TEXAS TECH
Red Raiders host surging Oklahoma squad.
Key players: TT — QB Patrick Mahomes II, WR Jonathan Giles, FS Jah’ Shawn Johnson; OU — QB Baker Mayfield, RB Joe Mixon, CB Jordan Thomas. Series history: Oklahoma leads 16-6. Who has the edge:
Offense — Texas Tech. The Red Raiders still have the edge, averaging 48.8 points and 605 total yards per game on the season, good enough for fifth and second in the country, respectively. The only other team with 600-plus yards per game is Louisville (628). But the Raiders may have lost their edge in last week’s 48-17 loss to West Virginia, which held them to 379 yards.
Defense — Oklahoma. The Sooners aren’t exactly stout on defense, ranking 74th in total yards (413) and 100th in points (33) allowed per game. But the Red Raiders are a sieve, giving up 40.2 points and 479 yards per game, and they made Texas’ defense look like the Steel Curtain last week, surrendering 650 yards.
Special teams — Oklahoma. The Sooners are better on kick returns, where Mixon has 14 for 363 yards and one TD. The Red Raiders average 19.6 yards per kick return, and they gave up a 99-yard kick-return TD to Kansas State’s Byron Pringle in a 44-38 setback two weeks ago.
Notable: Oklahoma is on a four-game winning streak in the series, including last year’s 63-27 win in Norman, Okla. The Red Raiders gave up 405 rushing yards, and Mahomes threw four interceptions in the setback. Their last win was a 41-38 upset in 2011 in Norman.
About Texas Tech: The Red Raiders (3-3, 1-2) looked lost against West Virginia, and now once hot young coach Kliff Kingsbury’s chair may be hotter than the one Texas coach Charlie Strong is sitting in. They’re coming off back-to-back losses, and after OU they face improving Texas, TCU and Oklahoma State in a four-game stretch that could send them spiraling.
About Oklahoma: The Sooners (4-2, 3-0) seem to have put their non-conference struggles, including losses to Houston (33-23) and Ohio State (45-24), behind them, jumping out to a 3-0 start in Big 12 play with wins over TCU (52-46), Texas (45-40) and Kansas State (38-17).