each led away from the central premise, so here it is: expectations are out of control all over college football, and that includes the UH fan base. The narrative is that the Cougar offense is pretty good, the kicking game is much improved, but apparently, the defense sucks.
But is that the truth? Or are expectations not aligned with reality?
Going into last week, Cincinnati was No. 7 nationally in rushing offense at 229.4 yards per game (they led the Big 12 at 5.9 ypc). Against UH, they ran for 159 yards, averaging 3.9 ypc. The Bearcats scored 24 against UH, less than what they scored the week before against Utah (25) and the week before that against Texas Tech (37).
Utah is the No. 2 team in the country. Ten days ago, Houston held them to 21 points, their fewest points in any game since September 20, 2025, a span of 19 games.
The week before, the UH defense held Oklahoma State to 32 points. In their five other Big 12 games, the Cowboys have averaged 51 points.
In September, the Cougar defense held Texas Tech to 28 in Lubbock, their fewest points at home since November 9, 2024. This season, Tech averages 46.7 ppg in Big 12 games at home and has averaged 46.4 ppg at home in the last two seasons.
In fact, UH has held every Big 12 team to below their season average in points.
| Team | Points vs UH | PPG | PPG in Big 12 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma State | 32 | 43.9 | 47.8 |
| Utah | 21 | 37.7 | 32.8 |
| Texas Tech | 28 | 37.6 | 36.8 |
| Cincinnati | 24 | 33.0 | 27.7 |
| Kansas State | 16 | 31.3 | 24.3 |
| UCF | 17 | 30.1 | 24.5 |
And UH has held every Big 12 team below their total offense season averages.
| Team | Total O vs UH | TO/Season | TO/Big 12 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma State | 499 | 533.6 | 536.3 |
| Utah | 430 | 468.1 | 443.2 |
| Texas Tech | 425 | 449.3 | 458.5 |
| Cincinnati | 376 | 446.9 | 424.5 |
| Kansas State | 299 | 415.6 | 377.7 |
| UCF | 334 | 359.0 | 345.8 |
Hosting two live weekly podcasts with fan interaction, and running two forums with thousands of users, I hear from a lot of Cougar fans. A vocal group thinks this defense is bad. Quite a few have said defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong should be fired. At least one compared the defense’s performance to the 2009 UTEP game (UH was No. 12 and UTEP scored 56 and ran for 300 yards).
Others keep bringing up Armstrong’s H-E-B joke from the preseason, telling him to get his application ready. Of course, they miss what he actually said: Armstrong said “If we give up 40 points a game this year, I’m going to be working at H-E-B.” His defense has given up 30+ once this year and has given up 40+ once in 22 games at UH.
To be fair, UH’s defensive stats don’t jump off the page. They’re 23rd in rush defense, but that’s the only category where they are in the top 35. This defense excels at complementary football, which Willie Fritz values a lot. While definitions can vary, I think UH sees complementary football as understanding how each phase of the game affects the others, then designing and implementing strategies that complement one another.
On defense, complementary play can mean forcing a punt, which the Coogs did three out of eight drives last week. By causing a turnover, which UH did on UC’s final drive. Or by forcing a team to grind out drives, eat the clock, and shorten the game, as UH wants to do. UH didn’t want the Bearcats to score, but when they did, it was a chore: Cincinnati’s scoring drives averaged over six minutes each.
Last year, UH was 7-2 at this point. They were 4-2 in the Big 12. They allowed 194 points, or 21.6 ppg. This year, UH is 7-2. They are 4-2 in the Big 12. They’ve allowed 192 points, or 21.3 ppg.
Against Big 12 teams last year, they’d given up 26.8 per game through six conference games. This year, it’s 23.0. They’d created 9 takeaways in nine games a year ago; 13 this year.
So, is the defense bad? Or is it the expectations?
