What Houston coach Willie Fritz said after facing BYU

Although his team may have fallen to BYU in the regular season finale, Houston head coach Willie Fritz was very impressed with the scene in Provo on Saturday night.

“It was a really good crowd,” Fritz said after the game. “They were loud and they got us early in the game, I think, jumping (offside) once. It’s a really nice atmosphere and a magnificent stadium.

Houston defensive end Brandon Mack agreed with Fritz’s assessment of LaVell Edwards Stadium.

“It was crazy, it was like a SEC atmosphere… Even though we are (visitors), I feel like it just gives us energy, even though our backs are against the wall and They don’t encourage us, the energy just makes us want to play harder.

In his first year at the helm of Houston, Fritz’s Cougars went 4-8 and finished 12th out of 16 Big 12 teams. He had previously compiled a record of 111-69 over 14 Division seasons. I at Sam Houston State, Georgia Southern and Tulane.

“I think it’s a very balanced conference. It’s a very well-run conference,” Fritz said of the Big 12. “For me, it’s very different from where I come from.

“Everything is damn fine. This season we needed to bring our A game, and we just didn’t do it enough. We’re just going to have to do a good job recruiting, I’m going to have to do a great job hiring a (new) offensive coordinator and making sure we take steps forward.

Against BYU, Houston refused to go down easy and trailed by just six points late in the fourth quarter, ultimately falling short in a 30-18 affair.

The Cougars in red forced three turnovers but committed four themselves, with just 250 yards of offense and averaging just 2.5 yards per carry on the ground.

“One of the things you saw was we played hard the whole time,” Fritz said of his team’s effort against BYU. “You know, we’re finishing a year 4-8 and a lot of teams would have given up a long time ago, but our guys never did, and I’m proud of that, and I think it’s a reflection on the program .