Houston Cougars Stay Undefeated With Thrilling Overtime Win vs. Oregon State
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Houston football showed its true character and culture that head coach Willie Fritz has instilled in his team in Friday’s 27-24 victory over Oregon State.
It came down to the right leg of senior kicker Ethan Sanchez, and he drilled a 24-yard field goal to keep the Cougars perfect on the season.
With the victory, Houston improves to 4-0 on the year and continues to show that they are in a new era of Cougar football.
Houston Remains Perfect
The Cougars pulled off the impossible in a total team effort victory to steal a win from the Beavers on Friday night in Corvallis.
The Cougars special teams made the difference in the game, coming up with two clutch field goal blocks to make overtime possible.
Junior quarterback Conner Weigman started slow, but found his rhythm in the fourth quarter to spark a comeback.
On back-to-back drives late in the game, Weigman delivered strikes to senior wide receiver Stephon Johnson for a 27-yard score, followed by a 50-yard touchdown to senior tight end Tanner Koziol to tie the game at 24.
Oregon State managed to get into field goal range and attempt a kick right as time expired, but Houston’s special teams came up with its second block of the game to send the game to overtime.
Houston’s defense stepped up big on the Beavers drive in overtime and stuffed Oregon State on fourth down to seal the victory for Houston.
After not picking up a first down in the third quarter, Houston’s receiving core stepped up late in the game to propelled the Cougars to an unbelievable comeback win.
Junior wide receiver Amare Thomas stepped up big by catching six passes for 104 yards and was the go-to target in the game.
Koziol and Johnson also shined and combined for eight catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns.
Oregon State
The Beavers welcomed Houston early to their first true road game of the season by jumping out to an early 14-point lead.
Junior running back Jake Reichle got the scoring started for Oregon State with a 1-yard touchdown run.
At the start of the second quarter, junior quarterback Maalik Murphy threw a 5-yard strike to senior running back Marquis Crosby for a touchdown.
The lack of offensive success early in the game for Houston left the defense on the field for 35 total minutes, and the Beavers wore the Cougars out on the ground.
Oregon State ran for 189 yards in the game, and Houston did not have an answer.
The Beavers missed several opportunities on offense and special teams to seal the victory, but Houston’s resilience was too much for the Beavers.
Next Up
Houston fought to the end and they continue to prove they are a new team this season.
The Cougars improve to 4-0 and head back to Houston to prepare for a tough Texas Tech team next weekend.
The Cougars will face the No. 12 Texas Tech Red Raiders next Saturday, Oct 4, at 6:00 p.m. at TDECU Stadium in Houston, Texas.
Ashton Grissom is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He is currently a senior at the University of Houston and majoring in Sports Media Production with a minor in Marketing and Spanish. He also works for two student organizations: The Cougar and CoogTV. You can find Grissom on his Instagram (@ashtonagrissom8) or Twitter (@ashtongrissom8).