For college football programs trying to compete in the state of Texas, it’s easy to get overshadowed by the Longhorns or the Aggies. But don’t sleep on the Houston Cougars; they’re tough, scrappy and full of potential.

Cougars fans show up in droves to games, and bettors across Texas will be glued to the Cougars’ football schedule to find the best value and opportunities.

Below take a deeper look at the Houston Cougars football team, including live Cougars odds and what it takes to bet on them in the Lone Star State.

How to bet on Houston Cougars football

There are pretty much two ways to get started betting on college football. One, do plenty of research while you prepare to place calculated wagers. Two, just start betting.

We recommend the former, but there are plenty of bettors who have a dive-in-head-first mentality.

Below, we take a look at four different bet types considered to be some of the most popular with both experienced bettors and newcomers. If you want to learn more about any particular bet type, just follow our provided links in each category to be taken to a dedicated page.

Houston Cougars moneyline bet

This is the simplest bet type in terms of understanding and execution. You have two teams playing and are asked to choose the winner of the contest. Your bet is locked in when you finalize your slip, and your potential winnings will be based on the amount of your wager and those odds.

One sportsbook that has been very popular with moneyline bets is Caesars Sportsbook. This particular company has made a name for itself as a bettor’s paradise with its brick-and-mortar casinos being some of the best known in the world. Sports bettors have discovered that level of quality with the Caesars Sportsbook and betting app.

An example of a moneyline bet you might find with Caesars is below:

• Houston Cougars     -130
• Rice Owls                    +215

You can immediately tell which team is the favorite by identifying the negative odds. Those numbers show us how much we have to bet in order to win $100. Positive odds, like those for the Owls moneyline in this example, show us the underdog and how much we stand to win for every $100 we bet.

The further apart the two odds are, the more lopsided the game is expected to be. In the case of our example, Houston is expected to win convincingly.

Houston Cougars point spread

Sometimes you look at a moneyline bet and just shake your head at the odds. When one team is expected to absolutely dominate the other, there is nearly no value in trying to bet on the favorite. That’s where college football point spreads can become such a key part of your betting strategy.

Oddsmakers use the point spread to make games more even. The favorite is given a predicted number of points by which to win. If they can do that or win by more, then bets on them will win. Any other outcome, such as the underdog losing by fewer than the predicted points, would mean bets on the favorite would lose, and bets on the underdog would pay out.

FanDuel has become a go-to sportsbook for those looking to bet on point spreads. It has competitive lines that keep a nice value for bettors and a wide selection of NCAA football point spread bets.

Here’s an example of what you might find when looking for a point spread bet at FanDuel online sportsbook:

• Houston Cougars                     -12.5 (-110)
• Tulsa Golden Hurricane       +12.5 (-110)

What you see here is the Cougars are favored to win by 12.5 points. Since a half-point can’t happen in football, it means they need to win by 13 or more for bets on them to win. Tulsa, on the other hand, means they just need to lose by fewer than 12 points.

Both sides of this bet carry -110 odds, which shows us how much we have to wager in order to win $100.

Houston Cougars totals bet

Unlike the other bets we have looked at already, the totals bet, which is also known as the over/under, doesn’t require you to choose which team is going to win.

With this bet type, oddsmakers predict how many points the two teams will combine to score. You are supposed to choose if you believe those two teams will score over that total or under it.

BetMGM Sportsbook has become a great place for totals bets thanks to a nice variety of opportunities, as well as a robust selection of college football teams. You will also find the BetMGM Sportsbook app to be one of the easiest to use out of all of their competition.

You might come across a totals bet that looks a bit like this:

• Over         48.5 (-115)
• Under      48.5 (-110)

Oddsmakers believe the two teams playing will score 48.5 points. If you think they will combine to score more than that total, you would bet the over. If you believe they will score fewer points, then you would bet the under.

In this example, oddsmakers think there is a slightly better chance of an over occurring, which is why the odds are just a bit better for the under.

Houston Cougars football prop bets

If you’re interested in a bit more variety than what regular bet types have to offer, then you will likely be interested in prop bets. These are basically “side bets” you make with a sportsbook that rarely have anything to do with the outcome of a game and a lot more to do with what is going to happen during the game.

These are tough to do your homework on, which means there is an element of guessing involved. That can be a bit dangerous for bettors and their bankroll, so make sure to use them as a small part of your betting strategy and not a major role.

DraftKings has become one of the most popular sportsbooks across the nation. It’s made quite the name for itself, including in the NCAA football prop betting department. You will find a rather large selection to choose from in NCAA football, and the lines are very competitive.

