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Speaker 1: One thirty three Sports Talk seven n eighty We have

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missed talking to our man, the coach of our beloved

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Houston Cougars eight and two on the season, looking for

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win number nine. This Saturday three o clock TDECU Stadion,

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Willie Fritz is with us here on the show. Willie,

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thank you for the time. I kind of like it.

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I don't know if you scheduled it intentionally this way

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or the big twelve guys did it for you, but

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having two off weeks in the middle of the season,

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it's kind of nice. Give you a chance to regroup

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for the final stretch here.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it is good.

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Speaker 3: I don't have that power. So we got fortunate. And

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you know, w had a seven game stretch there where

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we played week after a week, and a couple of

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times there's short weeks where we played on Friday. But

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I do think the bye week came to a good time.

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We were able to heal up and you know, just

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make sure there are guys are ready for these last

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two very very important ballgames.

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Speaker 1: They are important their in state rivals. And I know

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that everyone wants to argue about how the league looks

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as a sixteen team group and who you're playing who

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you don't play. But I would love, willy for you

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guys to be able to play TCU, Baylor and Texa

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Tech every year. It's not going to happen that way.

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But there's just a little something special about playing the

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in state schools, is there not?

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Speaker 2: Yeah?

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Speaker 3: I think you know that we've said the same thing.

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We think, gud if we could play those you know

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three schools. I think you know it's you know, our

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state and everybody liked to play each other. I think

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the other coaches feel the same way as well.

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Speaker 1: Welly, the turnover battle has not been your friend the

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last few weeks, although you've overcome that in Orlando with

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the frederictory against UCF. You have made it such a

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priority as most coaches do, but you so more than

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anybody else I've been around a long period of time.

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It just must you want to pull your hair out

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when you turn the ball over. And you're able to

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overcome that against the Knights a couple weeks back.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, it's you know, we had four and I think

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we're being minus two on the game and just makes it,

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you know, more difficult to win. It just it's it's

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most telling statistic in football turnover takeaway margin. And I've

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mentioned it many times in my career. We've been plus

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one or better. We've won ninety one percent of our games,

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and I think in the NFL it's like sixty four

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percent of your plus one or better that you're gonna win.

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And so it's an important statistic. We work on a

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like crazy ball security offensively and then you know, taking

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the ball away defensively, punching the ball out, all those

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kind of different things. You're actually seeing that a lot

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more college football and the NFL than you know, I've

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ever seen before here the last couple of years. But

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some we work on and you're right, it's you know,

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I'm all day to day practice. I just kept talking

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about plus one cooks win. You know that we got

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to emphasize that every single day.

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Speaker 1: But you got a late interception the contest against UCF,

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me mess have made that flight to Orlando feel like

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if I got a forty five minute trip.

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Speaker 3: I think I really did. It was big play by

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Control Web. You know, we uh we wear it until

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trying to take a shot in the end zone and

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they're down three and we were fortunate to you know,

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Control really played it well and do a good job.

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Speaker 2: Of picking it, and I took an in and we

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were able to go.

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Speaker 1: On you have during this time, and this is where

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some of these postseason awards come into play. Tanner, Kozu

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your special teams guys, it's kind of nice to get

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this kind of recognition. So how do you let these

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young men say, yes, you're getting this run. But at

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the same time, we got two weeks of football at

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least to play them, not for that third Bowl game

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coming up too.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, those guys understand that we're really, you know, happy

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Tanner's finalists for the John mckew Award.

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Speaker 2: I think I had explained to him who John mackew was.

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Speaker 1: Zero surprise on that, by the way, that's.

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Speaker 2: Right, but he really had a fantastic season.

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Speaker 3: Fourst and Denathan saying, Chez, you know it's done, just

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a great job.

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Speaker 2: I think he's nineteen of twenty two on field goals

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on the Ears.

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Speaker 3: You know, I had a couple of game winners as well,

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and you know we always tell them, you know, I

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always make sure that I announced it in front of

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the team.

