Saturday, October 3
Fort Collins, Colo.
3:00 PM
Oregon State
at
Colorado State
Photo by: Karl Maasdam
Oregon State Opens Pac-12 Play Saturday In Fort Collins
September 28, 2026 | Football
Game 5: Oregon State vs Colorado State
Oct. 3, 2026  ·  Fort Collins, Colo.  ·  Canvas Stadium (36,500)  ·  3:00 p.m. PT  ·  USA Sports on USA Network
| Broadcast Information | |
| Network | USA Sports |
| Play-By-Play | Ted Robinson |
| Analyst | Darius Walker |
| Sideline | Dalen Cuff |
| 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 | 985 (SXM App/Online) |
Oregon State Opens Pac-12 Play Saturday in Fort Collins
- Oregon State opens its 2026 Pac-12 Conference slate Saturday when visiting Colorado State at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins.
- The game is set for a 3 p.m. PT (4 p.m. in Fort Collins) kick. It will air on USA Sports with Ted Robinson (play-by-play), Darius Walker (analyst) and Dalen Cuff (sideline reporter) on the call.
- The game is also available over the Beaver Sports Radio Network, which can also be heard on the Varsity Network for mobile apps and smartphones in addition to a direct link found on osubeavers.com.
- The meeting is just the fifth all-time between the teams, with each winning a pair. Oregon State won the last meeting, a 39-31 double overtime victory, in 2024. Colorado State won the only previous matchup between the teams in Fort Collins, 58-27 in 2017.
- The game is the first in the re-constituted Pac-12 play for the Beavers, who competed with Washington State as a two-team conference in 2024 and 2025.
- Oregon State is coming off its first road win since 2024 at San Diego State, snapping a 10-game losing streak. The Beavers are looking to win back-to-back road games since 2022 at Arizona State and 2023 at San Jose State to open that season.
- Jesse Legree surpassed the 100-yard receiving mark for the fourth consecutive game in the win at UTEP. Braden Atkinson also surpassed 300 yards for the fourth straight game. More on their streaks later in these notes.
- The road game marks the third in a different time zone for OSU. The Beavers opened the 2026 season in the Central Time Zone at Houston, then went to Mountain Time for last week's non-conference game at UTEP. Saturday's game also marks Oregon State's last away from home until Oct. 31 at Fresno State, a stretch of 28 days.
On USA Sports
- Saturday's game marks the first of four consecutive games for the Beavers on USA Sports on the USA Network.
- The game broadcasts live on USA Network and is available to stream live via authentication on USA Network App, USANetwork.com & Connected TV Apps.
- The game will have a pre-game and halftime show anchored by Lisa Kerney and Erik Coleman.
- In November, USA Sports and the Pac-12 Conference announced a five-year partnership beginning in 2026-27, featuring regular season action for football, men's basketball and women's basketball, plus the league's men's basketball tournament live on USA Network. Pac-12 Enterprises, the broadcast production arm of the conference, will produce all 80-plus football, men's basketball and women's basketball games on USA Network in partnership with USA Sports.
On This Date
- Oregon State has played on Oct. 3 13 times previously, going 6-7.
- Oregon State last played on the date in 2009, defeating Arizona State, 28-17, in Tempe. James Rodgers caught 10 passes for 114 yards and a score. Oregon State had a 21-3 lead entering halftime.
Crandall Returns to Colorado
- Oregon State defensive back TJ Crandall is returning to Fort Collins for his first game since playing as a member of the Rams during the 2023 season.
- Crandall appeared in 10 games for Colorado State that season, making five starts. He totaled 19 tackles with a tackle for loss that season.
- Crandall has 13 tackles for the Beavers this season. He has two pass breakups and intercepted a pass at UTEP, his first since 2023 against Utah State when he played for the Rams.
On the Road
- Oregon State is coming off its first road win since Sept. 7, 2024 at San Diego State, snapping a 10-game losing streak.
- Now, the Beavers turn their focus on a second straight road win, which they last accomplished in 2022 at Arizona State, then at San Jose State to open the 2023 season.
- The last time Oregon State won back-to-back road games in the same season? That happened in 2019 when the Beavers won three straight road matchups, at UCLA, then California and then at Arizona.
- The 26-point win over UTEP was OSU's most decisive road victory since a 32-point decision at California in 2013, 49-17.
JaMarcus Shephard's First Season
- 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.
Beavers Win Notes
- Caleb Ojeda's first-quarter field goal marked the first of his career away from Reser Stadium. He also made a 35-yard field goal in the second quarter for his first career multi-field goal effort.
- Jameson Powell made his first career receptions and caught his first career touchdown.
- TJ Crandall intercepted his second career pass and first since 2023 when he was at Colorado State.
- Oregon State held UTEP to 6 yards of total offense in the first quarter. The Miners did not record a first down. The Beavers, meanwhile, tallied 13 first-quarter first downs and 163 yards, including 124 passing.
- UTEP, meanwhile, tallied 31 first-half yards, the fewest in a half by an opponent since Sam Houston had 61 in the second in last season's matchup.
- Gyriece Goodman recorded his first career sack in the second qtr.
- Logan Knapp, Will Larkins and Jacob Anderson all made their first career starts. Isaiah Houi made his first start as a Beaver.
