No. 25 Houston (1-0) at Texas Tech (1-0), Saturday, 4 p.m. ET (FS1)
Line: Texas Tech by 2 1/2;
Series record: Houston leads 18-14-1, but Texas Tech has won the last four meetings.
What is at stake?
The former Southwest Conference rivals will meet for the last time before becoming Big 12 Conference opponents. The Mountaineers won the previous five meetings with Texas Tech before Holgorsen left to take over the Cougars in the 2021 opener. Houston snapped its 11-game winning streak after losing to Texas Tech in the 2021 opener of the American Athletic Conference Championship. Game. The lifelong Texan at Baylor is the Lone Star State’s first opponent after winning three state high school championships over the past five seasons for Red Raiders coach Joey McGuire.
Key match
Texas Tech defense against Houston QB Clayton Tune. The Red Raiders had four sacks, including two by Phillip Blidy, among Murray State’s 13 tackles for a loss. He had a career-high four interceptions in last year’s 38-21 loss at Texas Tech in the opener.
Players to watch
Houston: WR Nathaniel Dell caught Houston’s first two touchdowns against UTSA, then a 2-point conversion catch turned out to be the difference in a 37-35 victory in double overtime. He finished with five catches for 50 yards. Dell had seven catches for 80 yards and a TD against Texas Tech last year.
Texas Tech: QB Donovan Smith will start after replacing the injured Tyler Shaw, as he did last year. Shaw suffered the same left shoulder injury from a year ago, which limited him to four games. Smith threw four touchdown passes in last week’s 63-10 win over Murray State.
Facts and figures
This is Texas Tech’s first non-conference opponent since No. 17 Houston won 29-28 13 years ago. The Red Raiders snapped a 13-game losing streak against non-conference opponents after beating Arizona 24-14 in the 1989 home opener. … Cougars have won seven regular-season games, longest streak since nine games from 1987-89. …Texas Tech had 12 plays of at least 20 yards in the opener, tied for most nationally. … Holgorsen was on Mike Leach’s staff at Texas Tech from 2000-07. Five years later, he was the inside receivers coach for one season and the offensive coordinator for two. … Shaw, Smith and Behren Morton each threw at least one TD pass against Murray State. It’s the first time three QBs have thrown a touchdown pass in the same game since Texas Tech went into a fun offense under Leach in 2000.
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