5 college football teams on the verge of collapsing into full rebuild

No. 5 Houston Cougars

Houston, we have a problem. Life in the Big 12 has been rather difficult for the Houston football team. While they have just a handful of conference games under their belts after transitioning up from the American Athletic Conference, Head Coach Dana Holgorsen has to be feeling the pressure to deliver something— anything.

Holgorsen has been at the helm in Houston for five years, yet he’s delivered just one season in which his team has won more than eight games. If you take away the outlier 12-2 finish from the 2021 season, he’s got a record of 18-23 (entering Week 10 of the 2023 college football season). The Cougars are hovering just below .500 this season with a current record of 3-5, which is probably not how the Houston brass expected things to go with their newly anointed Power 5 status.

Could a reset be in order for Houston or will the boosters and Athletic Director give him some time to take advantage of all those perceived and actualized perks of being in a major conference? Either way, time is ticking and how Houston finishes this season is of great importance for his future with the team.

A strong showing against No. 8 Texas (a seven-point loss) might be enough to buy him a little more time. But a loss is still a loss and being “close” only matters when discussing the subject of horseshoes or hand grenades. It may be best to begin their Power 5 era with a fresh start in Houston. Lackluster outings against in-state foes Rice, TCU and Texas Tech— all losses— are very concerning. To add insult to injury, last week’s 41-0 blowout to Kansas State was nothing short of embarrassing.