Even though his team lost to BYU in the regular season finale, Houston head coach Willie Fritz was impressed by the scene in Provo on Saturday night.

“It was really a great crowd,” said Fritz after the game. “They were loud and caught us early in the game I think by going offside once. It’s a really nice atmosphere and a beautiful stadium.”

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

“It was crazy, it felt like an SEC atmosphere… Even though we’re (visitors), I feel like it just gives us energy, even though our backs are against the wall and they’re not against us “The energy just makes you want to play harder.”

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

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

“Everything is damn good. This season we had to do our best and we just didn’t do it enough. We just have to do a good job recruiting, I have to do a great job hiring a (new) offensive coordinator and making sure we make progress.”

Against BYU, Houston refused to go down quietly and trailed by just six points late in the fourth quarter, but fell 30-18.

The Cougars in red forced three turnovers but committed four turnovers of their own while totaling just 250 yards of offense and averaging just 2.5 yards per carry on the ground.

“One of the things you saw is we played hard the whole time,” Fritz said of his team’s performance 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 that’s a reflection of the program.”