TEXAS TECH
Red Raiders face Cowboys.
Series history: Texas Tech leads 21-19-3. Key players: TT — QB Patrick Mahomes II, RB Da’Leon Ward, WR Jonathan Giles; OSU — QB Mason Rudolph, WR James Washington, S Jordan Sterns. Who has the edge: Offense — Texas Tech. The Red Raiders are fourth in the country in scoring at 46.2 points per game, second in total offense (590) and first in passing offense (485.8) behind Mahomes, who leads the FBS with 3,886 yards. Mahomes’ favorite target is Giles, an Elkins product, who has 60 receptions for 982 yards and 12 TDs.
Defense — Oklahoma State. The Red Raiders are first in total offense and last in total defense in the Big 12, giving up 533.9 yards per game. The Cowboys allow 484.2 yards per game, which is middle of the pack in the Big 12, but they’ve allowed 15 fewer TDs (46-31) and lead the conference with 11 INTs.
Special teams — Even. Texas Tech averages 10.8 yards per punt return behind Cameron Batson, who has 15 returns for 159 yards. Oklahoma State is at 12.1 yards per punt return. OSU K Ben Grogan missed only one field goal in his last 10 attempts. Tech K Clayton Hatfield is perfect in his last seven field-goal attempts.
Notable: The Cowboys have won the teams’ past seven meetings, including last year’s 70-53 win in Lubbock. They averaged 50 points per game in those seven wins. The Red Raiders’ last win in the series was 56-20 in 2008 at home.
About Texas Tech: The Red Raiders (4-5, 2-4) came up short in a 45-37 home loss to Texas. Mahomes was relatively quiet, with 367 yards on 59 pass attempts — with three TDs and one INT. The Red Raiders surrendered 658 yards in the setback, including 414 on the ground.
About Oklahoma State: The Cowboys (7-2, 5-1) kept up with Big 12 leader Oklahoma last week, holding off Kansas State 43-37 on the road for their fifth consecutive victory. K-State led with less than 10 minutes remaining, but the Cowboys rallied late on Washington’s 82-yard scoring reception and Chris Carson’s 17-yard TD run with 1:46 left in the game.