Oklahoma should take Houston seriously despite Cougars' blowout opening home loss

Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables has too much respect for Houston head coach Willie Fritz to take this weekend's matchup with the 0-1 Cougars lightly.

The then-16th-ranked Sooners dismantled a much inferior Temple team 51-3 in their Week 1 home and season opener. Meanwhile, Houston dropped a 27-7 decision at home to UNLV in Fritz's coaching debut with the Cougars.

Based on the Week 1 results for both teams, it would be easy to deduce that the game on Saturday night at Gaylord Family--Oklahoma Memorial Stadium between OU and Houston bodes as another classic mismatch. I can assure you, though, that thinking is the farthest thing from Venables' mind this week.

Venables knows that Fritz's teams are much better than than what the score might have indicated in the game a week ago. "It's an older team, but it is a new team," Venables said about this week's opponent in his weekly press conference. "Over half their team is brand new," including their head coach.

Fritz spent the previous eight seasons at Tulane (which happens to be the Sooners' next opponent after Houston). Fritz has been to Oklahoma twice as coach of Tulane, losing 56-14 in 2017, and almost pulled off an upset in 2021 before losing 40-35 to the Sooners. Venables pointed out that Fritz's Tulane teams were 10-0 in true road games the past two seasons. "He knows how to get his teams ready to play," the OU head coach said.

Saturday's game is part of a two-game, home-and-home series with Houston. The Cougars became members of the Big 12 last season but did not play Oklahoma. The second game in the home-and-home series will be played in 2028 in Houston.

The Sooners are 3-1 all-time against Houston. The one loss was in the season opener in 2016, when No. 15 Houston upset No. 3 Oklahoma and Baker Mayfield 33-23 at NRG Stadium in Houston.

Oklahoma will honor head coach Bud Wilkinson's great teams of the 1950s in the Houston game, wearing a new throwback alternate uniform. The new alternate uniform features crimson jerseys with white numerals and tri-stripes in the shoulder sleeves. The uniform also includes crimson striping on the sides of the white pants and on the top of the logo-free white helmet.

How to watch OU vs. Houston

Saturday's game between Oklahoma and Houston will be televised on the SEC Network. The announcing crew will be Tom Hart doing play-by-play, Jordan Rodgers providing analysis and Cole Cubelic on the sidelines.

What fans need to know about the Houston Cougars

• Houston is quarterbacked by Donovan Smith, who is in his fourth collegiate season and second at Houston. He was at Texas Tech for two seasons before that and started against the Sooners in 2021 in a 52-21 Oklahoma win. He threw for 192 yards and a touchdown in that game. Last week against UNLV, Smith completed 15 of 30 for 135 yards with two interceptions.

• Houston was 108th among FBS teams last season in rushing offense, averaging 118 yards per game. With a remade offensive line, they don't appear any better this season, rushing for just 38 total yard last week against UNLV.

• DE Keith Cooper Jr., a transfer from Tulane, may be the best Houston player on defense. In the season opener with UNLV, Cooper blocked a field goal, recorded three tackles and a sack.

• Houston was as bad as the Sooners were last week, successfully converting only 2 of 15 third-down attempts.

• The Cougars were picked to finish 15th out of 16 Big 12 teams in the 2024 Big 12 Preseason Media Poll.

What to watch for from Oklahoma

• Look for the Sooners to open up the offense a little more this week, particularly in the passing game. OU put the ball in the air just 29 times, completing 15, for a total of 158 yards while seeking someone to step up other than Purdue transfer Deion Burks in the absence of several players out with injuries. Maybe that person or persons will show up in Week 2.

• Third-down efficiency was downright dreadful in the Temple game. The Sooners, who ranked seventh in the nation last season in successful third-down conversions, were just 1 of 12 against Temple.

• The Sooners' plus-6 takeaway margin last week led the nation. Only one other team had better than a plus-3 margin.

• The Oklahoma front seven on defense held Temple to just 69 rushing yards. Houston managed just 38 rushing yards against UNLV, and the Oklahoma defense is much stouter and stingier than Temple's.

• Look for true freshman Taylor Tatum to get more time in the OU backfield after collecting 69 yards on five carries and a 35-yard touchdown run against Temple.

Key matchups

• Oklahoma's passing game (158 yards vs. Temple and ranked 106th in Week 1) against the Houston pass defense that allowed just 113 yards through the air vs. UNLV and ranked 24th in the country after week 1.

• Oklahoma led the nation with six takeaways (plus-6 margin) in Week 1. Houston was minus-1 in that category. I expect more aggressive defensive play by the Sooners in Week 2.

Prediction

Oklahoma is favored in this game by 29 points. Brent Venables is leading us this week to believe the game will be closer than the experts think, I believe the Sooners have something to prove this week on the offensive side. Defense may be the strength of the Houston team, but the defensive line consists of mostly all new players, and I believe Oklahoma will be able to run on the Cougars and will also open up its passing game, which netted just 158 yards through the air. Oklahoma wins 48-17 and covers.