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<\/a><\/p>\nHOUSTON, TEXAS – SEPTEMBER 05: Amare Thomas #0 of the Houston Cougars completes a pass against Sailasa Vadrawale III #8 of the Oregon State Beavers during the fourth quarter at TDECU Stadium on September 05, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Alex Slitz\/Getty Images) Getty Images<\/p>\n
One reason for Houston\u2019s preseason hype was the return of First Team All-Big 12 wide receiver Amare Thomas. After ranking second in the Big 12 in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns last fall, Thomas proved his follow-up act might be even better. On the first drive of the season, he spun out of a tackle attempt and tiptoed down the sideline for a 31-yard touchdown. And when Houston faced a critical 3rd and 6 in the fourth quarter clinging onto a 6-point lead, everybody wearing red knew exactly where to send the ball.<\/p>\n
Quarterback Conner Weigman lobbed a deep shot to Thomas, who perfectly timed his jump over the defensive back and secured a contested 37-yard reception. Two plays later, Weigman plunged into the end zone to recapture a double-digit advantage.<\/p>\n
Weigman collected 305 passing yards and 30 rushing yards in the victory, while Thomas completed his masterclass with 133 receiving yards and a touchdown on eight receptions.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s bigger than you think,\u201d Fritz said of Thomas. \u201cHe\u2019s almost 210 pounds. He\u2019s got great strength and does a good job of using his off-arm as a weapon. I know Conner\u2019s got a lot of confidence in him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Houston never trailed beyond the first quarter, but Oregon State remained in the contest thanks to a prolific passing performance by Braden Atkinson. The FCS transfer picked apart the Houston secondary in his Beaver debut, compiling 376 yards and a touchdown without an interception. True freshman receiver Jesse Legree was responsible for 136 of those yards, as the Cougars routinely struggled to limit the Pac-12 foe through the air.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were some simple pass concepts, route concepts that we didn\u2019t do a good job of covering and denying,\u201d Fritz said. \u201cWe lost leverage a few times\u2026 And I blame part of this on myself. We don\u2019t tackle very much during practice, and we didn\u2019t do it this camp. And it showed up quite a bit. But we did tackle today, so now we are used to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Cougars\u2019 defense still showed signs of promise. Houston stonewalled the Oregon State run game to 26 yards on 25 attempts, and the Beavers never accrued more than nine yards on a single rushing play. The Cougars\u2019 four sacks also factored into Oregon State\u2019s miniscule rushing total. Houston overwhelmed the Beavers with frequent blitzes, and outside linebacker Latreveon McCutchin led the charge with one sack and five quarterback pressures.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year, me personally, I felt like Oregon State was one of my worst games I\u2019ve ever played, so this has been on my mind for a while now,\u201d McCutchin said. \u201cI feel like my focus this week has been laser locked-in, and that was one of the things I worked on most in the offseason \u2014 my pass rush. Overall, this was my best pass rushing game for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Assisting McCutchin was Tulane transfer nickel Javion White, who flew in for two sacks from the secondary. Although White made 25 appearances with the Green Wave, the first two sacks of his college career materialized Saturday. The defensive back attributed those plays to techniques he learned from members of the defensive front, including McCutchin and defensive end Ashton Porter.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey took me under their wing. They were the ones who showed me how to do pass rushing moves,\u201d White said. \u201cI was talking to them a lot about moves I could use when I was blitzing and that showed today.\u201d<\/p>\n