No. 22 Houston visits No. 13 Texas Tech on Friday, September 18 at 8 p.m. ET on FOX, a ranked Big 12 matchup in Lubbock and the best conference game of the weekend’s early slate. Both teams are unbeaten.
Odds and Spread
Betting lines for this game are not posted yet. This table fills in automatically once books release them.
Texas Tech is favored at home, but the gap between a No. 13 and a No. 22 is thin enough that this is one of the more competitive lines on the board. Both teams beat Oregon State by a similar margin, which is part of why the number is tight.
Start Time, TV Channel and How to Watch
| Date | Friday, September 18, 2026 |
| Kickoff | 8:00 p.m. ET / 7:00 p.m. CT |
| TV | FOX |
| Streaming | Fox One and the FOX Sports app with a TV provider login, or Fubo, YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, DirecTV Stream and Sling Blue |
| Rankings | Texas Tech No. 13, Houston No. 22 in the AP Top 25 |
| Stadium | Galaxy Stadium, Lubbock, Texas |
How Both Teams Got Here
Texas Tech is 2-0 with a 33-10 win over Abilene Christian and a 35-24 win at Oregon State. The Red Raiders reached the College Football Playoff quarterfinals last season and lost the Orange Bowl to Oregon 23-0, so the program is operating at a level Lubbock has not seen in a long time.
Houston is 2-0 with a 33-20 win over Oregon State and a 77-6 win over Southern. The Cougars have been ranked all season and their Week 1 road win looks better with each passing week.
The Common Opponent
Both teams beat Oregon State. Houston won 33-20 in Week 1 in Corvallis; Texas Tech won 35-24 in Week 2. Neither margin is decisive, which is part of why this line is tight, but Houston’s win came on the road in the opener and Texas Tech’s came a week later against a team that had already been beaten.
What to Watch
Friday night in Lubbock is one of the harder road environments in the Big 12, and Galaxy Stadium under the lights with a ranked opponent will be full. Houston’s defense has been the quiet reason the Cougars are 2-0; if it can keep Texas Tech’s offense off schedule on early downs, this is a low scoring game Houston can win. If Texas Tech gets ahead and the crowd gets into it, the Red Raiders are hard to chase.
Related
Big 12 standings · Texas Tech football score · AP Top 25 · Big 12 scores · College football scores
The Bottom Line
No. 22 Houston at No. 13 Texas Tech kicks off Friday, September 18 at 8 p.m. ET on FOX from Galaxy Stadium in Lubbock. Both teams are unbeaten, both beat Oregon State, and the winner takes early control of the Big 12 race. The live odds table above updates automatically.