Houston Football: Preseason game-by-game predictions for 2017 season

Last year Houston football knocked off Oklahoma and Louisville but lost three conference games. Will they win the American Athletic Conference in 2017?

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Houston faced a tough schedule in 2016, and immediately served notice by knocking off Oklahoma in their season opener. For a while the Cougars looked like College Football Playoff contenders, even. But then they lost three American Athletic Conference games, knocking them out of the conference race.

Houston stymied Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson and knocked off Louisville in addition beating to the Big 12 champions. But because they were out of the running for the AAC title, the Cougars had no chance to grab the Group of Five’s automatic bid into a New Year’s Six game as they had a year earlier.

Soon after the end of the regular season, Tom Herman moved on to the Texas head coaching gig. The Cougars fell from a Peach Bowl appearance in 2015 to the Las Vegas Bowl. Despite a blowout at the hands of MWC champion San Diego State, then-interim head coach Major Applewhite was handed the keys to the program.

Can Applewhite maintain the momentum?

The 39-year-old Applewhite has a prime opportunity to launch his coaching career. Previously a co-offensive coordinator at Texas, he was let go by the Longhorns when Charlie Strong took over the program. Applewhite returned to coaching as Tom Herman’s offensive coordinator, building two high-powered offenses.

Though he lost quarterback Greg Ward Jr. to graduation, Applewhite still has a talented roster that will contend in the AAC once again. The non-conference schedule, though, is far less daunting than it looked heading into last season.

What might transpire during the 2017 season for the Cougars as they try again for a spot in a New Year’s Six game? Click ahead to see our predictions for each game on the Houston schedule in 2017.