LUBBOCK, Texas – Two Top 25 teams will square off today when 12^th-ranked West Virginia battles No. 25 Texas Tech at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas.
 
It's the first time both teams have been ranked at the same time during their brief seven-game series that dates back to the 1938 Sun Bowl but has been predominantly played since 2012 when the Mountaineers joined the Big 12 Conference.
 
"We're excited about going to Lubbock again," West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said. "Obviously, I'm pretty familiar with things, how they work out there, how they operate and what we're getting ourselves into."
 
Last year, West Virginia defeated 24^th-ranked Texas Tech 46-35 in Morgantown and the 20^th-ranked Mountaineers also knocked off unranked Texas Tech 48-17 in Lubbock two years ago.
 
"They arguably could have won that game last year," Holgorsen pointed out.
 
In 2013, 16^th-ranked Texas Tech pinned one of eight losses on the Mountaineers that season, 37-27 in Morgantown.
 
A year prior, undefeated and fifth-ranked West Virginia took one on the chin in Lubbock, the unranked Red Raiders rolling to a 49-14 victory – one of two wins Texas Tech has had in the series.
 
This afternoon, Texas Tech (3-1, 1-0) is looking for a repeat after a surprising 41-17 win at then 15h-ranked Oklahoma State last Saturday.
 
In that game, true freshman quarterback Alan Bowman passed for 397 yards and two touchdowns and the defense pitched a shutout in the second half to give the Red Raiders their first victory in Stillwater in 17 years.
 
Bowman had one of the most impressive performances by a freshman in NCAA history a couple of weeks ago when he passed for 605 yards and five touchdowns in Texas Tech's wild, 63-49 victory over Houston.
 
"Not surprisingly, (Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury) has found himself another young quarterback that is as good as advertised from what I've seen," Holgorsen said. "Ever since he stepped in against Ole Miss, they've been playing at a very high level offensively."
 
Since entering the game in first quarter against the Rebels, Bowman is completing 72.1 percent of his attempts for 1,557 yards and 10 touchdowns.
 
He comes into Saturday's game as the nation's second-leading passer behind Hawaii's Cole McDonald.
 
A few notches down that list is West Virginia's Will Grier, the nation's second-most efficient passer with a 215.8 quarterback rating through the first three games of the season.
 
Grier played the entire Tennessee game but was able to watch portions of the second half from the sidelines in West Virginia's blowout wins over Youngstown State and Kansas State.
 
Twice already Grier has thrown five touchdown passes in a game this year and his 14 TD tosses are fifth-most in the NCAA despite playing one fewer game than the players above him.
 
Grier is completing 74.7 percent of his attempts for 1,117 yards this year, and last year against Texas Tech, he passed for 352 yards and five touchdowns in the Mountaineers' come-from-behind, 46-35 victory in Morgantown.
 
The two offenses will be in the spotlight this afternoon as Texas Tech comes in averaging 52 points and 623.5 yards per game and West Virginia (3-0, 1-0) is averaging 42.3 points and 545.3 yards per contest.
 
But West Virginia's defense has been equally effective, limiting opponents to just 12.3 points and 304 yards per game. Last Saturday, WVU kept Kansas State out of the end zone and the Wildcats failed to cross the 50-yard line in the first half.
 
Texas Tech's defense has been playing better of late, particularly last weekend when senior safety Jah'Shawn Johnson returned to the starting lineup against Oklahoma State.
 
"It's a huge challenge, but like I said, we understand what we're getting ourselves into, and we're looking forward to getting out there and competing against this group once again," Holgorsen said.
 
Saturday's game will kick off at noon ET and will be televised nationally on ESPN2 (Anish Shroff, Ahmad Brooks and Roddy Jones).
 
The Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG's pregame coverage begins with the GoMart Mountaineer Tailgate Show (Dan Zangrilli, Dale Wolfley and Jed Drenning) at 8:30 a.m. leading into regular game coverage with Tony Caridi, Dwight Wallace and Drenning at 11 a.m. on affiliates throughout West Virginia and online via WVUsports.com and the mobile app TuneIn.
 
Here is today's Countdown to Kickoff:
 
10 – The Mountaineer defense has had TEN or more tackles for losses in two of three games so far this year, including a season-high 12 TFLs in the season opener against Tennessee.
 
9 – Quarterback Will Grier's career-high 429 yards passing in the season opener against Tennessee are the NINTH-most in school history.
 
8 – The Mountaineers have scored EIGHT defensive and special teams touchdowns since 2015, including four last year.
 
7 – Junior Billy Kinney ranks SEVENTH in school history with 41.3 yards-per-punt average.
 
6 – The SIX points West Virginia allowed last Saturday against Kansas State were the fewest the defense has allowed in a Big 12 game since Nov. 18, 2015 against Iowa State, a 30-6 Mountaineer victory.
 
5 – Grier has now thrown FIVE touchdown passes in a game FIVE times in 14 career games at West Virginia.
 
4 – The Mountaineers have lost only FOUR times in 30 games under Dana Holgorsen when they score 40 points or more. Since 2000, the Mountaineers are 59-4 when hitting the 40-point barrier.
 
3 – David Sills V's THREE touchdown catches against Kansas State tied a career high established three other times last year. Sills V now shows 25 touchdown receptions in just 24 career games.
 
2 – West Virginia's defense ranks SECOND nationally this week in points allowed giving up and average of 12.3 points per game.
 
1 – Today's matchup will be the FIRST time both teams are nationally ranked while playing each other. WVU was ranked in 2016 and 2012 and Texas Tech was ranked last year and in 2013.
 
Enjoy today's game and be sure to stop back afterward for complete postgame coverage.