'Holy Ground': Joey McGuire Previews Texas Tech's Friday Night Conference Opener vs. Houston - roundtable.io

Joey McGuire and No. 13 Texas Tech host No. 22 Houston Friday night at Galaxy Stadium in a matchup that opens conference play for both ranked programs.

The Friday kickoff breaks from tradition for McGuire, who built his name on Friday nights of a different kind. Before taking over the Red Raiders, he won multiple state titles at Cedar Hill and earned a spot in the Texas High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame, back when Friday football belonged to high schoolers, not college teams chasing conference titles. Now he brings that same night to Lubbock, with two ranked teams on the field instead of two high school squads.

Tech enters the game as the reigning conference champion and one of the higher ranked teams in the country this season. Houston is ranked too. That makes this an early measuring stick for both squads as they open conference play. For a fan base used to watching McGuire's rise from high school ranks to a championship college program, Friday night under the lights carries a different weight than a typical Saturday.

People in Lubbock who plan their weekends around Red Raider football get an unusual schedule shift, and a top 25 showdown to go with it. Local businesses near the stadium and across town should expect the kind of crowd usually reserved for Saturdays.