Red Raiders welcome Houston for Big 12 home opener

HOUSTON at TEXAS TECH
Lubbock, Texas | Jones AT&T Stadium
Sept. 30, 2023
FS2 | 2:30 p.m. CT

GAME LINKS

LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech returns to the friendly confines of Jones AT&T Stadium on Saturday as the Red Raiders will host Houston in their Big 12 home opener. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. for what will be the first meeting between the two schools as Big 12 members, which will come in front of a sellout crowd. Texas Tech has won 10 of the past 11 meetings against the Cougars dating back to their time together in the Southwest Conference, including each of the last five contests as non-conference opponents.

Television coverage will be provided by FS2. Dan Hellie will be behind the mic for play-by-play duties and will be joined by analyst Petros Papadakis. Fans can access the game from their mobile or streaming device by using the FOX Sports app.

Texas Tech Sports Network will also broadcast the game over 46 affiliates throughout the state of Texas and New Mexico as Brian Jensen will have the call alongside analyst John Harris and sideline reporter Chris Level. The radio broadcast can also be heard on SiriusXM channel 158 or 199, as well as on the Varsity app.

ARRIVE EARLY

With the ongoing $230 million south end zone and Womble Football Center construction project, Texas Tech highly encourages fans to arrive to Jones AT&T Stadium early each gameday as capacity crowds are expected for each home game. Additionally, fans are asked to please enter the stadium as early as possible to avoid longer entry lines closer to kickoff.
One of the most notable changes around Jones AT&T Stadium will be the closing of Sixth Street each gameday, namely the area between the ongoing south end zone construction site and the Sports Performance Center. This area will be closed to pedestrian traffic on gameday due to the construction project and to ensure both teams can safely reach their locker room in a timely manner.
Fans with seats on the east side of Jones AT&T Stadium are encouraged to enter through Gate 3 this season and use the north inner concourse to reach their section.
Students should continue to utilize Gate 6.
Once inside, fans are reminded that the only way to move from the east or west side of Jones AT&T Stadium to the other is via the north inner concourse behind the north end zone building. There will not be a concourse area in the south portion of the stadium this season due to construction.

VANILLA ICE ANNOUNCED AS RAIDER ALLEY PERFORMER

Join the pregame party at Raider Alley in the historic Engineering Key of Texas Tech featuring a performance by the timeless musical artist Vanilla Ice.
Raider Alley opens at 10:30 a.m. and music begins at 12:30 p.m.
Raider Alley is free for all fans.

CITIBUS TO OPERATE SHUTTLE SERVICE FOR FANS

Citibus will provide roundtrip shuttle service beginning three hours prior to kickoff until one hour after the conclusion of the game at only $5 per person. Pick-up is located north of the John Walker Soccer Complex and northwest of the Health Sciences Center. Fan shuttle service is also provided for fans from the gameday parking lots to Raider Alley this season. The drop-off location on the north end of the Engineering Key is in addition to the normal gameday route.
***Beginning this year, Citibus will only accept payment through the "Go Pass" app. Signage and QR codes will be available near each pickup location on gameday.***
Hop on a Citibus from satellite parking and get dropped off directly to Raider Alley.

BACK-TO-BACK BIG GAMES FOR BROOKS

Tahj Brooks is coming off back-to-back impressive performances on the ground as the senior set a career-high with 158 rushing yards versus Tarleton State, only to follow it with 149 yards this past weekend at West Virginia.
Brooks is the first Red Raider to rush for at least 140 yards in consecutive games since DeAndre Washington combined for 421 yards over the final two games of the 2015 regular season versus Kansas State and Texas.
Brooks enters this weekend ranked 12th in the FBS with 417 rushing yards.

DEFENSE CUTTING DOWN ON EXPLOSIVES

Texas Tech entered the 2023 season with high expectations defensively due to the amount of experience returning, especially up front with veterans Tony Bradford Jr. and Jaylon Hutchings, a preseason All-Big 12 selection with 50 starts over his career.
One goal for the Red Raiders, though: cutting down on explosive plays. Texas Tech managed to do that through four games this season as the Red Raiders lead the Big 12 and rank tied for 16th in the FBS with only 11 plays allowed of 20 or more yards, which includes only one rush going that distance.

RED RAIDERS IN UNFAMILIAR TERRITORY

There's no doubt the Red Raiders are entering unfamiliar territory thanks to a 1-3 start that is only their second in the Big 12 era (2020) and the 21st over 99 seasons of football. The positive news for Red Raider fans is Texas Tech has overcome similar starts three times since 1972 to post a .500 record or better with two of those trips leading to bowl appearances.
Texas Tech is 2-5 since 1972 in its fifth game of the season after a 1-3 start. The Red Raiders previously prevented a 1-4 start in 2020 with a 34-27 victory over West Virginia and again in 1978 with a 36-23 win at New Mexico. The victory in 1978 kicked off six-consecutive wins for the Red Raiders, who finished 5-3 in the Southwest Conference en route to finishing 7-4 overall.

