Oregon State heads into Saturday with reasons to believe it can make life uncomfortable for No. 13 Texas Tech.
The Beavers already showed plenty in their opener at No. 23 Houston, and even without a win, the offensive output gave them a clear path to lean on at home in 2026 for the first time. Against a ranked Red Raiders team, the challenge is obvious: keep pace on offense and survive a passing game that looks built to stress the secondary.
That starts with sophomore quarterback Will Hammond, who is described as a very accurate thrower and will be working behind an offensive line that should give him solid protection. If Texas Tech’s receivers are consistently getting free, Oregon State could be in for a long day. The Red Raiders have plenty of options, too, including former five-star recruit Micah Hudson, Pitt transfer Kenny Johnson, and senior Coy Eakin, who has more than 1,700 receiving yards in his TTU career.
For Oregon State, the secondary has to carry a heavy load. The Beavers should get help from experienced safeties Vadrawale and Patterson, but the corners may end up deciding a lot.
TJ Crandall returned after missing all of last season with injury and flashed with a few pass breakups in the second half against Houston. Sophomore Trey Glasper had issues tackling last week, but he also showed the kind of natural pass-coverage ability that stood out in 2025 as a true freshman.
If those pieces hold up, Oregon State’s defense has a chance to make Texas Tech work for every throw.
The Beavers’ offense also has a blueprint after what it did in Houston. Braden Atkinson spread the ball around to nine different targets, and six of them reached at least 30 receiving yards.
That kind of balance matters here, especially if Oregon State can continue getting production from tight ends and slot receivers the way it did against the Cougars. A defense trying to account for that many options can get stretched fast.
The protection up front will be just as important. Oregon State’s pass blocking was shaky early against Houston, with Atkinson getting sacked a couple of times with little resistance against heavy blitz looks.
That may have been part of why the staff leaned on the run for most of the second quarter. But the second half told a different story, with the offensive line settling in and Atkinson showing what he can do when he has two or more seconds to work from a clean pocket.
If that version of the line shows up again against Texas Tech’s aggressive front seven, Oregon State has a real chance to match the passing success it found in the second half last Saturday.
In Other News...
Texas Tech Fans Are Already Sounding The Alarm After Corvallis
Texas Techs first two games have left plenty of Red Raiders fans uneasy, and it is not hard to see why. A narrow win over Oregon State followed by a less convincing showing against Abilene Christian has already turned the early part of the season into a referendum on how sharp this team really is, with social media filling up quickly with complaints about penalties, play calling and the kind of execution that tends to separate a comfortable September from a tense one.
The frustration is less about one bad night than the feeling that the same concerns are showing up too early and too often. For a program that wanted cleaner football out of the gate, the online reaction has made clear that the leash is short and the patience is thinner, which means Texas Tech will have to answer some real questions on the field before the noise around Corvallis fades. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Techs First Road Test Will Answer One Big Defensive Question
Texas Techs first road trip of the season arrives with a chance to see how far this group has come, and it comes in a setting that usually tells on a team fast. The Red Raiders are headed to Reser Stadium in Corvallis to face Oregon State in a game that will air on CBS, and Joey McGuire made clear this is the kind of test he wants early. With Texas Tech sitting at 12-2 and Oregon State at 2-12, the record gap might look lopsided, but the value here is less about the matchup on paper and more about how the Red Raiders handle a different environment.
McGuire has talked about the importance of the road game and the standard he expects defensively, which is where the real interest lies for Texas Tech. Away from home, the Red Raiders will get a cleaner read on whether that side of the ball can travel and hold up when the surroundings change, the crowd gets louder, and the game asks for answers in tougher spots. For a team with bigger goals ahead, this is the kind of early-season trip that can confirm a lot without necessarily telling the whole story. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Techs 2-0 Start Just Put Its QB Situation In Focus
Texas Techs 35-24 win over Oregon State gave Joey McGuire plenty to like in the record column, but not nearly as much at quarterback. Will Hammond delivered a solid-enough stat line, hitting 20 of 27 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown, yet McGuire made it clear after the game that the Red Raiders need cleaner play from the position as the competition around him continues to take shape.
The concern was not just about the final numbers, either. McGuire pointed to turnovers, sacks and decision-making as the issues that need attention, while Florida State transfer Thomas Castellanos also saw snaps at quarterback. With Texas Tech off to a 2-0 start, the question now is less about whether the Red Raiders are winning and more about how settled their quarterback room really is. [Read more 🡒]