Texas Tech gets a Saturday morning date with Sam Houston inside Galaxy Stadium, and on paper it looks like the kind of matchup the 10th-ranked Red Raiders should control from the jump.
Texas Tech is 3-0, riding a 10-game home winning streak and coming off a 28-26 win over Houston. Sam Houston arrives at 1-2, but the Bearkats do have some firepower in the passing game, which is exactly why this one is worth a closer look.
The Bearkats are led by Phil Longo, now in his second season as head coach, and Texas Tech coaches have been making sure the Red Raiders are ready for an offense that wants to throw it around. Sam Houston is 2-10 in 20215 and has opened 2026 with a 1-2 record, though the team did bounce back with a 59-0 win over Nicholls after close losses to Troy and Tulsa.
Against Troy, Sam Houston fell 24-21 on the road. Then it dropped a 23-17 home game to Tulsa.
Even in defeat, the Bearkats have been productive through the air. Quarterback Landyn Locke has already piled up 973 yards and nine touchdowns, while Chris Reed and Grady O'Neil have emerged as his top targets.
Reed has nine catches for 204 yards, and O'Neil has 17 receptions for 192 yards. Both receivers have two touchdowns.
For Texas Tech, the big storyline is whether the defense can clean up its pass coverage. The Red Raiders are allowing 273 passing yards per game through three weeks, a number that stands out next to last season’s average of 190 yards allowed through the air.
The good news is that pieces are starting to come back. Top pass rusher Trey White and veteran safety Brenden Jordan made their season debuts against Houston, and the staff is also working younger players into the secondary.
There are still questions on offense, too, especially after some early red zone issues. Those concerns eased against Houston, but they remain something to watch as the season moves along.
So the matchup is pretty clear: Sam Houston wants to air it out, and Texas Tech has been giving up yardage through the air. Something has to give.
Prediction: Texas Tech 42, Sam Houston 10. The Red Raiders have a chance to deliver the kind of dominant win fans are still waiting to see, even after the victory over Houston.
In Other News...
Texas Tech Blowout Still Left One Big Question Behind
Texas Techs 49-14 win over Sam Houston was the kind of result that can make a September afternoon look easy from the outside, even if the path there had a few rough patches. The Red Raiders opened sharply, then hit a messy second quarter when quarterback Will Hammond threw multiple interceptions, but the offense settled back in and the defense took over from there, turning the game into a runaway.
Austin Romaine was right in the middle of it with a pick-six and eight tackles, and the Red Raiders defense squeezed Sam Houston into just 78 second-half yards. Freshman pass rusher LaDamion Guyton also flashed enough to add another encouraging note, even if the more interesting question coming out of the day is how Texas Tech sorts through the quarterback picture after a win that still left some of its biggest decisions hanging. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Tech Loses A Key Passing Weapon At The Wrong Time
Texas Tech is heading into its next game with another hole to fill in the passing game, as tight end Terrance Carter Jr. is expected to sit out after hurting his AC joint against Houston. It is a frustrating turn for a player who has already been slowed by a foot injury earlier this season and has yet to find much rhythm in 2026, leaving the Red Raiders to keep adjusting around one of their more versatile options.
The timing matters because Carter was supposed to be part of a passing attack that could use every dependable target it can get, especially with conference play always tightening the margin for error. In his absence, Texas Tech will lean on its other tight ends to absorb the snaps and try to keep the offense on schedule, but the bigger question is whether Carter can get back on the field soon enough to reclaim a role that has been difficult to establish. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Tech Defense Just Delivered An Early Warning To Everyone
Texas Techs defense wasted no time making a statement in Week 4, and Austin Romaine was at the center of it. The senior linebacker, a transfer from Kansas State, turned consecutive interceptions into touchdowns against Sam Houston quarterbacks Landyn Locke and Brett Holloway, helping the Red Raiders race out to a 21-0 lead and putting the game firmly in their control early.
Romaine had entered the day with only one career interception, so the sudden burst of playmaking stood out even before the scoreboard did. Now he has two pick-sixes, and the way Texas Techs defense cashed in on those mistakes offered an unmistakable reminder that this group can change a game in a hurry when it gets a chance. [Read more 🡒]