Can Texas Tech Live Up To The Hype Against Houston?

Some Texas Tech fans are already on the edge of their seats waiting to see exactly what this season will bring.

No one can doubt that Texas Tech has the raw talent to go places. Then again, history is replete with stories about teams loaded with superstars that simply couldn't function as a team. It's happened time and time again, and that's why I'm not ready to start making reservations for the College Football Playoff just yet.

There's another monkey wrench at play this week: the short turnaround.

Friday Night Could Tell Us A Lot About Texas Tech Football

Texas Tech plays Friday night, giving both teams less time than usual to recover, prepare and make adjustments. That's a problem for Houston too, so we'll find out which team responds better to the change in routine.

Houston comes to Lubbock with a couple of wins of its own, including a ridiculous 77-6 drubbing of Southern.

There's also an interesting measuring stick here because both teams have already played Oregon State. The final scores were fairly similar, but Houston piled up 533 yards of offense against the Beavers while Texas Tech managed 352.

That doesn't necessarily mean Houston is the better team, but it's certainly something worth paying attention to.

Houston still leads the all-time series 18-16-1, although Texas Tech has dominated recently, winning seven straight against the Cougars.

Now we get a ranked matchup with No. 13 Texas Tech hosting No. 22 Houston.

We'll see how much those numbers actually matter Friday night.

Fan reaction to this year's Red Raiders has definitely been mixed. I've seen opinions ranging from "They will not go undefeated," to "They'll win the Big 12 but get clobbered outside of it," to the much more optimistic, "The talent is there."

That last one is hard to argue with.

The question is whether all of that talent becomes a great football team.

Vegas certainly seems to believe in Tech. Depending on where you look, the Red Raiders have been favored by roughly 8.5 to 10.5 points.

Personally, I find that a little crazy.

I absolutely have faith in Texas Tech at home, especially with what should be a fired-up Lubbock crowd, but I expect this game to be considerably closer than that.

Blackout Friday: Texas Tech Gets Ranked Houston At Home

The theme for Friday night's game is "Wear Black." It's also the Big 12 opener, and while one game won't determine an entire season, this one could go a long way toward setting the tone.

We'll find out Friday night whether Texas Tech is simply talented—or whether this team is ready to become something special.