The all-time series between Houston and Texas Tech is now dead even at 18-18-1 across 37 meetings since 1951, after the Red Raiders won 28-26 on Friday night in Lubbock. The recent record is anything but even: Texas Tech has won eight in a row.
| The series | Detail |
|---|---|
| All-time record | Level at 18-18-1 |
| First meeting | October 6, 1951. Houston won 6-0 |
| Meetings tonight | The 37th |
| Current streak | Texas Tech has won eight straight, going back to 2010, after Friday’s 28-26 win |
| Houston’s last win | 2009, with Case Keenum at quarterback, at Robertson Stadium |
| Last win in Lubbock | 1990, when Houston was ranked No. 18 |
| Longest streaks | Houston seven from 1979 to 1985, Texas Tech seven from 2010 to now |
| Largest margins | Houston 45-7 in 1977, Texas Tech 58-7 in 1993 |
| Last meeting | September 18, 2026. Texas Tech won 28-26 in Lubbock, the 37th meeting |
| The 1989 meeting | Detail |
|---|---|
| Why it matters | The last time both teams met while ranked, until tonight |
| Result | No. 13 Houston beat No. 20 Texas Tech 40-24 in the Astrodome |
| Houston’s quarterback | Andre Ware, who won the Heisman Trophy that season |
| Tonight’s rankings | No. 22 Houston at No. 13 Texas Tech, 37 years later |
Why the Even Record Is Misleading
An 18-17-1 series across seven decades suggests two programs that have traded blows evenly, and for the first half of the rivalry that was true. Houston won seven straight between 1979 and 1985, Texas Tech answered with a 58-7 win in 1993, and the teams alternated through the Southwest Conference years.
The modern era is one sided. Texas Tech has not lost to Houston since 2009, when Case Keenum won it at Robertson Stadium, and the Red Raiders have taken all seven meetings since. Houston has not won in Lubbock since 1990. What makes tonight different is the rankings: this is the first time both programs have entered the game ranked since 1989, when Andre Ware’s Houston team won 40-24 in the Astrodome on the way to his Heisman. The full preview is on our Houston vs. Texas Tech page, and the live score is on the score page.
The Bottom Line
The series is level at 18-18-1 after Texas Tech’s 28-26 win on Friday, the eighth straight for the Red Raiders and the first meeting between ranked teams since 1989.