Two teams looking for their first conference win face off as Houston faces Texas Tech. It is time to continue our College Football odds series with a Houston-Texas Tech prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.

Houston enters the game at 2-2 on the year. They opened the season with a three-point win over UTSA. Houston held the lead for a large portion of the game. They scored first and then hit a field goal at the end of the first half to keep a lead going into halftime. They would score again in the third and win 17-14. Then, they were upset by Rice the next week. It was a double-overtime game in which Rice hit the two-point conversion in overtime, but Houston did not and they fell 43-41. The next week it was a loss in their Big 12 opener, falling to TCU 36-13. They would rebound though, taking a 38-7 win over Sam Houston to get back to .500 on the season.

Meanwhile, Texas Tech does not have a win over an FCS opponent. They lost to Wyoming in double overtime 35-33 to open the year. Then it was 13th-ranked Oregon, but that resulted in an eight-point loss. After beating Tarleton State, Texas Tech would travel to West Virginia. Despite a valiant comeback effort, Texas Tech struggled to score and would fall 20-13.

Here are the college football odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

College Football Odds: Houston-Texas Tech Odds

Houston: +8.5 (-110)

Texas Tech: -8.5 (-110)

Over: 52.5 (-104)

Under: 52:5 (-118)

How to Watch Houston vs. Texas Tech

TV: FS2

Stream: Fox Sports App

Time: 3:30 PM ET/ 12:30 PM PT

*Watch college football LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why Houston Will Cover The Spread

Houston is led at quarterback by Donovan Smith. He has been solid this year, throwing for 1.012 yards on 94-152 passing. He has thrown five touchdowns this year, and also seven big-time throws according to PFF. Still, he has had some issues. Smith has thrown five interceptions with another four turnover-worthy passes. He has also had to deal with drops, as his receivers have dropped 12 on-target balls this year. Smith has also had to deal with sacks in most games. In the first three games of the year, he was pressured 14 or more times in each, while being sacked three or more times in each of them as well.

Smith has been able to do some work on the ground though. He has 172 yards rushing this year and three scores. All three of those came against Rice, and he also fumbled in that game as well. The running game has been strong for Houston this year with two backs being features this year. While Donovan Smith leads the team in rushing, Parker Jenkins is second with 146 yards and two scores on 27 attempts. Stacy Sneed also has 124 yards and a score this year. On average, running backs are getting more than two yards downfield before first contact, while the two primary backs have both forced 11 missed tackles.

While Houston has been solid in the running game, they have not been great against it. They have made 72 stops this year on 114 carries, but the biggest issue is missed tackles and penalties. Houston has 13 penalties already in the run game and has missed 31 tackles this year. They are also allowing a lot of success through the air. Houston has just over a 25 percent success rate against the pass, while they have allowed six touchdowns through the air this year. They have created some turnovers though. Houston has eight pass breakups, six interceptions and one dropped interception this year.

Why Texas Tech Will Cover The Spread

With Tyler Shough out for Texas Tech, Behren Morton will be taking the starting quarterback role for the Red Raiders. He struggled in the last game against West Virginia. Last week, coming in due to the injury, he went just 13-37 passing for 158 yards. Even when adjusted for drops, his completion percentage was just 50 percent. While Morton did not throw an interception, he could have. He had three turnover-worthy passes in the game and also was sacked twice in the game. Morton also did not run well in the game. He had four designed runs which went for a total of just two yards.

While the passing game has struggled some this year, Texas Tech is running the ball well. Tahj Brooks is leading the way in that regard. He has 63 carries this year for 417 yards. He is getting more than two yards of space to work with per run this year, while he has six carries for 15 yards this year. Brooks has 248 yards after first contact. Still, Brooks has scored just once on the ground this year and also fumbled one time.

The top target in the passing game has been Jerand Bradley. He has pulled in 20 of 38 passes this year for 241 yards and three scores. While the three scores are nice, he has not done a lot after the catch, with just 71 yards after the catch this year. Further, he has three drops on the year. Myles Price also has three drops this year and also has three scores. He has brought in 12 of 20 targets this year for 118 yards overall.

On defense, the secondary has been solid Malik Dunlap this year has allowed just four of ten targets his way to be caught. That is for just 41 yards, with 25 of them coming on one play. He also has a pass breakup and three interceptions this year. Dadrion Taylor-Demerson has also been good. He has only allowed 27 yards worth of receptions this year, while also coming away with a pass breakup and an interception.

Final Houston-Texas Tech Prediction & Pick

Houston enters the game as a fairly heavy underdog. Still, Behren Morton has not been efficient at quarterback. He was sloppy in the game with West Virginia and showed a propensity to throw interceptions or turnover the ball. Houston has a solid running game as well and a fairly good pass rush that can slow down Morton. Expect Houston to slow down the game with plenty of running and they will cover in this game.

Final Houston-Texas Tech Prediction & Pick: Houston +8.5 (-110)