Saturday night is exactly what the Houston Cougars faithful envisioned when the program first accepted an invitation to the Big 12 in the fall of 2021. They dreamt of sold-out crowds cheering on the Cougars against the nation’s premier ranked opponents. They eagerly anticipated the restoration of old in-state Southwest Conference rivalries with the Texas Techs, Baylors, and TCUs of the world. And most of all, they expected wins to pile up just like they did during Houston’s later years in Conference USA
and full tenure in the American Conference.
What they envisioned was Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. Houston will host an in-state rival Texas Tech in a nationally televised Saturday night primetime Big 12 clash on ESPN. It’s the only undefeated vs. undefeated matchup in Week 6 of the college football season, and the Red Raiders enter with a lofty No. 11 beside their name.
All the stars align for an unforgettable atmosphere at TDECU Stadium, and Houston produced its first official sellout of the Willie Fritz era. The crowd is also slated for its second annual “Blue Out,” where Houston dons a shade of light blue jerseys known as “Houston Blue” — a reference to the color of the city’s flag. The university is even altering its normal traffic flow as a potential record crowd looms at the third-year Big 12 institution. The current record attendance in the venue’s 12-year history stands at 42,822 in a 2016 showdown vs. No. 3 Louisville.
There have been six TDECU Stadiums over the 40,000 threshold in history, and with a likely attendance over 40,000 in the works Saturday, let’s look back at the six previous instances of raucous Houston crowds:
42,822 — Nov. 17, 2016 vs. Louisville
Houston 36, #3 Louisville 10
Houston started the 2016 season 5-0 and climbed as high as No. 6, but even after falling out of the rankings, the Cougar crowd remained strong. Heisman Trophy favorite, eventual winner, and future multi-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson stormed into town on a Thursday night hoping to lead his No. 3 Louisville to its first College Football Playoff appearance. However, Houston didn’t just deny the Cardinals — the Cougars destroyed them. The tone was set in seconds when Louisville fumbled the opening kickoff and Houston recovered inside the 15. Then, the defense flat-out dominated Jackson in the Cardinals, forcing a multitude of punts and fumbles en route to a 31-0 halftime result. Houston lived in the backfield and sacked the Heisman quarterback 11 times, led by 4.5 combined sacks from Steven Taylor and true freshman standout Ed Oliver, securing a memorable 36-10 victory in front of a record crowd.
42,812 — Oct. 21, 2023 vs. Texas
#8 Texas 31, Houston 24
Houston’s inaugural season in the Big 12 welcomed one top 10 opponent. The Cougars faced Texas for the first time since 2002 in the programs’ one year sharing the Big 12 together. Both teams were coming off emotional performances with Houston outlasting West Virginia on a Hail Mary nine days prior and Texas suffering its lone regular season defeat in its previous game vs. Oklahoma. The heavily-favored and CFP-bound Longhorns jumped to a 21-0 lead, but Houston suddenly ignited its offense to energize the crowd. Donovan Smith fired three-straight touchdowns in a 378-yard performance to knot the game at 21 apiece. Texas broke a tie with a go-ahead touchdown with 5:37 remaining and Houston was on the doorstep of matching. However, a controversial decision by the officials to not reward the Cougars a first down caused a turnover on downs in the waning seconds, leaving the second-largest TDECU Stadium crowd dejected.
42,159 — Nov. 14, 2015 vs. Memphis
#16 Houston 35, #25 Memphis 34
There have been three ranked vs. ranked matchups in TDECU Stadium, and they all occurred across three-consecutive home games late in the 2015 campaign. The first one was the Nov. 14, 2015 showdown against Memphis. The 9-0 Cougars and 8-1 Tigers were contenders for a New Year’s Six bid in a loaded American Conference. Memphis established a quick 20-0 lead over the Cougars, but in the early third quarter, Houston sliced the deficit to 20-14. The Tigers responded with two more touchdowns to open the gap to 34-14 with 14:51 remaining in the fourth quarter, and then Houston came alive. The Cougars rallied with a 21-0 run behind the efforts of backup quarterback Kyle Postma, who ran in the go-ahead touchdown with 1:27 remaining. Future Super Bowl champion kicker Jake Elliott then missed a 48-yarder for the win in the final seconds, keeping the Cougars unblemished.
40,873 — Sept. 29, 2016 vs. UConn
#6 Houston 42, UConn 14
Since 1991, the highest ranking Houston has attained is No. 6. The Cougars earned that ranking after knocking off eventual Big 12 champion Oklahoma 33-23 in the opener and then decimating FCS Lamar, Cincinnati, and Texas State. To recognize the program’s lofty ranking, nearly 41,000 funneled into TDECU Stadium to watch the red-hot Cougars battle UConn. Of course, this game had significant meaning to Houston because in 2015, UConn was the only obstacle that stood between the 13-1 Cougars and perfection. Tom Herman’s team won the revenge game seamlessly behind Greg Ward Jr.’s 389 passing yards, 65 rushing yards, and five total touchdowns — maintaining a No. 6 ranking for another week.
40,755 — Aug. 29, 2014 vs. UTSA
UTSA 27, Houston 7
This is the only matchup that featured two unranked teams on this list, but Aug. 29, 2014 will always be significant in TDECU Stadium history. The venue formally opened its doors that Friday night, welcoming in third-year FBS program UTSA in a brand new building. The crowd showed up but Houston didn’t. Entering as 10.5-point road underdogs, the Roadrunners ran away with a stunning 20-point victory. John O’Korn threw four interceptions to the UTSA defense as Houston needed a touchdown with 64 seconds remaining to avoid a complete shutout.
40,562 — Nov. 27, 2015 vs. Navy
#21 Houston 52, #16 Navy 31
Houston was fresh off its first loss of the 2015 season in a Black Friday matchup vs. Navy. The Cougars were 10-1 at No. 21 in the country and the Midshipmen were 9-1 at No. 15. This high-stakes collision decided which team would win the American Conference West Division — one essential qualifier for a New Year’s Six bowl bid. It was a tremendous quarterback showcase between Greg Ward Jr. and Keenan Reynolds who both eclipsed 300 passing yards and 80 rushing yards in the shootout. But Ward and the Cougars had that extra offensive push, and Houston racked up 555 yards and never trailed against the ranked visitor. The victory punched a ticket into the American Conference Championship, which Houston hosted the following weekend — defeating Temple to ultimately securing a New Year’s Six bowl bid (and win).
