The Houston Cougars have an important homecoming game against Cincinnati on Saturday afternoon at TDECU Stadium. Houston, currently ranked No. 17, must win to stay in contention for the Big 12 Championship.

In order to do so, the Cougars will have to beat the Bearcats for the first time in a decade. Cincinnati has had Houston's number of late, having won the last five contests. The last time Houston won at home against Cincinnati was back in 2015. Houston has a unique opportunity to win exactly 11 years to the date of the last win, given that was also on Nov. 7.

Here are our Houston Cougars on SI staff predictions for the game.

Houston 41, Cincinnati 24

The Cougars have been waiting for nearly two weeks to get the bitter taste of losing to Utah out of their mouths, and will do so in dominating fashion in front of their home crowd. The bye week has gotten the team healthy with all their key weapons, and the offense has a big bounce-back performance after only scoring 13 in Salt Lake City.

No purchase necessary. 50 U.S./D.C. 18+. Entry opens 3PM ET Dec 6, 2026 and closes 8PM ET Dec 18, 2026. Void where prohibited. See for complete details. The College Football Playoff (CFP) is not a sponsor or administrator of this contest.

Senior quarterback Conner Weigman is efficient and throws multiple touchdowns and also gets a score on the ground. Houston's running backs can control the game, considering Cincinnati ranks 13th in the Big 12 in rush defense and gives up over 160 yards per game.

Redshirt junior running back Re'Shaun Sanford has a big game after only three carries in Week 8 and senior Makhi Hughes also adds a strong performance. Houston's defense goes all in on slowing down Cincinnati's running game. The Cougars get out to a big lead and keep it there. -Maanav Gupta

Houston 42, Cincinnati 21

The Houston Cougars need to find a way to bounce back, and I believe they will. It’s hard to tell what team the Cougars will face, given how inconsistent the Bearcats have been, but this Houston team needs to show it is the better team.

Quarterback Conner Weigman will have a day, and the defense will step up when it needs to. Houston should win this game pretty handily if it executes better. And with how important this end stretch is, Houston will execute better. -Tyler Crum

Houston 35, Cincinnati 21

Houston is coming off the bye week and has enough talent to wear down Cincinnati and secure the win. However, if the Bearcats’ run game starts picking up, the game becomes closer for the Cougars to win. Houston needs to remove the run game from Cincinnati in order to take this game.-Micah Clay