No. 13 Texas Tech hosts No. 22 Houston Friday night in Lubbock, where elite rushing attacks, dominant defenses and a nine-game home streak collide.
Texas Tech football gets its first major Big 12 test Friday night, and the stage couldn’t be much bigger.
No. 13 Texas Tech hosts No. 22 Houston at 7 p.m. Central on FOX in a sold-out Galaxy Stadium, marking the Red Raiders’ first Friday night regular-season home game since 1941.
The matchup also brings together two ranked teams with legitimate conference-title ambitions.
Joey McGuire saw this coming months ago.
“The Friday game against Houston, it’s going to be a huge game,” McGuire said in April.
He was right.
Texas Tech enters with a nine-game home winning streak, its longest since the Red Raiders won 12 straight in Lubbock from 2007-09.
Defense has fueled that run, with Tech allowing 18 points or fewer in each of those nine home games.
The most compelling matchup may come on the ground.
Houston is averaging 308 rushing yards per game, while Texas Tech has allowed just 65 rushing yards per gameand has held seven consecutive opponents below 100 yards on the ground.
Houston’s defense has been even more extreme through two games, surrendering only 10 rushing yards per game.
For Texas Tech, J’Koby Williams has emerged as the centerpiece of the rushing attack. He has 187 yards through two games, including 116 yards at Oregon State in Tech’s 35-24 road victory.
Recent history also favors the Red Raiders.
Texas Tech has beaten Houston seven consecutive times and 12 times in the last 13 meetings. Last season, Behren Morton threw for 345 yards and a touchdown, while Williams scored twice in a 35-11 victory in Houston.
There could also be reinforcements coming. McGuire said injured linebacker Trey White and tight end Terrance Carter Jr. were both “trending in the right direction” this week, while safety Brenden Jordan is eligible to return from suspension.
Texas Tech has spent the past year establishing itself as one of the Big 12’s heavyweights.
Friday night is where that reputation gets tested again.
