Oregon State BeaversvsHouston Cougars
ORST 20/HOU 33
Things to say
Houston beat Oregon State 33-20 at TDECU Stadium.
01
opener
Houston handled Oregon State 33-20. Never really felt that close. The Cougars just controlled the line of scrimmage and pulled away in the second half.
02
key player
Amare Thomas was the guy — 8 catches, 133 yards and a score. Weigman went 20-of-30 for 305, and Thomas was his safety blanket all night.
03
hot take
Atkinson threw for 376 and it barely mattered. That's a lot of garbage-time yards when you couldn't punch it in the red zone.
04
deep cut
Re'Shaun Sanford ripping off a 56-yard touchdown run was the backbreaker. That's the kind of smashmouth play that flips a whole game.
05
exit
Anyway, 1-0 for Houston. We'll see if that ground game holds up once they hit conference play.
The recap
Houston controlled this one from the jump, riding Conner Weigman's 305 yards and a chunk of Amare Thomas' 133 to build a 26-7 cushion before Oregon State ever woke up. The Beavers finally found some life late, ripping off a couple scores to sneak within 26-20 and make it interesting.
But Weigman punched in a 1-yard sneak to answer right back and slam the door for the 33-20 final. Braden Atkinson's 376 passing yards look shiny in the box score, but a bunch of that was Oregon State playing catch-up all night.