Houston’s off week after the eighth game seemed like a good time to assess the team’s roster and success so far. For an outside perspective, I reached out to Max Chadwick, college football analyst and co-host of the Preferred Walk-On podcast as well as working with Pro Football Network (PFN).
Offense
We agreed that the offensive line has not only been the best unit on the team, but the most improved. In 2025, the starting group struggled at times and prevented the offense from showing up in some big games.
“That offensive line last year held them back from being true Big 12 contenders,” Chadwick said of the 2025 group.
The additions of Anthony Boswell, Shadre Hurst, and Drew Terrill have transformed a struggling group into one of the top offensive lines in the country along with Alvin Ebosele and McKenzie Agnello.
Chadwick is very high on the additions of Hurst and Boswell:
PFN gives a grade for offensive lines as a unit, and Houston has improved from 76.1 in 2025 to 93.5 in 2026. Per that metric, Houston is the top offensive line in the Power 4 and the second best offensive line in the country. That improvement is evident in several other efficiency metrics as well.
Expected points added, or EPA, is a efficiency metric for how much a single player improves an team’s chances of scoring. This season Houston’s EPA/play ranks 10th in the country at 0.25, an increase from 0.04 last season which ranked 69th. The improved offensive line play has been key to the overall success of the offense.
Despite the tough loss to Utah, the offensive line has also allowed Conner Weigman to operate at his best this season. PFN gives Weigman an impact grade of 87.5, which ranks 12th in the country. The former Bridgeland Bear is on pace for career highs in nearly all major passing statistics.
Defense
The defensive side of the ball had been the strength in Coach Willie Fritz’s first two years in Houston. But of the two sides of the ball, the defense has been behind the offense this season. Departures in the front seven, especially Eddie Walls and Jalen Garner, have left a hole regarding pressuring the quarterback.
Javion White has been the defense’s most consistent pass rusher, with an 18.4 percent win rate and 11 pressures. Latreveon McCutchin leads the team with 19 pressures and a 7.7 percent win rate.
The secondary has done well to make plays on the ball. They’re 2nd in the country with 25 pass breakups, and 4th in forced incompletion rate at 17.6. But they could help the unit as a whole by improving their missed-tackle rate, which is 11.7% and ranks 128th per PFN.
According to PFN, Houston has a -0.24 EPA/play against the pass, which ranks 121st. But a 0.18 EPA/play against the run, ranking 21st in the country. The eye test and stats tell that story. But seeing such a discrepancy is still shocking.
At this point in the season, teams are what they are. Houston appears to be getting back two starters on defense this week: Da’Marion Thomas and Jaden Yates, which should help. If they can generate timely pressure and make plays when they present themselves, there’s no reason this team can’t win 10 games again.
The Utah loss was deflating because of what a win could have meant for the program. Technically, a chance at the conference championship game isn’t dead either. A lot has to happen to get there. But it’s just about handling things week by week and controlling what you can control.
