Friday night college football: Oregon seeks redemption

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning. USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Friday night college football: Oregon seeks redemption as Miami, Texas Tech headline slate

By Chris Pownall | Last updated Sep 14, 2026 10:42 PM ET

Friday night college football has a little bit of everything this week. Oregon needs to get the bad taste of last weekend out of its mouth, Miami heads back on the road, and Houston gets a shot at No. 13 Texas Tech in Lubbock.

The last of those three is probably the best game. Oregon, though, might have the most to prove.

Oregon can't afford another ugly night

Oklahoma State did more than beat Oregon last weekend. The Cowboys knocked the Ducks from No. 6 all the way down to No. 21 and put Dan Lanning's team in an uncomfortable spot much earlier than expected.

Portland State is next.

There shouldn't be much drama here, and that's exactly what Oregon needs. Get ahead early, play clean football and move on.

Lanning wasn't interested in making excuses after the Oklahoma State loss, either. He acknowledged that his team hadn't made the improvement he expected to see.

Friday is the first chance to show otherwise.

Beating Portland State won't erase what happened in Stillwater. Struggling with the Vikings, however, would make that loss look a whole lot more concerning.

OKLAHOMA STATE UPSETS NO. 6 OREGON AS A 24.5-POINT UNDERDOG

It ends the longest losing streak vs. FBS teams in the country (21)! pic.twitter.com/WRXY4Um3HC
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 12, 2026

Miami takes its show back on the road

Miami's season began about as far from home as possible with a trip to Stanford. The Hurricanes won there, blew out Florida A&M a week later and now sit at No. 5.

Wake Forest gets the next crack at them.

This is where Miami's expectations come into play. The Hurricanes played for a national championship last season. Nobody is going to get overly excited about a 2-0 start or a September win over Wake Forest.

Lose it? Different conversation entirely.

That's what makes Friday interesting for Miami. The Hurricanes are supposed to go into Winston-Salem and take care of business. Wake Forest gets a nationally televised home game and a chance to wreck those plans.

Houston-Texas Tech is the one to watch

Forget rankings for a second. This is a pretty good way to start Big 12 play.

Houston is 2-0 and ranked No. 22. Texas Tech is also unbeaten, sits at No. 13 and gets this one at home.

Now we find out a little more about both.

Texas Tech won the Big 12 last season, so the Red Raiders aren't sneaking up on anybody. Houston is the team with the chance to change how people view it. Walking into Lubbock and leaving with a win would do that quickly.

Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire has already called Houston his team's toughest test in two years. We'll find out Friday if he was onto something.

Miami and Wake Forest get things started at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. Houston-Texas Tech kicks off at 8 p.m. on FOX, followed by Portland State-Oregon at 10:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network.

Not a bad appetizer for Saturday.

Chris Pownall

Chris Pownall is a Contributor to Yardbarker covering all major sports, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, college athletics, and the biggest storylines shaping the sports world. His work focuses on timely analysis, strong opinion, and the narratives fans are actually talking about. He also serves as an NFL Analyst for Last Word on Sports, where he provides in depth coverage and league wide perspective on the NFL

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