What Oregon State Football Does Better Than Houston And Why It Matters
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Houston football will host the Oregon State Beavers for the season opener on Sept. 5, inside TDECU Stadium.
The Cougars look to build upon an impressive 2025 season, while the Beavers are in complete rebuild mode, searching for their identity as a team.
While Houston should enter this matchup as the clear favorite, Oregon State is better in one area than the Cougars, which could end up being a problem.
One Area Where Oregon State is Better Than Houston
While Oregon State football struggled through a 2-10 season last year, the Beavers did find success through chunk plays, primarily through the long passing game.
Houston was also very good in the passing game; however, the Cougars did not utilize the deep ball very much last season.
Even with an entirely new staff led by head coach JaMarcus Shephard, the deep ball will undoubtedly be the strength of this offense.
The main reason why this trend will continue is that Shephard hired former Alabama assistant offensive coordinator Mitch Dalen, who worked for the Crimson Tide the previous two seasons and served as the Washington offensive coordinator and quarterback’s coach in 2022-23.
Dalen has a lengthy resume with some of the things he's accomplished in a short time, including establishing two top passing offenses at Alabama and Washington.
He has also produced elite quarterbacks, such as Jake Haener, Michael Penix Jr., Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson.
Shephard had high praise for his former colleague, and he was ecstatic to reunite at Oregon State.
”I am really excited to bring in Mitch Dalen as our offensive coordinator,” Shephard said. “He’s a bright, passionate coach who will help us take this offense to the next level. His ability to connect with players, teach the game, and build a creative, flexible system is exactly what we need as we set the foundation for this new era of Oregon State football. I can’t wait to see the impact he will have on this program.”
Now, joining a program with a quarterback known for his strong arm, the long ball may be even more of an issue for opposing defenses this season.
The Beavers also added to their talented transfers in junior receiver Xayvion Noland, who was a standout at UTRGV, and sophomore transfer Aeryn Hampton, who previously played for Alabama.
With the talented duo of transfer receivers alongside sophomore wideout Eddie Freauff, who is set to break out in 2026, the vertical passing game will be the Beavers’ main threat this season.
Why this matters for Houston is that the Cougars were known to give up chunk plays from time to time in both the run and passing game last year.
Houston also lost three players in the secondary to the NFL in Latrell McCutchin Sr, Marc Stampley II and Zelmar Vedder, who were all big pieces in the Cougars’ defense.
While Houston does have several young players who can fill those gaps, the lack of game experience could be an issue against an air-raid Oregon State passing offense.
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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).