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First Look: Texas Tech Red Raiders

Taking a peek at Baylor's next opponent: The Texas Tech Red Raiders.

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Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
vs.
5/4 BAYLOR (3–0, 0–0) vs. RV/RV Texas Tech (3–1, 0–1)
Oct. 3, 2015 | 2:30 p.m. CT
Arlington, Texas | AT&T Stadium (80,000)

TV: ABC
Listen | Gametracker Gametracker | Game Notes Notes | Tickets

OPPONENT: Texas Tech Red Raiders
ODB GAME HUB: Baylor Bears vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders 2015
MEET THE PRESS: Baylor vs. Texas Tech
OFFICIAL WEBSITE: texastech.com
MEDIA GUIDE: 2015 Texas Tech Media Supplement (Click here for roster)
LAST MEETING: 48–46 Baylor | ODB Game Hub
LAST GAME: L; TCU 55, Texas Tech 52
SB NATION BLOG: Viva The Matadors, at right
SPREAD: Baylor –17 (Open: Baylor –15.5)
TV COVERAGE: ABC/ESPN2, 2:30 p.m. CDT
WEATHER FORECAST: It’s Jerry World, so rain, shine, or otherwise, it’ll be dry and climate-controlled indoors.
BAYLOR UNIFORMS: No official word yet, announced Friday or Saturday

SBNation.com TechPreview
baylorbears.com Preview
Bears vs. Red Raiders Coverage

Normally whenever there’s a game that’s got an ABC/ESPN split like this one, we get a sweet coverage map from ESPN that we can show you. Alas, they have yet to release it, at least from my searches. If last week is any indication, it may be tomorrow that it goes up. Rest assured that if they release one, you will see it on this blog before Saturday.

You get a trophy and you get a trophy and you get a trophy and

Because all "rivalry games" must have a trophy, they’ve given one to the Baylor vs. Texas Tech game. Contrary to popular opinion, this game isn’t called the BUTT Bowl. It is, in fact, known as the Texas Farm Bureau Insurance Shootout, and I’m pretty sure that this game was given a name because a) Texas Farm Bureau Insurance wanted to sponsor a game, and b) this game started being played on a neutral site, so they jumped on it. Without the sponsor, it’d just be "Shootout." If I recall correctly, another rivalry is called was once called a "Shootout." Huh. Anyway, here’s the trophy.

Missed opportunity, fellas.

Texas Tech Red Raiders 2015 Schedule

September
Sam Houston St. Bearkats Saturday, September 05 2015 win 59–45 coverage
Texas-El Paso Miners Saturday, September 12 2015 win 69–20 coverage
@Arkansas Razorbacks Saturday, September 19 2015 win 35–24 coverage
TCU Horned Frogs Friday, September 25 2015 loss 52–55 coverage
October
Baylor Bears Saturday, October 03 2015 3:30 PM EDT coverage

Iowa St. Cyclones

Saturday, October 10 2015 3:30 PM EDT coverage
@ Kansas Jayhawks Saturday, October 17 2015 12:00 PM EDT coverage
@ Oklahoma Sooners Saturday, October 24 2015 12:00 PM EDT coverage
Oklahoma State Cowboys Saturday, October 31 2015 12:00 PM EDT coverage
November
@ West Virginia Mountaineers Saturday, November 07 2015 12:00 PM EST coverage
Kansas State Wildcats Saturday, November 14 2015 12:00 PM EST coverage
@ Texas Longhorns Thursday, November 26 2015 7:30 PM EST coverage

Red Raiders 2015 Individual Stats

Quarterbacks

Passing
Rk Player Cmp Att Pct Yds Y/A AY/A TD Int Rate
1 Patrick Mahomes 102 161 63.4 1421 8.8 9.4 11 3 156.3
2 Davis Webb 6 13 46.2 96 7.4 7.4 0 0 108.2
3 Jakeem Grant 1 1 100.0 72 72.0 92.0 1 0 1034.8

Confession: I have a hard time with Pat Mahomes’ first name. For whatever reason, I want to call him Blake. I have absolutely no idea why.

