← Matchups

Houston

B12 · 2-0 · power +13.9 · #61
Our side · spreadTTU -9.5 our number TTU -10.4 · 0.9 pts from the market our number starts from the opening line and is corrected -4.4 for this matchup by our data on both teams

Texas Tech

B12 · 2-0 · power +27.0 · #11
Our side
SpreadTTU -9.5 ours TTU -10.4
TotalOver 53.5 ours 54.6
MoneylineTTU to win ours 79% · book 75%
Distance from the market 0.9 pts / +1.1 total a caution, not a signal
Projected score 22–32 HOU – TTU
2026-09-18 · 8:00 PM Galaxy Stadium · Lubbock, TX B12 game 90°F · wind 14 S · 23% precip · Light Rain Early season

The books 5 account books · tap any price — the ticket builds at that book

Book HOU spreadTTU spread OverUnder HOU winTTU win HOU TT overHOU TT under TTU TT overTTU TT under
DraftKings
FanDuel
BetMGM
ESPN Bet
Caesars

The gold price is the best available on that side; a gold marks the side our number implies — a read, not a pick. TT is a team total — that team’s own points, not the game’s; columns are empty where no book hangs one. Send to book opens whichever book you tapped, not the one we would have picked. Prices are the books’ own.

Ours vs the market

SpreadTexas Tech -10.4
the marketTexas Tech -9.5
Total54.6
the market53.5
Texas Tech win79% vs 75%

Both percentages are Texas Tech’s chance to win — ours, then the book’s with the vig removed, medianed across the books we track.

What the gap has been worth 10,740 games · 2016–2025

0–3 pts52.0%
3–750.2%
7–1449.3%
14+46.8%

How often the side we favoured covered, by how far our number sat from the market’s. Break-even at −110 is 52.4% — no bucket reaches it, and the rate falls as we disagree more. The further we sit from the market, the worse we have done.

Public vs booksbets vs money · Action Network captured 5 hr ago spread TTU 57% bets · 33% money · money HOU total Over 67% bets · 85% money ML TTU 98% bets · 83% money
Series Houston lead 18–17–1 · 36 meetings since 1951
2025 unit ranks — last completed season, from games actually played
Run game edge Texas Tech Red Raiders 243 ranks
Houston Cougars #244 rush offense Texas Tech Red Raiders #1 run defense
Pass game edge Texas Tech Red Raiders 79 ranks
Houston Cougars #81 pass offense Texas Tech Red Raiders #2 pass defense
Run game even 39 ranks apart
Texas Tech Red Raiders #47 rush offense Houston Cougars #86 run defense
Pass game even 42 ranks apart
Texas Tech Red Raiders #58 pass offense Houston Cougars #100 pass defense
Houston Cougars Run-heavy · 63% run Avg pace Dual-threat QB · 54 rush ypg Texas Tech Red Raiders Balanced · 53% run Ball-control
Willie Fritz · 77-62 · defense-minded Joey McGuire · 35-18

Ranked by team-unit strength (rush & pass offense vs. run & pass defense) across all 265 D1 teams, not by individual players. Identity, tempo and unit strength are measured from the 2025 season.

The evidence 2025 production and power ratings · supporting the number above

Who carried each team in 2025
Houston Cougars
WR Amare Thomas 11 rec · 162 yds · 2 TD #73 WR
TE Patrick Overmyer 8 rec · 100 yds · 1 TD #30 TE
DB Jordan Allen 5 tkl · 4 PD · 1 INT #162 DB
DB Jalen Mayo 9 tkl · 2 PD #271 DB
Texas Tech Red Raiders
RB J'Koby Williams 187 rush yds · 2 TD · 10 rec #20 RB
LB Ben Roberts 15 tkl · 1.0 sacks · 2.5 TFL #97 LB
DL A.J. Holmes Jr. 6 tkl · 1.5 sacks · 1.5 TFL #187 DL
K Stone Harrington 4 FG · 8 XP · 20 pts #28 K

Top-rated players from last season, ranked within their position across D1. A grade measures what a player produced, and no 2026 game has been played yet — so this is who produced for these programs in 2025, not a claim about who is on the field this year.

Power breakdown
TeamPowerOffDefRank
Houston CougarsB12 +13.9 +9.8 +4.1 #61
Texas Tech Red RaidersB12 +27.0 +13.8 +13.1 #11

Def is higher = better. The projection assumes a 2.4-pt home edge (0 at neutral sites).

Where the number comes from
Houston offense vs Texas Tech defense-3.3 pts
Texas Tech offense vs Houston defense+9.7 pts
Travel · context onlyAway team travels 468 mi
Altitude · context only966 m higher than the visitor's home elevation

An efficiency adjustment from season-to-date EPA and success rate applies once teams have played enough games; before then it is 0 and the number is the power rating alone.

Forecast is context. Wind is the weather variable that moves scoring (~1.5 total points per 10 mph in our data), so it enters through the totals model once that is built and gated — it does not affect the spread.

Situational spots are shown for context, not baked in: travel, altitude and rest were tested against 6,000+ games and the power and efficiency ratings already account for them. Adding them again would double-count.