TEXAS TECH-HOUSTON CONNECTIONS

There will be several noticeable ties between the two schools this weekend, none greater probably than Houston head coach Dana Holgorsen, who was the inside receivers coach for the Red Raiders from 2000-04 and then co-offensive coordinator from 2005-07. Holgorsen departed the Texas Tech coaching staff prior to the 2008 season to take the offensive coordinator position at Houston. This will be the 10th time the Red Raiders have faced Holgorsen as the head coach on the opposing sideline as Texas Tech is 4-5 in those games between his time at Houston and West Virginia.
Texas Tech offensive line coach Stephen Hamby is more than familiar with Holgorsen as he was an offensive lineman with the Red Raiders during the final three years of Holgorsen's tenure. Their time together was capped by a memorable come-from-behind victory in the 2007 Gator Bowl against Virginia. Texas Tech Associate A.D. for football administration Antonio Huffman was also a standout on the other side of the ball during Holgorsen's tenure as a three-year starter in the secondary from 2003-06.
Texas Tech has two University of Houston alumnus on its staff in associate head coach Kenny Perry and offensive passing game coordinator Justin "Juice" Johnson. Perry was a four-year letterwinner for the Cougars from 1988-91 as a cornerback his first two seasons at Houston before moving to safety for his final two years. He also served as a graduate assistant for his alma mater from 1992-94, working with the special teams and defensive backs.
Houston has two one-time Red Raiders on its roster now in and senior defensive back Alex Hogan and junior quarterback Donovan Smith, who, ironically, will both wear a No. 1 jersey. Hogan spent two seasons at Texas Tech from 2019-20 prior to transferring to Houston where he has appeared in 24 games over the last two-plus seasons.
Smith, meanwhile, was Texas Tech's starting quarterback in its double-overtime victory over the Cougars a year ago. Smith completed 36-of-58 passes for 350 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for one more as part of 31 yards on the ground. It was the second career 300-yard passing performance at the time for Smith, who sealed the Texas Tech victory with a nine-yard touchdown run in the second overtime.
Besides Smith, Houston has two other West Texas natives on its roster junior kicker Cooper Hamilton, a Lubbock Coronado alumnus, and redshirt freshman Karson Jones, a Frenship graduate like Smith.
The city of Houston is annually a hotbed for Texas Tech's recruiting efforts as the Red Raiders currently boast 13 players from the city and the surrounding area. That list includes several prominent Red Raiders such as defensive lineman Tony Bradford Jr., inside linebacker Tyrique Matthews, outside linebacker Bryce Ramirez, tight end Mason Tharp and offensive lineman Dennis Wilburn.

INSIDE THE HOUSTON SERIES

Texas Tech and Houston will meet for the 35th time in program history this weekend and the first time as Big 12 members. The Cougars lead the all-time series with an 18-15-1 advantage despite having dropped 10 of the past 11 games versus the Red Raiders, including each of the previous five meetings. A win over Houston this Saturday would mark the longest winning streak for Texas Tech all-time in the series.
While this will be the first meeting as Big 12 members, it won't be the first as conference foes as Texas Tech and Houston were previously counterparts in the Southwest Conference up until its closing following the 1995 season. The Red Raiders were only 7-12-1 against Houston during the SWC era but went 5-1 over six non-conference games as Texas Tech recorded wins in 2010 at home (35-20), in 2017 at Houston (27-24), in 2018 at home (63-49), in 2021 in the Texas Kickoff at NRG Stadium (38-21) and a year ago in a double overtime victory at home (33-30).
Houston is the lone new member of the Big 12 that has faced Texas Tech multiple times in its history. The Red Raiders have only played BYU once previously in 1940 as its matchup later in the season with UCF will be the first in school history. Likewise, Texas Tech only has one previous matchup with Cincinnati, which came during the 1960 campaign.

TICKETS GOING, GOING, GONE

For months, Joey McGuire encouraged Red Raider fans to purchase their season tickets before it'd be too late. That time officially came in early August when Texas Tech announced it had officially sold out of season tickets for the 2023 campaign. In total, Texas Tech sold 31,649 season tickets for this season, which includes 6,511 new season tickets after an impressive debut for the Red Raiders under McGuire and his staff.
The single-game tickets that remain continue to be a hot commodity as the athletics department called its fourth sellout on Sept. 13 as all tickets for the Kansas State game on Oct. 14 sold out.
In addition, Texas Tech reached sellout status for its first three home games against Oregon, Tarleton State and then Houston in its Big 12 home opener.
Texas Tech's capacity has been set for 56,200 for the 2023 season due to the ongoing construction on the south end zone portion of Jones AT&T Stadium.
Over his two seasons as head coach, Texas Tech has added more than 13,000 season tickets since McGuire's hiring in November 2021. Texas Tech previously sold 28,000 season tickets for McGuire's debut season in 2022, which, like this year's total, ranks among the top-10 highest season ticket counts in program history.

KINGSBURY, LEACH AMONG HOF CLASS

Kliff Kingsbury and Mike Leach will headline the latest list of inductees to the Texas Tech Hall of Fame and Hall of Honor that will be formally inducted this weekend. Kingsbury will join fellow Red Raider Matt Wingo as football inductees into the Hall of Fame, which is reserved strictly for former athletes.
The rise of Texas Tech's Air Raid offense began with Kingsbury, who arrived at Texas Tech under legendary head coach Spike Dykes and later developed into one of the top passers in college football history under Leach. Kingsbury went on to set 39 school records the next three seasons as well as 16 different Big 12 marks and 17 NCAA FBS records. He recorded more than 12,000 passing yards and total offense, including over 1,000 completions, making him only the third player in NCAA history to accomplish all three feats.
Wingo remains one of the top linebackers in program history after a decorated career in the early tenure of Spike Dykes from 1988-91. Wingo, a two-time All-Southwest Conference honoree, racked up 385 tackles during his four-year career, which ranked third all-time in school history following his senior season. To this day, Wingo still ranks sixth in Texas Tech history for career tackles. Wingo earned All-Southwest Conference honors following both his junior and senior seasons.
Leach, meanwhile, will be recognized posthumously in the Hall of Honor for his decade of success leading the Red Raider football program. Leach, the winningest coach in program history, led the Red Raiders to a bowl appearance in all 10 of his seasons, finishing with an 84-43 overall in one of the most-successful eras all-time at Texas Tech. The Hall of Honor is designated for non-athletes who have provided outstanding contributions to Texas Tech Athletics.

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Red Raiders welcome Houston for Big 12 home opener

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