- Oregon State's 17 points in the first quarter marked the Beavers' most in the first since scoring 21 against Hawai'i in a 45-27 win in 2021.
- The Beavers held an opponent scoreless in the first half for the first time since their 21-0 win at San Diego State on Sept. 7, 2024.
- Oregon State has now gone back-to-back games without allowing a sack for the first time since the 2023 season against UC Davis and SDSU.
- The Beavers tallied eight sacks, the most since nine against California in 2019. OSU is 18-2 when recording six or more sacks since 1996.
Super Six
- Braden Atkinson threw for five touchdowns and rushed for one more in the win against Montana, becoming the fifth player in Oregon State history to account for six touchdowns in the same game.
- Here's the company he joins.
- Terry Baker, Sept. 22, 1962 vs. Iowa State - 3 pass, 3 rush
- Derek Anderson, Sept. 14, 2002 vs. UNLV - 5 pass, 1 rush
- Sean Mannion, Sept. 28, 2013 vs. Colorado - 6 pass
- Jake Luton, Oct. 5, 2019 vs. UCLA - 5 pass, 1 rush
- Braden Atkinson, Sept. 19, 2026 vs. Montana - 5 pass, 1 rush
Legree Joins Some Company
- Jesse Legree joined exclusive Oregon State company when he totaled 100 yards receiving against Montana. He reached the 100-yard plateau for the third consecutive game to open the 2026 season.
- He is the fifth player in program history to reach or surpass 100 yards in three straight. He then became just the third player to do it for four straight games when he tallied 109 yards at UTEP. He joins Mike Hass who went five straight in 2005, and Brandin Cooks, also five straight in 2013.
- Legree is also the first Pac-12 player with four straight since Washington's Rome Odunze in 2023. He's the first FBS player to do so since Buffalo's Nik McMillan went six straight in October and November of last season.
- Here's a look at Beavers who tallied 100 or more yards in at least three straight games.
- Jesse Legree, 2026 — 4 straight: 9/5 @ Houston (136), 9/12 vs. Texas Tech (240), 9/19 vs. Montana (100); 9/26 @ UTEP (109).
- Brandin Cooks, 2013 — 5 straight: 9/14 @ Utah (210), 9/21 @ San Diego State (141), 9/28 vs. Colorado (168), 10/12 @ Washington State (137), 10/19 @ California (232).
- Mike Hass, 2005 — 5 straight: 9/3 vs. Portland State (155), 9/10 vs. Boise State (178), 9/17 @ Louisville (136), 9/24 @ Arizona State (174), 10/1 vs. Washington State (161).
- Mike Hass, 2004 — 3 straight: 11/6 vs. USC (119), 11/13 @ Stanford (110), 11/20 vs. Oregon (154).
- James Newson, 2003 — 3 straight: 9/13 vs. New Mexico State (135), 9/20 vs. Boise State (208), 9/27 vs. Arizona State (124).
- Reggie Bynum, 1985 — 3 straight: 9/7 vs. Idaho (152), 9/14 vs. California (100), 9/21 vs. Fresno State (154).
Oh, and He's Up There Nationally, Too
- He was overtaken for the national lead, but Jesse Legree still ranks second with 585 receiving yards this season. Only Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith is ahead of the freshman, with 617 yards.
- He's averaging 25.43 yards per catch, which ranks fifth, while his six touchdowns place him in a tie for fourth.
- Legree is just two touchdowns shy of entering the top 10 for the most in a single season by a Beaver.
Atkinson's 300-Yard Efforts
A look at the 12 300-yard passing efforts in Braden Atkinson's career.
| Year | Opponent | Cmp-Att | Yds | TD |
| 2025 (Mercer) | Wofford | 26-37 | 311 | 1 |
| 2025 (Mercer) | at The Citadel | 28-34 | 304 | 4 |
| 2025 (Mercer) | Samford | 22-35 | 365 | 5 |
| 2025 (Mercer) | at Princeton | 27-42 | 347 | 3 |
| 2025 (Mercer) | VMI | 29-35 | 533 | 5 |
| 2025 (Mercer) | at Furman | 28-49 | 426 | 4 |
| 2025 (Mercer) | at Western Carolina | 23-39 | 443 | 3 |
| 2025 (Mercer) | Chattanooga | 28-37 | 321 | 5 |
| 2026 (OSU) | at Houston | 29-48 | 376 | 1 |
| 2026 (OSU) | Texas Tech | 31-51 | 413 | 2 |
| 2026 (OSU) | Montana | 22-30 | 331 | 5 |
| 2026 (OSU) | at UTEP | 24-34 | 301 | 3 |
Hickle Goes Eight Straight
- Takari Hickle recorded two tackles for loss with 1.5 sacks in the win over UTEP. He's now recorded at least one tackle for loss in each of his last eight games. His two TFLs against the Miners set a career-high for the senior.
- Hickle has 37 tackles with 8.5 tackles for loss, four sacks and a forced fumble over that stretch.
- He's gotten off to a strong start already in 2026, posting 21 tackles with 5.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks totaling 28 yards over the first four games.
- His 5.5 TFLs this season rank first in the Pac-12 and he's tied for 21st nationally. His 3.5 sacks also rank first in the Pac-12 and tie him for 23rd nationally.
Players Mentioned
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