Week 1 Preview: Oregon State vs. No. 23 Houston<\/p>\n
Published 11:09 am Thursday, September 3, 2026<\/p>\n
JaMarcus Shephard-era of Beaver football kicks off with top-25 matchup on the road vs. Cougars <\/p>\n
CORVALLIS\u2014 Oregon State\u2019s 27-24 overtime loss to Houston at Reser Stadium in Corvallis in 2025 was, in some ways, the beginning of the end for the Beavers\u2019 prior regime. Less than a year later, Oregon State\u2019s Week 1 trip to play the Cougars is the end of a new beginning for first-year head coach JaMarcus Shephard and his Beavers. <\/p>\n
Surrendering 17-combined points in the fourth quarter and overtime, former head coach Trent Bray\u2019s Oregon State squad choked away what would\u2019ve been its first win of the season and fell to 0-5. Bray was gone two weeks later after a program-worst 0-7 start and the Beavers limped to a 2-10 record. <\/p>\n
A new chapter of Oregon State football <\/p>\n
The 2025 season closed the book on a bleak era of Oregon State football; one that saw the Beavers and Washington State marooned as the Pac-12\u2019s other 10 members jumped ship. Subsequently, it paved the way for its next head coach \u2014 the fiery bundle of energy that is JaMarcus Shephard. <\/p>\n
And in his first-ever game as a head coach, Shephard will occupy the sideline opposite of Houston\u2019s Willie Fritz, a man who\u2019s been leading college football programs since Shephard was only 10-years-old. Though the two haven\u2019t formally crossed paths prior to Saturday\u2019s matchup, they expressed a mutual respect for one another. <\/p>\n
\u201cWould love to commend coach Willie Fritz on how he\u2019s been able to, over the years, really consistently put together strong football teams,\u201d Shephard said Monday. \u201cThat\u2019s what our expectation is of this (Cougars) team that we\u2019re going to compete against this weekend.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201che\u2019s been in some really good programs,\u201d Fritz echoed in his own press conference. \u201cI don\u2019t know if I\u2019ve ever met him before, but I\u2019ve heard a lot of great things about him. I\u2019m sure he\u2019s chomping at the bit for this opportunity. There\u2019s only 138 of these jobs in the United States; he\u2019s got one of them and so do I.\u201d <\/p>\n
Houston\u2019s Willie Fritz takes Cougars from 4-8 to top-25 in three seasons<\/p>\n
The teams are, admittedly, in vastly-different stages of their respective assembly. <\/p>\n
Houston enters the game ranked in the Associated Press\u2019 top-25, checking in at No. 23. <\/p>\n
Like he\u2019s done at prior stops in his career, such as FCS Sam Houston State (2010-13) or Tulane (2016-23), Fritz has completely reinvigorated Houston football in his first two years on the job, taking the Cougars from a 4-8 record in his first season to a 10-3 mark in year two. <\/p>\n
The team is led by fifth-year quarterback Conner Weigman<\/a>, a dual-threat who\u2019s just as capable with his feet as he is his arm. The Cougars also brought in a former Tulane running back that Fritz recruited in Mahki Hughes, and added former Beavers receiver Trent Walker to aid Weigman\u2019s arial assault. <\/p>\n Beavers looking to \u2018execute winning football\u2019 in 2026 debut<\/p>\n On the other hand, Shephard is in year one of what expects to be a lengthy rebuild for the Beavers. <\/p>\n To his credit, the first-year head coach hasn\u2019t minced words about what he\u2019s setting out to do. In mid-August, Shephard said \u201cthere\u2019s going to be some adversity\u201d this season as he begins the reclamation project. And starting the season with back-to-back top-25 ranked opponents (they\u2019ll face No. 12 Texas Tech in week two) is as much a baptism-by-fire as any first-time head coach could endure. <\/p>\n The Beavers\u2019 sophomore quarterback, Braden Atkinson<\/a>, is set to make his first FBS start after leading Mercer to a 10-3 record a season ago. Although, who his go-to weapons in the passing game will be is something of a lingering mystery. <\/p>\n