Saturday, September 5
Houston, Texas
9:00 AM
Oregon State
at
Houston
Photo by: Karl Maasdam
Oregon State Opens 2026 Season Saturday In Houston
August 31, 2026 | Football
Game 1: Oregon State at Houston
Sept. 5, 2026  · Houston, Texas  · TDECU Stadium (40,000)  · 9:00 a.m. PT  · ESPN
| Broadcast Information | |
| Network | ESPN |
| Play-By-Play | Anish Shroff |
| Analyst | Andre Ware |
| Sideline | Morgan Uber |
| Radio Information | |
| Network | Beaver Sports Network |
| Play-By-Play | Mike Parker |
| Analyst | Jim Wilson |
| Sideline Reporter | Ron Callan |
| Pre-Game | Steve Preece |
| Streaming | Varsity Network |
| SiriusXM Channel | 261  · 970 (SXM App/Online) |
Oregon State Opens the 2026 Season Saturday in Houston
- The JaMarcus Shephard era gets underway Saturday when the Beavers open their 2026 season at TDECU Stadium versus the Houston Cougars. Shephard was hired as Oregon State's head coach in November of 2025.
- Saturday's game kicks off at 9 a.m. PT (11 a.m. in Houston). It will air live on ESPN. Anish Shroff will serve as play-by-play announcer with Andre Ware as the analyst. Morgan Uber will report from the sideline.
- Oregon State and Houston are meeting for the second consecutive season. The Cougars visited Corvallis last season and came away with a 27-24 overtime victory. Houston leads the all-time series, 3-1, winning in 1961 and 1970 before last season. The Beavers' win came in 1960 in Corvallis.
- The 2026 season marks the first in the reconstituted Pac-12 Conference, which sees Oregon State and Washington State joined by Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Texas State and Utah State. Gonzaga also joined the conference but does not field a football program. Oregon State will play all seven of its conference foes this season, and will participate in a FLEX game - opponent TBD - on Nov. 28.
- Oregon State opens its season on the road for the first time since 2023 when the Beavers defeated San Jose State, 42-17. OSU opened 2024 at home against Idaho State and 2025 at Reser Stadium versus California.
- Sept. 5 is the latest start to a non-Covid related season for the Beavers since opening 2012 on Sept. 8.
- OSU is making a visit to the state of Texas for the second consecutive season. The Beavers visited Texas Tech in Lubbock in game three of the 2025 season.
- A win would snap a nine-game road losing streak for the Beavers. Their last away from home was a 21-0 victory at San Diego State in the second game of the 2024 season.
- OSU is playing its first 9 a.m. PT game since the 2024 season finale at Boise State.
JaMarcus Shephard's First Game
- JaMarcus Shephard was named Oregon State's head coach this past November.
- He came to Corvallis after spending two seasons at Alabama, most recently as the Crimson Tide's assistant head coach, co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach.
- He arrived at Oregon State with a reputation as one of the nation's premier developers of wide receivers, having coached a consensus All-American, a first-team All-American, multiple NFL draft picks and a string of nationally ranked passing offenses across stops at Alabama, Washington, Purdue, Washington State and Western Kentucky.
- Shephard coached in the 2023 national title game while with the Huskies. Washington's passing game ranked second nationally at 343.7 yards per game while the Huskies scored 36.0 points per game. The unit featured one of the nation's top wide receiver corps with a pair of 1,000-yard seasons from first team All-American Rome Odunze, who recorded 92 receptions for 1,640 yards and 13 touchdowns, and Ja'Lynn Polk, who caught 69 passes for 1,159 yards and nine scores.
- The duo went on to be selected in the first and second rounds, respectively, of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Saturday to Air on Disney+ as Well
- ESPN announced prior to the season that two games a week are set to be unlocked for Disney+ subscribers. Saturday's game at Houston is one of the two for this week's college football slate.
On This Date
- Oregon State has played on Sept. 5 just five times in its history. The Beavers are 3-2 on the date.
- The Beavers last played on the date in 2009, defeating Portland State, 34-7, to open the season at Reser Stadium.
- Jacquizz Rodgers ran for 103 yards and three touchdowns in the 2009 win over the Vikings.
Back-to-Back Ranked
- Oregon State opens 2026 against two ranked opponents — Houston (No. 23) and Texas Tech (No. 12) — a scenario the program has faced only four times previously since the AP poll began in 1936.
- The last time it happened was 2012, when the Beavers opened with No. 13 Wisconsin and at No. 19 UCLA and won both games, 10-7 and 27-20, springing off to a 9-4 season.
- The only other instances came in 1960 (at No. 6 USC, at No. 19 Iowa), 1953 (at No. 4 UCLA, vs. No. 14 California) and 1950 (at No. 19 Michigan State, vs. No. 8 Stanford).
- The Beavers are the only team in the nation scheduled to play two top-25 teams to open the season.
Atkinson QB1
- Braden Atkinson is slated to make the start behind center for the Beavers in the 2026 opener.
- Atkinson was the 2025 Jerry Rice Award winner after throwing for 3,596 yards and 34 touchdowns in 11 games at Mercer. He surpassed 300 yards passing eight times, and was 268-of-406 (66 percent). He set the school record with 533 yards against VMI.
- That now gives the Beavers a different starting quarterback for eight consecutive season openers. A look below at how the other seven did in their season openers.
- 2025: Maalik Murphy – 21-33, 244 yds, 0 TD, 1 INT vs. California (L)
- 2024: Gevani McCoy – 9-10, 114 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT vs. Idaho State (W)
- 2023: DJ Uiagalelei – 20-25, 239 yds, 3 TD, 0 INT at San Jose St. (W)
- 2022: Chance Nolan – 14-23, 251 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT vs. Boise State (W)
- 2021: Sam Noyer – 10-21, 94 yds, 0 TD, 1 INT at Purdue (L)
- 2020: Tristan Gebbia – 34-48, 329 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT vs. Washington State (L)
- 2019: Jake Luton – 23-42, 251 yds, 3 TD, 0 INT vs. Oklahoma State (L)
- Saturday's game marks the seventh away from home for Atkinson. He has thrown for 1,918 yards and 18 touchdowns in those games, surpassing 300 yards four times and 400 yards twice.
- Atkinson will be the 14th different quarterback to throw a pass for the Beavers since 2019.
Players Mentioned
QB
/ Football
QB
/ FootballTuesday, September 01
Tuesday, September 01
Monday, August 31
Monday, August 31