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Speaker 2: These guys get special recognition. We've been lucky that we've

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had a bunch of guys.

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Speaker 3: We've had special recognition this year, but you know, it's

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all about the team. They know that. I always tell

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them all the time. I mean, wanted to be about

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the individual or you you need to get get into

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MMA fighting.

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Speaker 2: You know, don't have to worry about anybody else.

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Speaker 3: But this fights with ten other guys when you're out

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there on the field and one hundred and ten guys

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when we're in the locker room. So they all understand

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that and do a great job being great teammates.

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Speaker 1: With all that being said, my last individual question. Cozio

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looks the part tell me about bringing him away from

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his previous school, coming here and then stepping on the

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floor on the field of play. He looks the part

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where you have a professional tight end. I don't know

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what his future is going to be on what the

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draft status is, and hopefully we're gonna worry about that

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way down the road, but he just looks like a

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guy that's going to be able to do at the

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next level and has certainly been a huge targeting threat

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for Connor Wigman.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, he really has.

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Speaker 3: Those two have developed a really good relationship throwing the ball,

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you know, on the field, off the field whatever. But

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he just got great hands. He's got great catch radius.

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That but he talks about that all the time. What

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really makes it specially as able extended s towards the ball.

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And he's a big guy, you know, he's six six,

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he's got tremendous reach. Uh.

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Speaker 2: I think he's a pro guy.

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Speaker 3: You know, they don't ask my opinion very much, but

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you know, I definitely think he is.

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Speaker 2: And uh, you know, but like you.

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Speaker 3: Said, we wanted to finish out for the Koug's the

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very best he can.

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Speaker 1: All right, let's get to TCU. First time I saw

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them play this year. I'm sure you've looked at all

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their film. They embarrassed the heck out of North Carolina,

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I mean ruined. Coach Belichick's initial run this season has

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been good for them, but not great. They look to

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rather pour us against b YU.

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Speaker 3: Uh.

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Speaker 1: And maybe it's because the Cougars, their Cougar's Willie putting

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up some huge numbers, especially in provo. But a thought

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or two about this TCU team that has had a

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couple of very close affairs and then they obviously last

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week they were shell shocked against the b YU Cougars.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, they you know, I think up until that time

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losses by less than a touchdown. You know, they've got

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a lot of respect for coach Dyke's known him a

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long time. Got a you know, real quality quarterback and

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you know, one of the top ones in the Big twelve,

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really in the nation. Good receiving corps, you know, defensively,

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you know, they really do a good job and not

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allowing you to be successful running the football. They want

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you to throw the football and then try to get

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after you. And they've always had a really potent return

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game special team. So it's gonna be a big test

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for us. Our kids understand that. You know, we've been

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you know, we worked on them a little bit the

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week before. I just felt like, you know, we we'd

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had that seven game stretch and we had a couple

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of days where we worked on them and then came

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back back in on Monday and went hot and heavy after.

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So looking forward to the game three o'clock on Saturday, boy,

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we sure would like to get a bunch of people

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out there and it'll be two quality teams fighting it

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out at t d C Stadium.

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Speaker 1: And reality is last year Willie the best performance with

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the Houston Cougar football team was probably in Fort Worth, Texas?

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Would you not agree?

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Speaker 2: Yeah? Plus four? You know, imagine that. You know we weren't.

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We didn't have a real.

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Speaker 3: Good offense last year, but we really played well that

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game and kept the ball away from them and played

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great defense.

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Speaker 2: And uh yeah it was. It was a great game

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for us last season.

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Speaker 3: But as we all know, each year is is a

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brand new opportunity to play and see what you're all about.

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Speaker 2: And we will played great this Saturday, all.

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Speaker 1: Right, Willie, thank you for the time. I'm gonna do

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everything in my humanly power to get every Houston Cougar

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alive to your stadium on Saturday afternoon for the three

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o'clock tilt. Looking forward to that, and we'll look forward

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to our visit again next week because we get ready

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for the game against Baylor. Thank you for the time.

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Speaker 2: As always, thank you,