(Video courtesy CBSSports.com)

Northwestern State at Texas Tech

Kickoff: Saturday, 7:00 p.m. ET (Fox Sports Southwest Plus)

Spread: No line

Watchability: Unless you're a diehard Red Raider fan -- or just one of those folks who tunes into these FCS-versus-FBS games looking for a potential upset -- you may want to steer clear of this one. Even Big 12 diehards have other (better?) viewing options, as top 25 teams from Kansas State and Oklahoma State will be playing at the same time.

Shining Stars: Northwestern State: LB Derek Rose. A two-time All-American at the FCS level, Rose is back for his senior season and is expected to garner several honors. Playing middle linebacker in NSU's 4-3 scheme, he is the unquestioned leader of the Demons' defense. Texas Tech: QB Seth Doege. Another in a long line of quality Big 12 quarterbacks, Doege is on a host of award watch lists (Maxwell, Davey O'Brien, Walter Camp, Johnny Unitas and others) after a 2011 season that saw him throw for 4,004 yards and 28 touchdowns, completing 68.5 percent of his passes in the process. If the Red Raiders are to return to bowl eligibility this season, Doege will have to be that good -- or better -- again.

Who could steal the show: Northwestern State: P Nic Russo. The punter is a fan of self-depreciating humor, posting episodes of "The Nic Russo Show" on YouTube. Even Northwestern State's game notes point out Russo "wasn't even the starting punter on his high school team" but he has apparently improved enough to become a preseason first-team all-Southland Conference selection. Texas Tech: WR Eric Ward. If Doege finds success, Ward likely will as well. On the preseason Biletnikoff Award watch list, Ward caught 84 passes for 800 yards and 11 scores in 2011. Against an overmatched foe like Northwestern State, he could put up eye-popping numbers in the season-opener.

You going? Ranking the road trip: Despite the low expectations for the Red Raiders this season -- they were picked to finish ninth out of 10 teams in the Big 12's preseason media poll -- there seems to be some excitement in Lubbock. Texas Tech has sold more than 31,000 season tickets, second-most in school history. Only coach Tommy Tuberville's first season in 2010 saw better sales. With all the talk of Tuberville potentially being "on the hot seat" this season, perhaps this game is worth attending to gauge the locals' restlessness.

Magic number for Northwestern State: Zero. The Demons have never beaten a team in the Big 12, though they did knock off new Big 12 member TCU in 2001, as they've gone 0-7. None of the games have been close, as a 21-point loss at then-No. 21 Missouri in 1998 was the closest NSU has come to knocking off a Big 12 foe.

Magic number for Texas Tech: 9 + 9 = 18. The Red Raiders have nine starters back on offense and nine more on defense, so inexperience won't be an excuse this season. Some of those returning starters have been pushed down the depth chart, so Texas Tech will have seasoned backups at key positions, too.

The game comes down to: How badly the Red Raiders want to blow out their opposition. The only other meeting between these two programs came in 2007, and Texas Tech cruised to a 75-7 win. Things aren't the same in Lubbock as they were back then -- that was the heyday of the Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree-led "Air Raid" era -- but the program hasn't fallen so far as to lose this one.

Prediction: Texas Tech 55, Northwestern State 13

For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis from Big 12 bloggers C.J. Moore and Patrick Southern, follow @CBSSportsBig12 on Twitter.