After an eventful offseason — to put it mildly — Texas Tech football will begin its Big 12 championship defense in earnest this week, under the bright stadium lights of West Texas on a Friday night.
The No. 12 Red Raiders will host No. 23 Houston in a matchup of arguably the two best teams in the Big 12 on Friday, Sept. 18 at Galaxy Stadium in Lubbock, Texas.
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Coach Joey McGuire's Texas Tech team is off to a 2-0 start, though it has looked underwhelming at times, beating FCS Abilene Christian by just 23 and Oregon State by 11 in a game in which it trailed with seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Coming off an injury last season, quarterback Will Hammond has looked solid,
completing 76.7% of his passes for 487 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in two games. Texas Tech's gotten most of its offensive production from running back J'Koby Williams, who has rushed for 187 yards and two touchdowns while averaging 5.7 yards per carry.
The Red Raiders will put their 12-game conference winning streak on the line against a Houston program coming off a 10-win campaign in its second season under coach Willie Fritz. Like Texas Tech, the Cougars also needed a late spurt to pull away from Oregon State in a 33-20 victory in their season-opener before a 77-6 thumping of FCS Southern in Week 2. The running back duo of Makhi Hughes and Re'Shaun Sanford II have paced Houston offensively, with 244 combined yards and four touchdowns while the pair has averaged 6.1 yards per carry.
Texas Tech won the matchup between the schools last season, 35-11, in Houston, a game in which the Red Raiders out-gained the Cougars by a 552-267 margin.
Get real-time updates, scoring plays, turning points and expert analysis throughout as Texas Tech takes on Houston. Follow along as USA TODAY Sports provides live updates, highlights, injury news, key plays and instant breakdown from the Red Raiders-Cougars showdown.
Texas Tech football vs Houston analysis
Why watch: The Big 12 Friday prime-time selection is a good one as the Red Raiders and Cougars, both of whom have league title aspirations, square off in Lubbock. Curiously, they already have a common opponent, as both picked up closer-than-expected wins against Oregon State. QB Will Hammond takes nearly all of the snaps for Texas Tech, but veteran transfer Thomas Castellanos is inserted on occasion for some different looks. RB J’Koby Williams is a big part of the Red Raiders’ passing game as well. Cougars QB Conner Weigman provides an experienced hand at the controls, making good use of WR Amare Thomas and RB Makhi Hughes. The secondaries figure to be busy, and names to know include Red Raiders DB Malik Esquerra and Cougars DB Kentrell Webb.
Why it could disappoint: It’s conceivable that the Texas Tech defense could assert control from the opening snap. But that unit might not be as strong as last year’s group with guys like Jacob Rodriguez now in the NFL. — Eddie Timanus, USA TODAY Sports
Cody Campbell Big 12 revenge tour starts vs Houston
After an offseason laden with off-the-field drama, the Red Raiders have a bone to pick with their conference-mates after trying to add Brendan Sorsby via transfer after it was discovered Sorsby had a gambling addiction dating back to his time at Indiana, when he bet on games he was around the team for.
What followed was a prolonged standoff between Texas Tech and virtually everyone else in college football. Other schools, media members and fans insisted the Red Raiders shouldn't add Sorsby. Texas Tech doubled down repeatedly, even releasing a more than 20-minute video in which athletic director Kirby Hocutt, coach Joey McGuire and other staffers defended the move.
The video drew widespread ridicule, and the controversy unraveled less than a week later when Texas Tech and Sorsby parted ways after the Big 12 sued the school. (The lawsuit has since been dropped.) Yet Matt Campbell wasn't content to let the matter die. In the Paramount+ documentary "The Program," which followed Texas Tech's offseason, he reflected on the episode:
“Looking back on it, I know that Texas Tech and I handled everything with integrity, and we did things the right way. I think this is something that could have been handled much more privately. We’re not going to forget about that, and I don’t think they’ll forget about it either when we’re up by 40 and still throwing the ball in the fourth quarter. That’s where the retribution will come.”
Texas Tech football vs Houston live score
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Texas Tech vs Houston football live updates: Start time, TV, predictions for Week 3 game
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