UH football: Cougars tabbed for top-3 finish in Big 12 preseason poll 3%
By Joseph Duarte5% Staff Writer9%
7/13/2026, 12:01:00 PM
Keywords: Houston Cougars, Big 12, Byu, University Of Houston, Texas Tech, Tulsa World, Red Raiders, Arizona State, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Baylor, Tcu
BS Summary: This article contains 7 faulty reasoning types, including Optimism Bias, Negativity Bias, and Recency Bias, with Halo Effect as the most egregious example at 11.8% saturation with 70 hits. Analysis detected 258 faulty-reasoning hits from 593 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 14.8% and a BS Rank of 3% (20,623 of 21,176 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 97.40% of the article peer group.
Sports // College // Houston Cougars
Houston Cougars tabbed for top-3 finish in preseason Big 12 football media poll
By Joseph Duarte , Staff Writer July 13, 2026
Fresh off a 10-win season, UH is picked to finish tied for third in the 16-team Big 12.
Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle
The University of Houston was picked to finish in a tie for third in a Big 12 preseason media football poll released Monday.
The Cougars received 207 points to tie Arizona in the poll conducted by the Tulsa World that includes reporters that cover each of the league's 16 teams.
Defending champion Texas Tech was picked to repeat, receiving 14 first-place votes and 254 points.
BYU, which lost to the Red Raiders in last year's championship game, received the other two first-place votes (239 points).
Article continues below this ad
Utah was picked to finish fifth, followed by TCU, Arizona State, Kansas State, Oklahoma State and Baylor.
This is the highest UH has been picked in the preseason since joining the Big 12 in 2023.
The Big 12 stopped conducting a preseason poll prior to the 2025 season.
Want more Houston Chronicle?
Make us a Preferred Source on Google to see more of us when you search.
Add Preferred Source
The Cougars are coming off a 10-3 season in coach Willie Fritz's second year .
UH/Big 12 Beat Writer
Joseph Duarte covers University of Houston athletics and the Big 12 Conference for the Houston Chronicle.
He can be reached at joseph.duarte@houstonchronicle.com .
A University of Texas at Austin graduate, Joseph joined the Houston Chronicle as part of an internship through the Sports Journalism Institute in 1995 and never left.
He previously wrote about the Houston Astros from 1998-2002, Houston Texans from 2002-05 and the Texas Longhorns from 2005-09.
Joseph's work has been recognized nationally by the Associated Press Sports Editors and in 2022 he was named the Celeste Williams Star Sportswriter of the Year by the Texas Association of Managing Editors.
Grocery recalls affecting Walmart, Target and Kroger
CNBC ranked the worst states in which to live.
Texas did not fare well.
Blue Bell launches new limited-time flavor for National Ice Cream Month
FDA recall targets 2.5 million steroid eye drop bottles
Why has Gov.
Abbott gone quiet on Houston ICE shooting?
UH tabbed for top-3 finish in preseason Big 12 football media poll
This is the highest the Cougars has been picked before a season since joining the Big 12 in 2023.
How Yordan Alvarez’s elite approach is fueling Astros slugger's MVP-caliber year
Yordan Alvarez is putting together the kind of season few Astros hitters have had, pushing him to MVP front-runner status and leaving his teammates in awe.
Sports on TV/radio for July 13
Where to watch and/or listen to today's sporting events that will be televised or broadcast on the radio.
Dash battle back to get road draw against Denver
Linda Ullmark and Kat Rader scored for the Dash as Houston salvaged a draw in Denver.
Astros' loss to Rangers underscores need to address rotation issues in 2nd half
The Astros' inability to get length from their starters lately has put a disproportionate workload on the bullpen and shows the need to address the rotation after the All-Star break.
Rockets' 2025-26 season review: Key questions (and answers)
What's next for UH basketball: Kelvin Sampson's roster makeover and future
The Texans' big question: Is C.J.
Stroud worth a big-dollar contract extension?
Why doesn't Houston have an NHL team?
It's complicated.
Speakers
Loading…
Loading…
Loading…
Loading…
Analysis
Hover over highlighted words in the article to view the associated bias or fallacy analysis.