Breaking down Houston head coach Willie Fritz before Colorado matchup

James Carnes, Buffaloes WireWed, November 11, 2026 at 11:21 PM UTC

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Willie Fritz brings more than three decades of head coaching experience to Folsom Field on Friday, when his Houston Cougars face Colorado at 8:15 p.m. MT.

Hired Dec. 3, 2023, as the 16th head coach in Houston history, Fritz is in his third season with the Cougars. Houston enters Friday's matchup at 7-2 overall and 4-2 in the Big 12, following a 10-win season and Texas Bowl victory over LSU in 2025.

The Cougars won four games in his first season before improving by six wins in Year 2, finishing No. 19 in the AP Poll.

Fritz began his head coaching career at Blinn College in 1993, winning two junior college national championships over four seasons. He later spent 13 seasons at Central Missouri, where his teams went 97-47.

At Sam Houston, Fritz guided the Bearkats to consecutive FCS national championship games in 2011 and 2012. His next stop brought a Sun Belt championship at Georgia Southern in 2014, the program's first FBS season.

Fritz took over Tulane in 2016 and eventually delivered one of the program's best seasons. The Green Wave went 12-2 in 2022, winning the American Athletic Conference championship before beating Southern California 46-45 in the Cotton Bowl. Tulane returned to the conference championship game the following season.

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This week, Fritz praised Colorado's talent and warned that Houston would have to play well to avoid a road loss.

"Everybody in this league's pretty good," Fritz said. "And if you don't hook it up and play well, you're gonna get your butt beat."

Houston beat Colorado 36-20 last September, and Friday will be the Cougars' first football game in Boulder.

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This article originally appeared on Buffaloes Wire: Breaking down Houston head coach Willie Fritz before Colorado matchup

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