Houston opened the season with a 33-20 win over Oregon State on Saturday, and while the scoreboard says the Cougars handled business, the game itself felt tighter than that margin suggests.
The biggest reason Houston escaped with control came on the ground. On a rainy day at TDECU Stadium, the Cougars’ rushing attack kept answering every Oregon State push, even when the Beavers made things uncomfortable late.
Re'Shaun Sanford’s 56-yard touchdown run gave Houston some breathing room after first-half unease, and Makhi Hughes added his own punch with 98 yards and a touchdown. Sanford finished with 75 yards and a score, giving Houston real balance between the tackles.
That ground game also helped mask a nightmarish stretch that briefly put the result in doubt. In the fourth quarter, Oregon State trimmed the lead to six with 9:16 left on AJ Newberry’s touchdown run. Braden Atkinson, the Oregon State transfer quarterback, kept the Beavers alive throughout the afternoon, throwing for 376 yards and a touchdown pass to keep the Pac-12 side in the hunt late.
Still, Houston’s offensive line made the difference. Conner Weigman was sacked only once, and the Cougars piled up 228 rushing yards while Oregon State managed just two tackles for loss.
Shadre Hurst backed up his preseason billing at left guard, while Alvin Ebosele and Drew Terrill kept the edge rushers under wraps. The lone sack came when Weigman held the ball too long and couldn’t find a read.
That protection gave Weigman room to play with confidence. He went 20 of 30 and averaged 10.17 yards per attempt, showing the kind of command Houston will want as the season goes on.
He also added a touchdown on the ground and another through the air, with the passing score coming after Amare Thomas turned a short-yardage play into a 31-yard highlight. Weigman looked slippery in the pocket and dangerous once he got into space, including a 21-yard run just before halftime that helped set up a field goal with 38 seconds left and pushed Houston’s lead to 12.
There was one blemish for Weigman: an interception on a goal-line throw. But even with that mistake, he gave Houston enough versatility to feel dangerous.
The bigger picture is what matters for the Cougars, especially with Southern up next and Texas Tech waiting in two weeks. If the passing game gets tested in Lubbock, Slade Nagle now knows Houston can lean on the run and try to quiet a crowd.
The depth chart at quarterback got one quick glimpse of the future, too. Keisean Henderson threw only once because Weigman’s helmet had come off after a tackle, but that lone attempt nearly turned into a 24-yard touchdown to Trent Walker. It was a little high, yet the arm strength was there, and the play offered a reminder that Houston has options down the road.
Defensively, though, there was plenty for Austin Armstrong to clean up. Oregon State moved the ball too easily too often, and Atkinson had too much time to operate. The secondary has to tighten up, and the pass rush has to become more reliable.
It wasn’t all bad on that side of the ball. JACK Latreveon McCutchin was active with a sack and two solo tackles, and cornerback Javion White produced two sacks of his own, making him one of the day’s biggest defensive surprises. Houston also held Oregon State’s running backs to 57 rushing yards, which gave the front seven something to build on.
Even so, the overall defensive performance left too much room for concern. Oregon State finished with 20 points and 402 total yards, and that kind of production won’t play well once Big 12 action begins.
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Houston fans got another reminder of how precarious their place can feel in the TV pecking order late in the game against Oregon State, when ESPN shifted the broadcast over to ESPNews with about nine minutes left in the fourth quarter. The network wanted to roll into coverage of Texas vs. Texas State, and the switch was enough to spark immediate pushback from viewers who felt a Big 12 game should not be shoved aside that quickly, especially with Houston now part of the conference.
The optics were hard to miss for Big 12 supporters, because ESPN is supposed to be one of the leagues major media partners. College sports columnist John Canzano was among the critics, and the frustration carried extra weight given Texas departure from the Big 12 for the SEC. For Houston backers, it was less about one broadcast hiccup than the broader question of how much respect the league really gets when the schedule starts to crowd in. [Read more 🡒]
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For Sampson, the message was less about waiting for a playoff-level breakthrough and more about helping create the kind of home-field environment that can push the program forward. Houston has a chance to turn interest into something more meaningful this fall, and the basketball coach is reminding fans that support matters before the wins become impossible to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Houston Found An Early Formula Fans Will Want To See Again
Houstons opener offered a glimpse of the kind of balance the Cougars have been looking for, the sort that can make a September win feel like more than just a good start. In a 33-20 victory over Oregon State, Conner Weigman was central to the operation, pushing the offense through the air and giving Houston the kind of rhythm that can travel as the schedule tightens.
The encouraging part for the Cougars is that the performance did not hinge on one type of play or one burst of momentum. Weigmans ability to keep the passing game moving while Houston controlled the flow gave the team an early formula worth revisiting, especially after a weekend around the country that showed how quickly a clean debut can set the tone for a season. [Read more 🡒]