Texas State turned heads with its Week 1 upset of Houston as a 36-point underdog.

In turn, Texas Tech became a possible next victim. The Red Raiders, 5-7 a year ago, heard plenty of noise about their chances to become upset No. 2 for the Bobcats.

It never happened. Tech raced to a 14-0 lead early and rolled to a 58-10 win over Texas State in a game that was never close.

"It was good to go on the road and go into an environment— -- it was the first time Texas Tech has been there and the first time they’d played a big-time opponent in their stadium, a lot of people there, a lot of people thinking they weren’t very good, they were going to lose the game," Tech coach Tommy Tuberville said. "I think it fired our players up."

Yours truly wasn't the only one to put the Red Raiders on so-called "upset alert," but Tech put out any warning signs before a scare could begin.

"It was good to see them react and respond. We’re not a bad team, we keep getting better each week," Tuberville said. "It was good to see our team react to a lot of people trying to be negative about this team and show them that they were a pretty good team."

For two consecutive weeks, the defense has showed up in a big way. Last year, the Red Raiders ranked ninth in the Big 12 in scoring defense and last in rushing defense.

So far in 2012, the Red Raiders held Northwestern State to fewer than 100 yards of total offense and have given up just one touchdown. The competition -- both opponents were in the FCS last season -- haven't been anywhere near the level Tech will see in the Big 12, but the results have been encouraging.

"What separates good teams from great teams is technique and fundamentals. We’ve got some speed now, we’ve got some depth, we’ve got some guys that can run and make plays, but the thing we’ve got to do is continue to get better at playing technique," Tuberville said. "The guys who try to play without it are the ones who usually don’t fare as well, but we’ve got a long way to go. ... Things are about to get a lot tougher down the road. I’m pleased where we’re at."