Houston Cougars vs Texas Tech Red Raiders Point Spread Picks

Houston head coach Willie Fritz is in the second year of a rebuilding project with two new coordinators and so far so good as the Cougars are 4-0, including three covers. They edged Oregon State 27-24 in overtime as Conner Weigman threw for 270 yards and two TDs. The defense has been solid as the Cougars have allowed only 13.25 points per game and they have outscored opponents 125-53. Houston is 4-0-1 ATS its past five games after totaling fewer than 100 yards its previous game. Texas Tech has lost outright four of its past five Octobers games. The Red Raiders are 4-0 against a relatively weak schedule. They beat Utah 34-10 before a bye week after wins against Arkansas Pine Bluff, Kent State and Oregon State. The Red Raiders are 2-14 ATS off a conference road underdog win. Houston is 8-0 ATS as a dog of more than 11 points off a win. Grab the big points with Houston.

Houston is in revenge mode after losing 33-30 to the Red Raiders in overtime last year and it will go for its third win this season after blowing out Sam Houston 38-7 and one of the Cougars' losses this season was in overtime against Rice and the other loss was against TCU. Donovan Smith threw for 294 yards and a touchdown and Parker Jenkins rushed for 105 yards and three TDs against the Bearkats. Houston totaled 538 total offense yards after scoring only 13 points against TCU the week before. Texas Tech has had a disappointing season to say the least losing three of four and the only win was against Tarleton State, an FCS school. The Red Raiders come off a 20-13 defeat against West Virginia that stayed UNDER by 19.5 points and they have gone UNDER three straight by an average of 17.3 points. The Red Raiders had high hopes coming into the season, but starting QB Tyler Shough suffered an ankle injury and he was on shaky ground to begin with. Behren Morton played most of the game against the Mountaineers and was only 13 of 37 for 158 yards. The Cougars have the edge at quarterback and they can use a lot of clock on the Texas Tech defense that allows 146.8 rushing yards per game. Take Houston and the UNDER.

Houston returns just two starters on the offensive line and ran for only 3.2 yards per carry in the opener. They barely survived in a 37-35 win at Texas-San Antonio. Of greater concern is a defense that allowed 441 yards (337 yards passing). Houston plays its second straight road game against a Texas Tech squad off a winning season and a 34-7 bowl win over Mississippi State. They also lost just 27-24 at No. 8 Baylor. Texas Tech has three talented quarterbacks in Tyler Shough, Donovan Smith, and Behren Morton, and used them all in the opener, a 67-10 rout of Murray State. The trio combined for 472 yards. Shough got injured and will miss two weeks but the coach had planned to use all three in the game. Texas Tech is home for the second consecutive game and is on a 94-66 spread run at home, including 29-15 ATS at home in non-conference action. T-Tech has covered the last four meetings against Houston, including a 63-49 victory when they last met as the Red Raiders rolled up 704 total yards. Play Texas Tech.