Texas Tech is 3-0 after a 28-26 victory over No. 22 Houston, giving the No. 13 Red Raiders a 1-0 conference record. Houston threatened late near the goal line, but Texas Tech kept quarterback Conner Weigman and the Cougars from scoring.
The Red Raiders trailed 10-0 before recovering from early struggles on both sides of the ball. Their defense improved after halftime and overcame several long Houston drives. Texas Tech recorded four sacks, with Adam Trick getting two and Trey White and returning All-American A.J. Holmes Jr. adding one each.
White, a defensive end who transferred from San Diego State, made his Texas Tech debut after recovering from a knee injury. McGuire said White was not fully healthy and may have played more snaps than expected. Defensive back Brenden Jordan also returned after missing the first two games because of an internal rules violation.
McGuire said both players made major contributions as the team replaces several defensive starters who moved to the NFL.
Asked whether the defense could match the 2025 unit, McGuire said, "Give me two more games." He said the team is "still finding ourselves" and expects improvement. Texas Tech plays Sam Houston next week in its final nonconference game and gets an additional recovery day after the Friday-night game against Houston. The report was published by sports.yahoo.com on Sept. 20, 2026.
