Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire looks on during an NCAA college football game against Oregon State in Corvallis, Ore., Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)
Amanda Loman/AP Photo/Amanda Loman
No. 13 Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire recognized his squad’s hard-fought 35-24 victory Saturday night against Oregon State, but said the team still has too many self-inflicted wounds so far into the season.
The Red Raiders recorded seven penalties for 70 total yards against the Beavers at Reser Stadium. Two of Tech’s seven penalties were unsportsmanlike conduct calls against Quinten Joyner and Micah Hudson, while another was a personal foul against Ansel Nedore.
Several other penalties took away plays that would have potentially given the Red Raiders momentum moving forward in the game.
Article continues below this ad
“You know, 24-21, we really had to respond, but second week in a row we’re putting ourselves in that situation,” McGuire said. “We have a huge punt return that’s gonna lead to points and we line up offsides. We have a big play on the sideline to a tight end and we get a 15-yard penalty. You know, 100% hats off to Oregon State, but we’ve got to clean up some of our issues.”
Penalties aside, the Red Raiders produced several offensive mistakes that had the potential of aiding Oregon State to its first victory of the season.
While all fixable mistakes, McGuire said Will Hammond needs to recognize the mental clock in his head to get the ball away in a reasonable amount of time. Despite this, McGuire also said he felt like Hammond was efficient in his decision-making at times.
“I think he’s got to trust,” McGuire said. “You got to turn the ball loose. It’s not always going to be perfect pictures. We had some shots downfield that we didn’t get thrown that were tight coverage, but they weren’t necessarily covered. We want to give our guys, our playmakers, some chances to make plays.”
Hammond was also at the center of Oregon State defensive pressure throughout the game, as the Austin native was sacked four times.
Article continues below this ad
McGuire said Tech’s offensive line improved as the game went on and while the unit was to blame for some sacks, he said Hammond didn’t help himself on several occasions.
“There’s two sacks out of the four sacks that are on the quarterback,” McGuire said. “He’s got to throw the ball away. You can’t take sacks. If it’s a quick sack, that’s all on the offensive line. But there’s a clock that’s got to go off in your head when you step up. Nothing’s there, you either run or you throw the ball out of bounds.”
Defensively, the Red Raiders’ secondary unit allowed several big plays to Oregon State receivers as quarterback Braden Atkinson finished with 413 passing yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
Beavers’ true freshman wide receiver Jesse Legree was at the center of Oregon State’s success in the air as he finished the game with a career-high 240 receiving yards on eight catches. Legree broke away from Tech’s cornerbacks several times for big plays, including a 75-yard touchdown in the second quarter.
Leading into Saturday, McGuire said he told the team about the potential dangers of Oregon State’s passing attack and said the team needs to clean up some areas in the secondary ahead of their Big 12 opener against Houston next week.
Article continues below this ad
“I knew that it was going to be a tough game as far as them throwing the football,” McGuire said. “I thought they did some really good things as far as getting some one-on-one matchups and then taking shots downfield and hit on a couple of them. We blew some coverages.”
The Red Raiders will have less than a week to tweak areas of improvement as they face off against No. 23 Houston at 7 p.m. Friday at Galaxy Stadium in Lubbock.