Around the Region: A Week 3 college football primer for Texas and Louisiana

Clovis Shropshire
September 16, 2022
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7 minutes read

#17 BAYLOR BEARS (1-1, 0-0 Big 12)

Last Week: Lost at #21 BYU, 26-20 (OT)

This Week: vs. Texas State

Game time: Saturday, 11:00am CT

TV/Radio: Fox Sports 1/1660-AM and 99.1-FM in Waco, SiriusXM Channel 83

After a gut-punch loss in overtime on the road in Provo, the Baylor Bears return to Waco for a matchup with the Texas State Bobcats. Texas State, a Sun Belt foe, is averaging 39.5 points per game over their first two contests while winning once and losing once. Baylor is the Bobcats’ first opponent from a Power 5 conference, though, and the Bears will come in motivated after the frustration of last week. Baylor has played Texas State eight times in school history and has never lost. Their previous meeting was in 2021, a 29-20 win – but Baylor has won by as many as 75 points in the series’ history. Baylor’s offense sputtered a bit at BYU, failing to gain more than 300 yards after gaining almost 600 the week before against Albany. Blake Shapen and the offense will look to right the ship Saturday, and Texas State is ripe for the picking. It’s a critical tuneup game for the Bears, who head on the road to Iowa State to begin Big 12 play next week.

TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS (2-0, 0-0 Big 12)

Last Week: Won vs #25 Houston, 33-30 (OT)

This Week: at #16 NC State

Game Time: Saturday, 6:00pm CT

TV/Radio: ESPN2/Texas Tech Sports Network

Despite jumping out to and subsequently blowing a 14-point lead against the Houston Cougars last weekend in Lubbock, Texas Tech found a way to win in overtime to remain undefeated. The road doesn’t get any smoother for the Red Raiders in Week 3, tasked with a trip to Raleigh, North Carolina, to take on the NC State Wolfpack. NC State, ranked 16th in the country, boasts an elite defense and experienced quarterback that’ll make winning at Carter-Finley Stadium quite challenging. Donovan Smith has found a way to win in place of Tyler Shough thus far, completing 50 of 74 passes with six touchdowns and three interceptions since taking over against Murray State in the opener. All three interceptions came against Houston and almost resulted in a maddening loss to the Cougars. He’ll need to avoid mistakes against NC State if the Red Raiders have a chance at the upset win, a feather in the cap that would look quite nice before Tech hosts Texas to begin conference play next week.

TCU Horned Frogs (2-0, 0-0 Big 12)

Last Week: Won vs Tarleton State, 59-17

This Week: Bye Week, with a trip to SMU on deck

Texas and Louisiana College Football Schedule for Week 3 (all games played Saturday, September 17):

Football Bowl Subdivision

Tulane at Kansas State – 2:00pm CT

North Texas at UNLV – 2:00pm CT

UL Monroe at #2 Alabama – 3:00pm CT

SMU at Maryland – 6:30pm CT

Louisiana at Rice – 6:30pm CT

Louisiana Tech at #5 Clemson – 7:00pm CT

UTEP at New Mexico – 7:00pm CT