Watch Houston Cougars vs Texas Tech Red Raiders live on FOX or stream the game on FOX One from Galaxy Stadium in Lubbock, TX on Friday, Sep. 18, 2026 at 8:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. PT during CFB Week 3 of the 2026 college football season. Texas Tech has won seven straight in this series, matching the longest streak either side has managed. Houston still leads it by one game, 18-17-1, and took the most recent meeting the two played as non-conference opponents.

Where to Watch Houston Cougars vs Texas Tech Red Raiders Football Live

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Texas Tech won the last meeting 35-11 on Oct. 4, 2025, and the series became a conference game again in 2023 when Houston joined the Big 12, ending a gap that ran back to the breakup of the Southwest Conference. Friday night in Lubbock is the 37th meeting. You can stream Houston vs Texas Tech live on FOX One. FOX One carries live FOX College Football plus highlights, weekly studio coverage and on-demand FOX entertainment. Start your 3-day free trial and watch on any supported device.

FOX + ESPN College Football Schedule 2026 — Week 3

Friday, Sept. 18, 2026
Week 3 — Watch Houston vs Texas Tech — 8:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. PT
Week 3 — Watch Portland State vs Oregon — 10:30 p.m. ET / 7:30 p.m. PT

Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026
Week 3 — Watch Arizona State vs Kansas — 12:00 p.m. ET / 9:00 a.m. PT
Week 3 — Watch Kent State vs Ohio State — 12:00 p.m. ET / 9:00 a.m. PT
Week 3 — Watch Akron vs Minnesota — 12:00 p.m. ET / 9:00 a.m. PT
Week 3 — Watch Buffalo vs Penn State — 12:00 p.m. ET / 9:00 a.m. PT
Week 3 — Watch Utah State vs Utah — 3:30 p.m. ET / 12:30 p.m. PT
Week 3 — Watch UTEP vs Michigan — 3:30 p.m. ET / 12:30 p.m. PT
Week 3 — Watch Northern Iowa vs Iowa — 4:00 p.m. ET / 1:00 p.m. PT
Week 3 — Watch Eastern Washington vs Washington — 7:15 p.m. ET / 4:15 p.m. PT
Week 3 — Watch North Dakota vs Nebraska — 7:15 p.m. ET / 4:15 p.m. PT
Week 3 — Watch Colorado vs Northwestern — 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT
Week 3 — Watch Virginia Tech vs Maryland — 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT
Week 3 — Watch LSU vs Ole Miss — 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT
Week 3 — Watch Fresno State vs San Jose State — 11:00 p.m. ET / 8:00 p.m. PT
Week 3 — Watch Purdue vs UCLA — 11:00 p.m. ET / 8:00 p.m. PT

Houston leads this series 18-17-1 across 36 meetings, one of the closest long-running series in the state. It opened on Oct. 6, 1951 with a 6-0 Houston win, and both programs have put together a seven-game run at some point: Houston from 1979 through 1985, and Texas Tech from 2010 to the present, which is the active streak. The widest margin belongs to Texas Tech, a 58-7 win in 1993.

The game that mattered most came on Nov. 20, 1976, when fifth-ranked Texas Tech hosted ninth-ranked Houston with a Cotton Bowl berth on the line. Southwest Conference broadcaster Dirk West called it the most important game in Texas Tech history at the time. Houston won 27-19, holding off a fourth-quarter comeback led by Rodney Allison with a game-saving interception from defensive back Elvis Bradley. The rivalry lived inside the Southwest Conference until that league dissolved, went dormant as a conference fixture for nearly three decades, and became a league game again in 2023.