Houston vs Oregon State Prediction, Pick & Odds for Friday Night CFB

• The Houston Cougars are large 13.5-point road favorites when they visit the Oregon State Beavers
• The Beavers are 0-4 and have been blown out in back-to-back weeks
• Read below for Houston vs Oregon State prediction, pick and odds for Friday night CFB

---

It’s a monster mismatch Friday night in the Pacific Northwest, as the winless Oregon State Beavers (0-4, 0-3-1 ATS) host the Houston Cougars (3-0, 3-0-0 ATS).

Houston has yet to be challenged this year, while Oregon State has been crushed almost every week, losing by at least 19 points in three games, part of the reason they’re massive home ‘dogs in the college football odds.

Action gets underway tonight at 10:30pm ET from Reser Stadium in Corvalis, OR, with ESPN broadcasting the game.

Houston vs Oregon State Prediction

• Pick: Houston -13.5 (-110 at BetMGM)

There isn’t a lot of intrigue in this pick: the Cougars are the better team on paper, and on the field.

Houston is coming off a 36-20 whipping of the Colorado Buffaloes, giving them dominant double-digit wins through each of their first three games.

The Cougars have outscored the opposition 98-29 and have yet to commit a turnover on the season. Defensively, they’re one of the best in the Big 12, allowing less than 10 points a game, and have turned their opponents over, with five interceptions and a fumble recovery.

It’s been the complete opposite for the Beavers, who have been a train wreck defensively. Their season-opening 34-15 loss to California is the fewest points they’ve surrendered in a game this season.

They’ve been clobbered by the level up, getting blown out by no. 21 Texas Tech 45-14, and most recently by 6th-ranked Oregon, 41-7.

The Beavers are allowing 464.5 yards of offense, which ranks 129th of 136 schools playing in D1.

Houston has a punishing ground game that churns out 201.3 yards per game, a Top-40 mark in the nation, and they should slice up a Beavers’ defense that allows a healthy 4.9 yards a pop.

Cougars Try to Stay Sharp Out of Break

If there’s one thing that might have bettors hitting pause before taking Houston to cover this large spread, it’s the way the Cougars came out the week after a bye.

Last year, they came back from a week off in October and were routed by the Kansas Jayhawks 42-14. The next month, after another week between games, the Cougars came out flat and were dumped 27-3 at Arizona.

Conner Weigman is a baller 🤷‍♂️
pic.twitter.com/phZk8pQB9m

— SleeperCFB (@SleeperCFB) September 13, 2025

The difference, though, is both in how Houston is currently playing and its level of competition. This nonconference game will be the final one before the Cougars hit the full conference slate, beginnign with 12th-ranked Texas Tech next week.

While the ground game is their bread-and-butter, perhaps Oregon State will also be the chance to get QB Conner Weigman comfortable throwing the ball.

The Texas A&M transfer is coming off his best day as a Cougar, throwing for 222 yards against Colorado. He has four TD passes on the year, and has run for three more scores.

Beavers Desperate for Bounce Back

Oregon State is 0-4 for the first time since 2011, and they’re trying to avoid their first 0-5 start since the 1996 season.

Save for last week when they were run over by Oregon, QB Maalik Murphy has had some flashes. Throw out his 68-yard passing day, where he completed just 5-of-18, and he’s been promising.

In Murphy’s other three starts, he’s completed better than 63% of his passes twice and thrown for at least 244 yards in each. The turnovers have to stop, though: he’s been picked off five times already this season.

Houston’s pass defense is relentless and will test the junior pivot: they have surrendered just one TD pass, and allow a paltry 120 yards per game through the air.

Houston vs Oregon State Odds

Odds as of September 26 at 3pm ET. Be sure to check out the best BetMGM bonus code before placing a bet on any Week 5 College Football matchup.

No surprise here: the Beavers are a whopping 13.5-point home underdog Friday night and a very long +400 on the moneyline. The books have taken every ounce of juice on the Houston moneyline as well, tagging them as a -555 favorite.

The total sits at 47.5 points, the second-lowest total the Beavers have seen. Despite just a 2-2-0 Over record through four games, every one of their games have totaled a combined 48 points or more. Houston has cashed the Over in back-to-back games.