Texas Tech is headed into a week-two matchup that should tell us a lot about its secondary, because Oregon State looks ready to put the ball in the air again.
The Beavers opened the season by throwing 48 times in a 33-20 loss to No. 23 Houston, leaning hard on quarterback Braden Atkinson after falling behind 26-7 in the third quarter.
Atkinson finished with 376 passing yards and one touchdown, but Oregon State never found much on the ground, managing only 25 rushing yards on 26 carries. If that kind of imbalance shows up again, the Red Raiders may be forced into another game where the pass is the only real route forward.
That fits the profile of Oregon State’s new setup. First-year head coach JaMarcus Shephard comes in with a clear background in the passing game, having served as co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach at Alabama in 2025 after working as Associate Head Coach and Passing Game Coordinator at Washington.
The offseason move that really matters, though, was bringing in Atkinson to spark an offense that was limited a year ago. The Mercer transfer won the Jerry Rice Award in 2025 after throwing for 3,611 yards and 34 touchdowns.
For Texas Tech, this is the kind of test that can expose an unfinished back end. The biggest question sits at safety, where the Red Raiders are turning to two new starters in week two.
Junior Malik Esquerra steps in while Brenden Jordan serves the second game of his two-game suspension. Esquerra had four tackles last week against ACU and also logged a pass defense.
The other safety spot belongs to Peyton Morgan, a former 4-star signee who made his first career start against ACU and finished with three tackles.
Oregon State will almost certainly try to find out how those two hold up, though the Beavers were not exactly stretching the field constantly against Houston. Atkinson averaged 7.8 yards per attempt in that game.
Texas Tech does have experience where it counts on the outside. Bryce Pollock and Amier Boyd were both starters for most of 2025 and bring plenty of snaps into 2026.
And the Red Raiders may not need their secondary to carry the whole burden. Texas Tech got three sacks against ACU, while Oregon State allowed four sacks to Houston last week.
In Other News...
Texas Tech Keeps Reworking Its Future Schedule After Another Change
Texas Tech has filled out its 2030 non-conference slate with another home game, adding Texas State to a schedule that already includes Arkansas and Fresno State. The matchup, set for Sept. 14, gives the Red Raiders another in-state opponent on the calendar and locks in a full set of early-season dates for a year that had been taking shape piece by piece.
The agreement also comes with a $1.2 million game guarantee from Texas Tech to Texas State, a reminder that these future schedules are often as much about economics and timing as they are about opponents. For the Red Raiders, the addition brings more clarity to a long-range plan that has seen a few moving parts, even if there is still plenty of time for the broader picture to shift again. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Tech Can't Keep Terrance Carter Jr. This Quiet Again
Texas Tech had every reason to expect Terrance Carter Jr. to be a bigger part of the offense in the opener, especially after a productive previous season that was interrupted by injuries. The tight end showed up in the passing game with three catches for 28 yards, but the game never quite tilted toward the kind of central role the Red Raiders have talked about for him this fall.
The more notable detail was where Carter was not involved. He was not targeted in red-zone situations, and that leaves a lingering question about how Texas Tech plans to use one of its more versatile pass catchers as the season settles in. The coaching staff has said it wants to lean on multiple receivers and tight ends, but the first game suggested there is still work to do before Carter becomes the kind of steady featured presence the offense seems to need. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Techs First Real Test Could Expose A Big Week 1 Concern
Texas Tech heads into its matchup with Oregon State carrying the kind of early momentum every coach wants in September, but also the kind of questions that tend to surface once the competition tightens. The Red Raiders opened with a win over Abilene Christian, and Will Hammond gave the offense a promising start by throwing for 298 yards in his first game action of the season. Now the stakes rise a bit, with Oregon State coming in after a narrow loss to Houston and a quarterback situation that already looks settled enough to test a secondary.
Braden Atkinson made an immediate impression for the Beavers in his debut, passing for 376 yards and giving Texas Tech a true first look at a passing game that can stress a defense in different ways. That is where this game starts to matter for the Red Raiders, because the opener did not answer every question about how sturdy they are once an opponent can sustain drives and force repeated stops. The prediction leans toward Texas Tech covering, but this one feels like a useful early measuring stick for a team still sorting out exactly where its ceiling and concerns really are. [Read more 🡒]