This is just one example of a prop bet you might come across on the DraftKings betting app:

Will The Houston Cougars Have Over/Under 400 Yards Passing In The Game? 

• Over (+175) or Under (-105)

Prop bets like this example are on the more serious side of sports betting. This bet type can range from geeky all the way to absurd, such as asking if a team will run a trick play in the half or if the first drive of the National Championship Game will be longer or shorter than the preceding national anthem performance.

Every sportsbook has a different focus on prop bets with some having much larger selections than others. Make sure to do some shopping if you’re looking for a sportsbook to quench your prop bet thirst.

Houston Cougars coaching staff

When you compare the Cougars’ football program to some of the more popular programs in Texas, Houston’s is rather young. Instead of starting at the turn of the 20th century, Houston’s program began in the 1940s.

Below, we take a look at the current coaching staff, as well as the head coaches who have come and gone since the formation of the Cougars football program.

• Head coach: Dana Holgorsen
• Associate head coach / defensive coordinator: Doug Belk
• Assistant head coach: Corby Meekins 
• Assistant head coach: Mike Jinks  
• Special teams coordinator: Mark Scott

Here is a list of all of the head coaches in the history of Cougars football:

Coach	Tenure
Dana Holgorsen	2019-current
Major Applewhite	2016-2018
Tom Herman	2015-2016
David Gibbs	2014
Tony Levine	2011-2014
Kevin Sumlin	2008-2011
Chris Thurmond	2007
Art Briles	2003-2007
Dana Dimel	2000-2002
Kim Helton	1993-1999
John Jenkins	1990-1992
Jack Pardee	1987-1989
Bill Yeoman	1962-1986
Harold Lahar	1957-1961
Bill Meek	1955-1956
Clyde Lee	1948-1954
Jewell Wallace	1946-1947

Where do the Cougars play their home games?

How to watch and listen to Houston Cougars football games

Catching a game featuring the Houston Cougars on television, streaming or over the radio isn’t as easy as it is with some larger programs. However, it definitely can be done. Below, we take a look at the ways you can tune into the action.

Watching

• ABC Sports
• CBS Sports
• ESPN
• ESPNU
• ESPN2

For streaming services, you can find some Cougars games at:

• ESPN+

If you’d rather listen to the games, tune your dial to:

• KPRC 950 AM

You can also stream the games over the internet via:

• Cougars All-Access
• TuneIn App

A brief history of the Houston Cougars football team

While it may be one of the younger NCAA Division I football programs, Houston is not without historical moments. Below, we take a look at some of the key years in Cougars football.

• 2023: Houston makes the move to the Big 12 Conference.
• 2015: UH wins the American Athletic Conference championship over Temple.
• 2014: Houston has the NCAA’s largest fourth-quarter comeback victory in bowl history after trailing Pitt by 25 points with less than 11 minutes left in the Armed Forces Bowl to end up winning, 35-34.
• 2014: TDECU Stadium opens.
• 2013: The Cougars join the American Athletic Conference.
• 2011: Houston ends the season ranked in the major college football polls for the first time since 1990 — No. 18 in the AP, No. 14 in the Coaches Poll and No. 19 in the BCS.
• 2008: The Cougars win the Armed Forces Bowl to end a 28-year bowl game losing streak.
• 2006: Houston goes 9-3 in the regular season and defeats Southern Miss in the Conference USA Championship Game to win the conference title.
• 2001: The Cougars suffer their only winless season in the program’s history, going 0-11.
• 1996: UH joins the newly created Conference USA and wins a share of the conference title.
• 1989: Quarterback Andre Ware wins the Heisman Trophy after passing for 4,699 yards and 46 touchdowns that season.
• 1976: The Cougars football program joins the Southwest Conference and wins the conference title, which they would do again in 1978, 1979 and 1984.
• 1968: Houston defeats Tulsa 100-6.
• 1965: The Cougars play their first nationally televised game, which was against rival Tulsa.
• 1965: Houston breaks the color barrier for major Texas football programs by signing Warren McVea on a scholarship.
• 1962: Hall of fame coach Bill Yeoman is hired as the head coach and goes on to win 160 victories during his time in Houston.
• 1952: The Texas Longhorns and the Cougars play for the first time.
• 1952: J.D. Kimmel becomes Houston’s first All-American.
• 1952: The first meeting between Houston and Texas A&M takes place.
• 1951: The Cougars earn a trip to their first-ever bowl game.
• 1951: Houston joins the Missouri Valley Conference.
• 1948: The Cougars join the Gulf Coast Conference and begin offering athletic scholarships.
• 1946: Houston football is officially born with quarterback Charlie Manichia scoring the first-ever touchdown for the Cougars.