If you don’t know or didn’t see, Pat Mahomes injured his left knee in the first quarter of their loss to TCU last weekend. He wore a brace for the rest of the game and his mobility was limited. That didn’t seem to affect his throwing arm, though; he went on to throw for 342 yards and 2 touchdowns while giving up no picks. Apparently Kliff Kingsbury says they don’t have a "scientific diagnosis" but they’re currently listing him as day-to-day. My guess is that’s all we’ll hear about it, and we won’t know until game time if he’s actually starting or not. His backup is your number 16 seed out of the West Bracket, Davis Webb. Webb has starting experience, so he’s not exactly an unknown commodity for the Bears, which is helpful, seeing how unknown QBs seemed to fare against the defense in the past.

Mahomes is thriving in Kingsbury’s system this season thus far, punishing opponents with both his arm and legs. He’s led Tech to the second best passing offense nationally, behind only Bowling Green. He’s got them at fifth in total offense in the nation and third in the Big 12. Provided he’s healthy enough to play, he will undoubtedly be the first major test for a Baylor pass defense that has looked much improved against non-conference competition.

Rushing & Receiving Stats

Rushing Receiving Scrimmage
Rk Player Att Yds Avg TD Rec Yds Avg TD Plays Yds Avg TD
1 Deandre Washington 58 475 8.2 5 9 70 7.8 0 67 545 8.1 5
2 Patrick Mahomes 29 165 5.7 5 29 165 5.7 5
3 Justin Stockton 24 119 5.0 2 5 115 23.0 2 29 234 8.1 4
4 Quinton White 6 21 3.5 0 5 12 2.4 0 11 33 3.0 0
5 Demarcus Felton 2 7 3.5 0 2 7 3.5 0
6 Davis Webb 2 6 3.0 2 2 6 3.0 2
7 Reginald Davis 1 21 21.0 0 13 248 19.1 3 14 269 19.2 3
8 Jakeem Grant 1 3 3.0 1 29 413 14.2 2 30 416 13.9 3
9 Ian Sadler 15 204 13.6 2 15 204 13.6 2
10 Devin Lauderdale 13 307 23.6 3 13 307 23.6 3
11 Cameron Batson 8 54 6.8 0 8 54 6.8 0
12 Jonathan Giles 5 24 4.8 0 5 24 4.8 0
13 Ja’Deion High 3 54 18.0 0 3 54 18.0 0
14 Keke Coutee 3 38 12.7 0 3 38 12.7 0
15 Tony Brown 1 45 45.0 0 1 45 45.0 0

Here’s where we see how an injury to Mahomes may impact their offense in this game. Mahomes is second on the team in both rushing attempts and yards, as well as yards per carry. His ability to execute both designed runs and scramble for yards when no one is open adds that extra dimension that proved difficult for Baylor’s defense at times against both SMU and Lamar. Backup Davis Webb has shown similar ability in the past, so it’s something the Bears are undoubtedly game planning for this week. The only way that the QB isn’t a run threat this weekend is if Mahomes plays but is still injured. After injuring himself, he carried the ball only eight times for 36 yards. I fully expect the Red Raider QB to test our defenders with their legs repeatedly in this game.

Even when they do not, their feature running back, Deandre Washington, remains a legitimate rushing threat, averaging 8.2 yards/carry. Given that Tech is an air raid offense, they also like to utilize their running backs in the passing game far more than Baylor does, as evidenced by the 19 catches split amongst their three main RBs. While they throw it way more than run, expect to see the run used in ways designed to unbalance our defenders and keep them that way.

The WR corps for Tech is loaded with depth, and they like to spread the ball around. Jakeem Grant’s gotten the lion’s share of touches with nearly twice as many as the next receiver, but Reginald Davis, Ian Sadler and David Lauderdale all have double-digit touches and over 200 yards receiving apiece. You’ve got 5 more with at least 5 catches apiece, including three RBs. So yeah, they’re going to spread the ball around a TON. Cris Dishman’s crew is going to be very busy on Saturday afternoon.

