Week 3 of the college football season is here. Texas Tech plays North Texas, and Heartland College Sports has your game prediction, preview, and betting odds ahead of the matchup.
GAME INFO
Saturday, September 14; 11:00 a.m. (CT); Jones AT&T Stadium; Lubbock, TX
TV: FOX
Records: North Texas, 2-0; Texas Tech, 1-1
Last Week: North Texas def. Stephen F. Austin, 35-20; Texas Tech lost to Washington State, 37-16
Series History: Series tied, 4-4
Last Meeting: Texas Tech 42, North Texas 14 (2001)
Fun Fact: Despite being less than five hours apart from one another, these two haven’t played each other in almost 25 years. There was a time when these schools played for five straight years (1997-2001) before stopping the series.
NORTH TEXAS VS TEXAS TECH BETTING LINES AND ODDS
Opening Line: Texas Tech (-9.5)
Over/Under: 69.5
Key Players
North Texas Mean Green
QB Chandler Morris
The former TCU quarterback has settled in nicely at North Texas. While he turned the ball over a few times against South Alabama, he did manage to throw for over 300 yards and four touchdowns. Through just two games, Chandler has thrown for a whopping 737 yards. He may be a little turnover-prone, but the guy can certainly sling it.
LB Jordan Brown
Last season, Jordan led the team in tackles and in sacks. There are some new faces on the defensive side of the ball for North Texas but Jordan is the leader of this defense that is looking to improve after a rough 2023 season.
Texas Tech Red Raiders
QB Behren Morton
Once again, the status of star running back Tahj Brooks is questionable for this game so my focus will be on Behren Morton. Last week, Behren played one of his worst games as a Red Raider against Washington State. He struggled to find receivers and just didn’t look like himself. He has to get back on track this weekend against North Texas.
The Entire Defense
Forget about one player, I am picking on the entire defense for this one. Against Abilene Christian, they gave up over 500 passing yards and then gave up over 300 rushing yards to Washington State. They have to truly stop anyone, and it doesn’t help that their offense is struggling right now either. At some point, this defense needs to lock down and start playing some good football because I have yet to see it.
Key Storylines
North Texas Mean Green
Don’t Turn the Ball Over. North Texas is capable of putting up some points on the board, but they can’t turn the ball over like they did against SFA. If they do that against Texas Tech, then their chances of winning are slim. If they can take care of the football, then they should find some success against Texas Tech’s struggling secondary.
Texas Tech Red Raiders
Just Win Big Baby. I stole the famous line from the great Al Davis and added my own twist because this is exactly what Texas Tech needs right now to lift its spirits. Even their overtime win against Abilene Christian felt like a loss just because of the way they played. This past weekend against Washington State just made things ten times worse. This team has yet to play to their potential, and if they are going to do it, then this would be the team to do it against. It’s now or never for the Red Raiders.
PREDICTION: TEXAS TECH 42, NORTH TEXAS: 31
The Red Raiders will get their act back together on offense, but they will give up some points in the process. North Texas will likely hang in the game until the fourth quarter, but Texas Tech will put their foot down offensively to pull away. Give me the Red Raiders by double digits.
