#13 Texas Tech Survives Oregon State, 35-24

Last Saturday, JaMarcus Shephard's 2026 Oregon State Beavers were narrowly defeated by a top 25 foe.

Against another ranked team tonight, the orange & black came up just short of an incredible upset. In a back-and-forth battle, #13 Texas Tech survived an Oregon State upset bid, defeating the Beavers 35-24.

The official box score can be read at this link, while the rest of this piece features our complete game recap.

Twice on Oregon State's opening drive, sophomore gunslinger Braden Atkinson found true freshman breakout star Jesse Legree open on slants down the middle. It wasn't enough for points, however, as the Red Raiders forced a punt. Thanks to AJ Winsor's coffin corner inside the 5 yard line, Texas Tech were pinned deep.

Oregon State's second drive showed promise - Atkinson flexed toughness, taking a hit on a third down lob to Aeryn Hampton in Texas Tech territory - but ended in disaster. First, an AJ Newberry unnecessary roughness penalty pushed the Beavers back 15 yards. Then, Caleb Ojeda attempted a 54 yard field goal try. The senior successfully hit from 50+ in warmups, but this effort was doomed before it ever left his foot: long snapper Tug Sanford rifled the ball too high for AJ Winsor to catch in time, knocking Ojeda off his timing. The resulting miss kept both teams scoreless through one quarter.

Finally, with 7:39 until halftime, Texas Tech turned a short field into the game's first touchdown drive. In 5 plays, the visitors marched 49 yards, with quarterback Tommy Castellanos scrambling into the end zone from 7 yards away.

On Oregon State's next snap, momentum swung back in their favor. Atkinson rolled out to his right, exposed his body to a ferocious hit from Red Raiders' edge rusher Trey White, and heaved it deep to last week's Pac 12 Freshman of the Week Legree. In a matter of seconds, their 75 yard connection tied the game.

The Beavers' foes responded with another impressive drive. In 11 plays, Texas Tech matriculated 73 yards down the field, and completed their mission when tailback Cameron Dickey leaped over the line on fourth and goal from the 1.

Oregon State's next drive flashed promise. On 1st and 10 from the Texas Tech 49 yard line, the Beavers' Alabama transfer Hampton lined up outside, then bolted upfield against 1-on-1 coverage, and cut towards the end zone pylons. Atkinson threw a perfect spiral, but the sophomore wideout bobbled the ball incomplete. Two plays later, Oregon State's passer threw his first interception of the year. After each team punted the football away, Texas Tech carried a 14-7 lead into halftime.

Electric deep passes dominated the first half stat sheet, with Atkinson completing 12/22 passes for 183 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Legree led all Beavers' receivers with a team high 4 catches, another team high 128 yards, and the home team's lone touchdown. Much like last week's loss to Houston, the run game struggled: on 10 true carries, the Beavers managed just 32 yards. An Atkinson cost them 10 more yards, netting just 22 all half.

On the other side, Texas Tech looked more efficient - Hammond went 14/18 for 107 yards, and Red Raiders backs ran it 21 times for 55 yards - and took advantage of 5 costly Beavers' penalties.

Aggressive playcalling defined Oregon State's start to the second half, with Atkinson threading the needle to his star Legree 41 yards into Tech territory. After Aaron Butler brought the Beavers into the red zone with a 20 yard end-around run, another trick play resulted in an Oregon State touchdown. Atkinson pitched to running back AJ Newberry, who swept right, looked left, and then yo-yo'd the pigskin back to a wide-open Atkinson. After a botched snap on the point-after try, Texas Tech held a 14-13 advantage.

Texas Tech answered with a burst of lightning: in just over 3 minutes of game time, the Red Raiders raced 75 yards in 8 plays, with Red Raiders running back J'Koby Williams juking defenders on an impressive 38 yard touchdown run.

Yet again, the Beavers leaned on their freshman phenom Jesse Legree. The Beavers next drive drew a 3rd and long, but the Maryland native earned fresh chains with a 22 yard catch. Later, on 4th and 7 from Texas Tech's 37 yard line, Legree lined up in the slot, Atkinson spotted single coverage on his favorite wideout, and the tandem made a house call. After Atkinson scrambled free for a game-tying two-point try, Reser Stadium quaked with cheers.

Then all hell broke loose.

First, mammoth defensive tackle Daniel Matagi sacked Hammond. Then, linebacker Aiden Sullivan blew up a screen pass. On 3rd and long, feisty pressure forced Hammond to scramble. Texas Tech's passer appeared to take a sack while trying to throw the football away, but replay resulted in officials determining that Texas Tech fumbled, Oregon State recovered, and the Beavers had the ball deep in Tech territory.

Four plays later, Sanford and Winsor resolved their earlier issues, and an Ojeda close-range field goal pushed Oregon State above with 13:23 left in the game.

Texas Tech lunged back with a Coy Eakin 32 yard touchdown catch. After a successful extra point, the Red Raiders led 28-24 with 6:31 remaining.

Oregon State's next drive demanded heroics, with an acrobatic third down completion reversed after replay. On 4th and 9 from Texas Tech's 37 yard line, Atkinson heaved a prayer to his star wideout Legree, but the freshman's diving catch landed out of bounds.

The turnover on downs dashed hopes, but a stout defensive stand - assisted by a Texas Tech unsportsmanlike conduct penalty - gave the Beavers one more chance.

On 4th and 3 from Oregon State's own 21, Atkinson appeared to find Hampton wide open down the left sideline, but the play was penalized for offensive pass interference. On the next snap, the Beavers' tried a hook-and-lateral, but the initial target Eric Olsen dropped Atkinson's pass. Texas Tech capitalized, with Castellanos finding Matt Ludwig open in the end zone. That touchdown slammed the door on Oregon State's touchdown bid.

Oregon State (0-2) continues their 2026 football season next Saturday September 19th against the Montana Grizzlies. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 PM PST at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, and the game will be televised on USA Sports.

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