Week 3 - Oregon State Beavers @ #21 Texas Tech Red Raiders: Preview, Storylines

Oregon State travels to Lubbock, Texas, for their first road game in 2025 and runs into a formidable opponent in the Texas Tech Red Raiders. A battle of undefeated versus winless, the Beavers will look to mount an effort in hopes of forcing a massive upset. TTU, on the other hand, enters the week simply looking to take care of business.

Here's everything you need to know about Saturday afternoon's contest:

Oregon State Beavers (0-2, 0-0 PAC 12) @ Texas Tech Red Raiders (2-0, 0-0 Big 12)

Date: Saturday, September 13

Time: 3:30 p.m. ET // 12:30 p.m. PT

Location: Jones AT&T Stadium - Lubbock, Texas

TV: FOX

Radio: TuneIn Radio

Betting Line: Texas Tech -23.5 on FanDuel

Scuffling Against Shining

The Beavers' and Red Raiders' seasons couldn't have gotten off to more different starts, with Oregon State dropping their first two games in blowout fashion and Texas Tech winning theirs quite convincingly. The odds are heavily stacked against OSU going into the matchup, and TTU is expected to continue rolling through the first part of their schedule. While putting up 60 points for a third straight week might be far-fetched, the Red Raiders' offense is averaging over 600 yards per game with few signs of slowing down. Oregon State would have to come out looking like an entirely different team to force a major upset.

Looking For Consistency At QB

Quarterback Maalik Murphy's OSU tenure through two games has been worse than many hoped after successful stints at Texas and Duke. He has given the ball away three times through two games and still shows concerning immaturity at the position, despite averaging over 300 passing yards per game. The one factor that could throw a wrench in Texas Tech's supposedly easy victory would likely be Murphy, if he can put it all together and prove that he's the QB the Beavers believed they were getting. His big-play ability could launch Oregon State into a competitive game even with highly unfavorable odds, but without him having done it to this point in 2025, it's far from a guarantee.

Red Raiders' Defense Stout

Cracking the code against Texas Tech's defense will be a healthy challenge for the Beavers in Week 3, with some astonishingly impressive games put together by the unit to start the season. Allowing just 10.5 points per game, TTU is holding opponents to a whopping 144 passing yards per game and just 58 rushing yards per game. They have only forced three turnovers, but have suffocated opposing offenses to the point where turnovers would be nothing more than a bonus on top of an already shut-down performance.