Houston Cougars

Big 12 · Houston, TX

As ofWeek 6
Rank#28
Rating1573.24
Vs preseason+45.98

2026 weekly history

Rank and rating after each published week. New rows appear automatically as weekly snapshots are published.

Preseason431527.260.00—
Week 1481523.72-3.54-3.54
Week 2401540.47+13.21+16.75
Week 3351548.59+21.33+8.12
Week 4371550.31+23.05+1.72
Week 5411551.09+23.83+0.78
Week 6281573.24+45.98+22.15

Why this preseason rating?

Every team starts at 1500 (national average), then gains or loses points from four measurable categories. See how the formula works →

1500.00
+14.66
+7.80
+9.60
-4.79
1527.26

Underlying data

Raw inputs from CFDB used to build the preseason rating. Each metric is standardized nationally before contributing to the score. Read the full methodology →

Prior strength (2025)

1512
6.3
7.4

Roster quality (2026)

695.93
218.85

Returning production

60.0%

Transfer portal

18 (avg 0.859)
12 (avg 0.85)
+6.00

Game-by-game audit

Each completed game updates this team's rating using opponent strength, home-field advantage, and how the result compared to expectation. For every game below you can see the rating at kickoff, the opponent's rating, the model's expected margin, the actual scoreboard margin, the gap between those two, and the exact rating points gained or lost. Ratings and game-audit tables for each published week are linked above that week's results.

vs Oregon State — 33-20home
Poll rank before
#42
Rating before
1527.26
Opponent rating
1437.67
Expected margin
+17.26
Actual margin
+13.00
vs expectation
-4.26
Rating change
-3.54
Poll rank after
#48
vs Southern — 77-6home
Poll rank before
#47
Rating before
1523.72
Opponent rating
1210.82
Expected margin
+50.85
Actual margin
+71.00
vs expectation
+20.15
Rating change
+16.75
Poll rank after
#40
vs Texas Tech — 26-28away
Poll rank before
#40
Rating before
1540.47
Opponent rating
1593.58
Expected margin
-11.78
Actual margin
-2.00
vs expectation
+9.78
Rating change
+8.13
Poll rank after
#35
vs Georgia Southern — 42-28away
Poll rank before
#37
Rating before
1548.59
Opponent rating
1444.03
Expected margin
+11.94
Actual margin
+14.00
vs expectation
+2.06
Rating change
+1.72
Poll rank after
#37
vs UCF — 27-17home
Poll rank before
#37
Rating before
1550.31
Opponent rating
1515.26
Expected margin
+9.06
Actual margin
+10.00
vs expectation
+0.94
Rating change
+0.78
Poll rank after
#41
vs Kansas State — 35-16away
Poll rank before
#38
Rating before
1551.09
Opponent rating
1576.79
Expected margin
-7.66
Actual margin
+19.00
vs expectation
+26.66
Rating change
+22.15
Poll rank after
#28