Big 12 Conference play has arrived for the Texas Tech football team and the Red Raiders are in for a tricky test against a resurgent Arizona State squad.

The Sun Devils (3-0) have already matched their win total from all of 2023 and want to show they're no fluke. Meanwhile, the Red Raiders (2-1) are looking to do the same and capitalize on last week's undressing of North Texas back in Jones AT&T Stadium on Saturday (2:30 p.m. on FS1).

Breaking down the matchup of these conference foes — one old, one new — can be challenging. At this stage of the season, teams like Arizona State can separate themselves from the pretenders and into contender status. On the other hand, it's still only a three-game sample size for each team, and it's hard to say definitively whether the Red Raiders or Sun Devils had the tougher non-conference slate.

We'll attempt to dissect those things here, plus present the case for both Texas Tech and Arizona State to walk away with the victory.

When Texas Tech football runs the ball

The Red Raiders established the run against North Texas and it led to a field day through the air. The hope is to accomplish the same against the Sun Devils, though ASU has been rather stingy in this department. Arizona State is allowing 65 yards per game on the ground, surrendering a total of 64 yards combined against Wyoming and Mississippi State (who have a combined 1-5 record and average about 150 on the ground collectively, so take that for what you will). Regardless, Tahj Brooks is going to get his carries against the Sun Devils, needing another 905 yards to become Texas Tech's all-time leading rusher. Freshmen Cameron Dickey and J'Koby Williams could be utilized to give the Sun Devils a different look as well.

Advantage: Arizona State

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When Arizona State football runs the ball

This is where the biggest complication in breaking this game down comes about. Arizona State has a bowling ball of a running back in Cam Skattebo (5-foot-11, 215 pounds) who burst onto the scene a few weeks ago with a 33-carry, 262-yard performance against Mississippi State. In his other two games, though, Skattebo (pronounced Scat-a-boo) has totaled 103 yards on 35 total carries (Texas State has a pretty good run defense, but still). And Texas Tech's early-season problems on defense have not been with running backs. Washington State ran for 301 yards on Tech, but 197 of those came from quarterback John Mateer. Put another away, the Red Raiders are allowing 3.74 yards per carry to running backs. However, you can't take quarterback yardage out completely against ASU, which has a quarterback in Sam Leavitt who is more than willing to tuck and run. Containing Leavitt might be a bigger point of emphasis for Tech, which will trickle in to the rest of the defensive plan.

Advantage: Texas Tech

When Texas Tech football passes the ball

One glaring issue for the ASU defense has been its pass defense, which is where Behren Morton should be able to pounce. Morton's among the nation's top passers in terms of yardage through three games (974 yards, 10 TDs, 2 INTs) and been able to avoid getting sacked (one in each of the first three games). Washington State made him uncomfortable in the pocket, while games where Brooks has been in the backfield with him, Morton has been at his best. Josh Kelly continues to be his favorite target (21 catches, 287 yards, 2 TDs), though Morton has spread the ball to a number of targets beyond that. ASU has six sacks on the year, half coming from lineman Clayton Smith, and come up with three interceptions, two coming against Wyoming. Texas State and Mississippi State each passed for identical 268 yards against the Sun Devils.

Advantage: Texas Tech

When Arizona State football passes the ball

Two things to watch here are just how many pass attempts Arizona State actually has in this game (averaging 14.3 per contest so far) and which version of the Texas Tech secondary is going to show up. The Red Raiders have improved greatly in this area the last few weeks after the embarrassment of allowing 506 yards to Abilene Christian. In the last two games, Tech has come up with four interceptions — two from Chapman Lewis — and held Washington State and North Texas to a combined 333 yards. In fairness, Wazzu didn't need to pass much with Mateer's legs doing the heavy damage. This could be a similar case for ASU's Leavitt, who's averaging a little more than 50 yards per game on the ground. When Leavitt does pass, he's been pretty solid, totaling 573 yards on 43-of-72 passing. His top target has been Jordyn Tyson (12 catches, 172 yards) the brother of former Texas Tech basketball player Jaylon Tyson.

Advantage: Arizona State

More: How Texas Tech football freshmen like J'Koby Williams capitalized on the Red Raider rout

Texas Tech vs. Arizona State: The specialists

Arizona State punter Kanyon Floyd is averaging 42.8 yards per punt. Kicker Ian Hershey has converted six of his eight field-goal attempts, including a 47 yarder. Gino Garcia and Reese Burkhardt are still splitting kicking duties, though Garcia has attempted four of Tech's five field goals. Neither man has missed yet. Jack Burgess has filled in for Austin McNamara nicely, averaging 44.4 yards per punt.

Advantage: Texas Tech

Score prediction: Texas Tech 31, Arizona State 28

Bottom line: We'll say the Red Raider defense has learned from the first two weeks and will find a way to bottle up ASU's running game and still maintain success in the secondary. Might be lower scoring than expected.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Can Texas Tech football open Big 12 play with a win over Arizona State?