4identity shift
Houston's fanbase shift signals AAC shift.
Willie Fritz begins his first season at Houston with a 10-3 record and a fanbase shifting toward confidence, though the program's identity as a Big 12 newcomer remains unproven.
Houston
2-0AP #22Latest
Big 12 · Willie Fritz, year 3 (16-11) · TDECU Stadium · 40,000 · 28,839 avg in 2026
The nationAP #22 · Coaches #23no change
The model#24 CFB ZeitgeistSP+ #46 (+6.5) · FPI #33
The marketTexas Tech by 7.5at Texas Tech · our model 31% Houston · a number, not a pick
LastW 77–6 vs Southern · Sat Sep 12 · Keisean Henderson 83 pass yds, 2 TD, 54 rush yds
Nextat Texas Tech · Fri Sep 18 · 8 pm ET · Jones AT&T Stadium · Texas Tech by 7.5 · series 18-17-1, lost the last 7 · Game preview
Updated Tue Sep 15 · through week 2
Cautious optimism is building around Houston.
Willie Fritz's year 2 (2026): 2-0, behind Dana Holgorsen's 3-5 in the same spot.
Most Houston fans liked what they saw — but a real minority isn't convinced.
I’ll take a good dub but whew that QB Atkinson absolutely pieced us up.
Love that we got a win, but I’m cool off the Big 12 championship and playoff talk until I see more. Can’t lie I’m disappointed. OSU is solid
belief held flatvs prior week
Fanbase belief
Leaning up
61/100 · 320 mentions · top 5% of FBS
~ our readThe model
#24
CFB Zeitgeist · +6.4
✓ measured4The Pulse on Houston
61
Δ +0.3 vs last wk
320
mentions this week · conversation velocity
What moved it — last 14 days
—
Awaiting next signal window
"Coogs"
— Houston fanbase · recurring line
The Fever Year
Position = mood · width = volume · color = the kind of feeling
Inside the fanbase — all 12 corners
Cr/CFB
GGoogle News
LLocked On
UUnderdog Dynasty
CCampus paper
CCoogFans
BBluesky
YYouTube
The split, staged
Warmest corner+0.00
Boomers & Gen X
most bought-in cohort our read
vs
Coldest corner−0.00
Bettors
coolest cohort our read
How Houston fans actually talk real · top-upvoted
The crowd’s loudest take by upvotes — read for mood, not as a side. The cohort read is the measured part.
Loudest in the room this week real · by engagement
All 12 corners of the fanbase
skeptical
buying in
Boomers & Gen X+0.16
Bettors+0.05
Cohort sentiment is a source-weighted model read — never a quote pinned to a person.
What this fanbase keeps coming back to our read · topic model
Topics are model-labeled from Reddit — a rough signal of what this fanbase is circling right now.
492 mentions · 8 sources · week 2026-02. Counts, sources and the divergence rank are measured (fact). Cohort labels and sentiment are a source-weighted model read (our read) — never a quote attributed to a person.
Belief checkmiddle of the pack
~ our readHouston fans are cautiously optimistic, and they're backing it with about as much hard evidence as anyone.
backed by facts
the mood
✓ counted We read 320 posts from Houston fans this week.
Press Pulse
11 quotes collected this season
What the beat said, in their own words.
Sure, he’s been a head coach and he’s been an OK head coach. But I can tell you this: [Kiffin] was not a safe hire.
I’ve seen Jaden practice and I know what it’s looked like. It didn’t really look like that today. I’m sure North Carolina had something to do with that…we just didn’t give ourselves a chance
Stanford has been a pioneer and an innovator not just in football but as a school in general
Five Lenses
What people are saying right now
Radio, beat writers & editorial8 posts
Diehard fan boards16 posts
The broader fanbase2 posts
News & campus coverage6 posts
CFB analyst takes2 posts
Bluesky · @hooverstreetrag.org
1w ago
Fanbase health · Houston
Fanbase health · HoustonHouston's fanbase is growing — 74 of 100.
Loud (102 weighted voices in the latest week) and winning on the field (10-3 last season, 2-0 so far).
74
On the field — 10-3 last season, 2-0 so far78
How loud — 102 weighted voices in the latest week70
2 of 3 signals · on-field reading uses last season until 4 games are in · 0–100, bands at 26 / 51 / 76
More in this tab
Arguments
What fans are saying
Fan claims · every quote verified verbatim
player roleOne fan's take that season
One fan thinks Keisean Henderson will contribute significantly to key games
I expect to see Keisean the entire 2nd half against Southern This is by far the most depth we’ve had since 2015 and 2016.
Based on 1 comment across 1 thread · Sep 1, 2026 · via Football
player performanceOne fan's take that season
One fan celebrates Stephon Johnson's last-minute heroics
Counting down days until UH Football kicks off with this 49-yard Hail Mary TD from Donovan Smith to Stephon Johnson to beat WVU in 2023!
Based on 1 comment across 1 thread · Jul 18, 2026 · via Football
Podcasts
From the booth
The obsession
Rent free · r/cfb fan posts, last season
Houston fans this offseason 28% of posts bring up another team▼3pp quieter#45 of 70 saltiest · mostly about Texas
Voice profile
Fanbase Voice
1,328 fan mentions
Believers
vs the 94 highest-volume fanbases - 2026 season
Vocabulary by era
Season Vocabulary
2026FULL
fullfull topicread fulltopicreadparticipants
Preseason Poll Released 22 posts - 14 participants Read full topic
2025OFFENSE
offensedefenselinekeepnextbowl
I would like the offense to do something
Defining terms
Words of the season
how the conversation changed, year to year
2026
full×4.1full topic×4.3read full×4.3topic×4.3read×3.9
2025
offense×8.0defense×8.9line×3.9keep×4.8next×6.0
Fanbase cluster
Your Vocabulary Clustercluster 0with 63 other fanbases
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