First Look: Texas Tech Red Raiders

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

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Texas Tech Red Raiders

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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.

Pretty slick new trophy this year for the Baylor-Texas Tech rivalry. Series record: 36–36–1. pic.twitter.com/879ZuzS4ZU

— Max Olson (@max_olson) September 28, 2015

Missed opportunity, fellas.

Texas Tech Red Raiders 2015 Schedule

Red Raiders 2015 Individual Stats

Quarterbacks

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

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

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?