Utah football vs. Texas Tech by the numbers

Coming off a hard-fought win on the road, the Utah football team returns to Rice-Eccles Stadium on Saturday for a Big 12 showdown against Texas Tech.

Kickoff from Salt Lake City is set for 10 a.m. local time, as Fox's Big Noon Kickoff crew will be in town to preview the game.

The Utes (3-0), who are coming off a 31-6 win over Wyoming, enter the top-20 matchup seeking their third consecutive 4-0 start to a season, while the Red Raiders (3-0) hope to clinch their first win away from home to open league play since 2018.

Here's a look at the key stats and numbers for Saturday's matchup.

251: Combined scoring margin for both teams

Outside of Utah's slow first half in Laramie, Wyoming, and the two-hour weather delay Texas Tech endured during its blowout over Oregon State, neither team faced much opposition from their respective nonleague opponents.

In fact, the Red Raiders' 139 point differential heading into Week 4 ranked No. 1 in the country, while the Utes weren't far behind with a 112 point differential.

208.4: Behren Morton's passer rating

To steal a line from Kyle Whittingham, Morton's passer rating through his team's first three games was "off the charts good."

Texas Tech's Behren Morton runs against Oregon State during a non-conference football game, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. | Nathan Giese/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Additionally, Morton led the league with 11 touchdown passes and was second to Baylor's Sawyer Robertson in passing yards (923) — albeit Robertson had 54 more pass attempts than Morton through the Bears' first three games.

175: Consecutive pass attempts without an interception from Devon Dampier

Whittingham mentioned his quarterback needed to improve his completion percentage and cut down on the turnovers in 2025, and through his first three games in a Utah uniform, Dampier demonstrated exactly that while leading his new team to a 3-0 start.

Dampier, who last threw an interception in New Mexico's 49-45 loss to Wyoming in November 2024, was the only Big 12 signal-caller with at least 85 pass attempts and zero interceptions through Week 3. His completion percentage (73.0%) ranked second in the league to TCU's Josh Hoover and was No. 12 nationally.

127.5: Average strength of schedule rating for both teams

For all the gaudy statistics both teams put up in nonconference play, it's worth mentioning neither faced the stiffest of competition through the first few weeks of the season. Texas Tech's nonleague slate actually ranked dead-last in the country (136 out of 136) in strength of schedule rating, per ESPN FPI, while Utah checked in at No. 119 in that same category.

Sep 6, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Utes wide receiver Nate Johnson (3) runs the ball against Cal Poly Mustangs safety Brian Dukes Jr. (9) during the second half at Rice-Eccles Stadium. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Needless to say, Saturday will be the first real test for both the Red Raiders and Utes.

72.7: Utah's third down conversion rate [in percentage]

No team in the nation moved the chains more often or as efficiently on third down through the first few weeks of the 2025 campaign like the Utes, who went a combined 32-of-44 (72.7%) on money downs in their three wins over UCLA, Cal Poly and Wyoming.

Conversely, the Utes' defense allowed their first three opponents to convert just 8-of-36 (22.2%) on third down, the second-best mark in the Big 12 through Week 3. The Red Raiders went 20-of-36 (55.6%) on third down during nonconference play.

12: Four-star transfers committed to Texas Tech in offseason

ESPN reported in February that Texas Tech had spent around $10 million in NIL funds to secure one of the nation's top portal classes of the offseason, a number that likely grew once the spring window opened.

Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire looks on during a non-conference football game, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. | Nathan Giese/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Those funds helped secure the Red Raiders a whopping 12 transfers with a four-star grade on 247Sports, including six between the offensive and defensive lines.

For context, the other 15 teams in the Big 12 brought in a combined 18 four-star transfers.

4: Combined sacks allowed by both teams

Both quarterbacks managed to stay upright in nonleague play thanks to some solid play from their respective offensive lines. But Saturday will pose quite the challenge for both sides, as both defenses came into Week 4 averaging 3.0 sacks.

For the Utes, defensive end John Henry Daley led the way with a nation-best 5.0 sacks in the team's first three games, including 2.5 sacks against the Cowboys in Week 3.

Texas Tech's pass rush combo of David Bailey and Romello Height, meanwhile, recorded 2.5 sacks apiece in the Red Raiders' three wins over Arkansas Pine-Bluff, Kent State and Oregon State.