Houston cancels opener, schedules road game against Baylor

By Will Leverett

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UPDATE (7:03 p.m): Houston has replaced its season opener with a road matchup against the Baylor Bears on Sept. 19. The game will take place at 11 a.m. on FOX at McLane Stadium. 

The Bears lost their scheduled season opener against Louisiana Tech after the Bulldogs faced complications from Hurricane Laura. Baylor is allowed one nonconference game by the Big 12 that must be played before Sept. 26. 

In addition to the upcoming matchup, Baylor and Houston have also agreed to a home-and-home series that will be played in the next few years. BU has multiple openings starting with the 2024 season, while Houston has multiple openings for each of the next several years. 

The Bears and Cougars have not played since the breakup of the Southwest Conference. Baylor holds a 14-13-1 edge in the series, and won four of the final five matchups. The final game was a 47-7 Baylor win in Houston in 1995. 

Original story (4:13 p.m): Houston football's season opener against Memphis on Sept. 18 will be postponed due to a rash of positive COVID-19 tests in Memphis, according to multiple reports. 

The Cougars and Tigers mutually agreed to reschedule the game for later in the year. Both will work with the American Athletic Conference to organize a date later in the year.

Memphis has at least 20 positive tests within the program, according to a report from the Commercial Appeal, with at least 20 more quarantined for contact tracing. A statement from the school clarified that the tests are tied to social events outside of football activities. 

The Cougars previously lost season opening games against Rice and Washington State due to cancellations and postponements. Much of the AAC opened the season on Sept. 5, but Houston will now not open the season until Sept. 26 against North Texas. 

Houston and Memphis do not have any overlapping open weekends until December. 

According to a report from Bruce Feldman, Baylor and Houston are working to organize a game in Waco next week. The Bears lost their season opener against Louisiana Tech after Hurricane Laura. 

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