Red Raiders Team Stats and Rankings

Statistic National
Rank
Conference
Rank
Value National Leader Value Conference
Leader
Value
3rd Down Conversion Pct 6 2 0.538 Navy 0.632 TCU 0.557
3rd Down Defense 120 9 0.524 Northwestern 0.186 West Virginia 0.286
4th Down Conversion Pct 43 4 0.600 7 teams tied 1.000 Oklahoma St. 1.000
4th Down Defense 61 5 0.500 8 teams tied 0.000 West Virginia
Oklahoma
0.000
0.000
Blocked Kicks 18 1 1 Washington
Missouri
Illinois
3
3
3
Oklahoma
Texas Tech
Baylor
1
1
1
Blocked Kicks Allowed 1 1 0 71 teams tied 0 6 teams tied 0
Blocked Punts 6 teams tied 2
Blocked Punts Allowed 1 1 0 104 teams tied 0 9 teams tied 0
Completion Percentage 54 6 0.623 Georgia 0.761 West Virginia 0.695
Defensive TDs 5 teams tied 3 Texas 3
Fewest Penalties

21 Georgia Tech 7 Kansas 18
Fewest Penalties Per Game
1 5.25 Georgia Tech 1.75 Texas Tech 5.25
Fewest Penalty Yards 28 1 170 Georgia Tech 59 Texas Tech 170
Fewest Penalty Yards Per Game
1 42.50 Georgia Tech 14.75 Texas Tech 42.50
First Downs Defense
9 113 Boston College 35 West Virginia 45
First Downs Offense 5 2 114 Cincinnati 139 TCU 121
Fumbles Lost 1 1 0 13 teams tied 0 Texas Tech 0
Fumbles Recovered 2 1 5 Ohio 6 Oklahoma St.
Texas Tech
Texas
5
5
5
Kickoff Return Defense 78 6 21.92 La.-Monroe 11.92 Kansas St. 15.40
Kickoff Returns 35 3 24.85 San Diego St. 35.67 Kansas St. 34.86
Net Punting 31 3 39.91 San Jose St. 46.35 Oklahoma 44.38
Passes Had Intercepted 52 6 3 8 teams tied 0 Kansas St. 0
Passes Intercepted 63 4 3 4 teams tied 9 West Virginia 9
Passing Offense 5 2 397.3 Bowling Green 442.3 TCU 401.5
Passing Yards Allowed 115 10 301.5 Boston College 72.0 West Virginia 154.0
Passing Yards per Completion 16 6 14.58 Air Force 22.46 Baylor 18.74
Punt Return Defense 71 9 8.20 Northwestern –1.60 Baylor 0.00
Punt Returns 73 7 7.75 Maryland 28.08 Texas 23.78
Red Zone Defense 43 3 0.778 Appalachian St. 0.000 West Virginia 0.333
Red Zone Offense 14 2 0.947 11 teams tied 1.000 Texas 1.000
Rushing Defense 122 10 254.8 Boise St. 44.3 Kansas St. 78.3
Rushing Offense 48 4 197.3 Baylor 379.7 Baylor 379.7
Sacks Allowed 3 1 0.25 Air Force
Toledo
0.00
0.00
Texas Tech 0.25
Scoring Defense 107 9 36.0 West Virginia 7.7 West Virginia 7.7
Scoring Offense 3 2 53.8 Baylor 64.0 Baylor 64.0
Tackles for Loss Allowed 3 1 3.00 Miami (FL) 2.33 Texas Tech 3.00
Team Passing Efficiency 24 6 157.76 Baylor 218.64 Baylor 218.64
Team Passing Efficiency Defense 100 8 142.32 Boston College 68.32 West Virginia 78.55
Team Sacks 117 10 0.75 Penn St. 4.50 Oklahoma St.
Kansas St.
4.00
4.00
Team Tackles for Loss 94 9 5.0 Baylor 10.3 Baylor 10.3
Time of Possession 122 9 24:01 North Carolina St. 39:15 TCU 32:25
Total Defense 122 10 556.3 Boston College 118.0 Oklahoma St. 299.8
Total Offense 5 3 594.5 Baylor 767.0 Baylor 767.0
Turnover Margin 16 3 1.25 West Virginia 3.00 West Virginia 3.00
Turnovers Gained 27 4 8 California 14 West Virginia 11
Turnovers Lost 16 3 3 LSU 0 West Virginia
Kansas St.
2
2
Winning Percentage 30 7 0.750 29 teams tied 1.000 6 teams tied 1.000

It’s Question Time!

FIRST: What questions do you have about Texas Tech to which we might be able to get answers?
SECOND: What aspect of this offense will present the most challenges for Baylor’s defense this weekend?
THIRD: Devin Chafin took to Twitter earlier this week to let us all know that he’s back. How heavily is he featured in this game?
FOURTH: Why does Peter have trouble remembering that it’s Pat Mahomes, not Blake?
FIFTH: Do we see the unveiling of Gunmetal this week? If not, what’s your uniform prediction?