The AP’s Ralph Russo picks games each week and he’s picking Texas Tech to upset NC State.

News Observer’s Chip Alexander writes about NC State slowing down Texas Tech’s offense:

N.C. State defensive coordinator Tony Gibson and Texas Tech offensive coordinator Zach Kittley will be trying to counter each other’s X’s and O’s. Gibson runs a 3–3-5 stack defense — “He’s one of the Godfathers of that,” McGuire said this week — that pressures from all angles, and Kittley will be coming at the Pack with his version of the Air Raid passing attack.

Kittley’s impression of the Pack’s D?

“A veteran defense. A lot of chemistry there,” he told reporters at Texas Tech this week. “They’ve played together for a long time. They’ve got seven starters on defense who are seniors or graduate students. They’re not playing a lot of freshmen out there. They’ve got a lot of 21-plus year olds on their defense who have played a lot of football and seen a lot of stuff.”

Dallas Morning News’ Ryan Mainville has 5 things to know about NC State:

Dominant Defense

While the Red Raiders look to utilize the Air Raid offense to generate success this season, NC State is relying on an experienced defense. The Wolfpack’s 3-3-5 defense is sure to be a headache for a Texas Tech offense that looks to move the ball down the field. The Wolfpack are allowing opponents to generate only 266.5 yards per game, the fourth-fewest in the ACC. That’s a stark contrast from the 536.0 yards per game that Texas Tech is averaging, which leads the Big 12. NC State has generated five turnovers in its first two games, something the Red Raiders will need to avoid committing in a game where every drive counts.

ESPN’s Dave Wilson on Joey McGuire and UTSA’s Jeff Traylor:

In a state that has inspired best-selling books, movies and TV shows based on the statewide pastime on Friday nights, where Kyler Murray went 42-0 playing in a $60 million stadium at Allen in the Dallas area, high school coaches loom as some of the most influential people in thousands of towns spanning the state’s 269,000 square miles. And two of those coaches, Traylor and McGuire, were here returning as conquering heroes, former brethren who made it big, filling their colleagues with pride.

“They represent us because they’re one of us,” said John King, the head coach of Longview in East Texas since 2004, who was overseeing the convention as the last act of his tenure as outgoing president of the THSCA.

“They’re two guys that people took a chance on that did it the right way. They love kids, coach kids and got a golden opportunity to go to the college ranks and made the most of it.”