Houston Cougars football announced its return to prominence last year with a 10-win season, a bowl win and a final ranking in the top 25. That makes this year's football season highly anticipated, especially with a successful transfer portal and high school recruiting period that is expected to raise the ceiling of the program. Houston begins the critical 2026 season with two non-conference games at home. The second game of the season is against the Southern Jaguars from the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). Southern just went through a complete rebuild this offseason after a 2-10 record last year, tied for the worst mark in the conference. The Jaguars made an impressive hire of former NFL running back and Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk as their new head coach. He brought in an entirely new staff and the team is expected to look different with a new identity in 2026. These are the interesting matchups that will decide the game between Houston and Southern.…