Preview: Red Raiders travel to No. 7 TCU

LUBBOCK, TX – The Red Raiders are back on the road this Saturday, traveling to face their sixth-ranked opponent this season in the No. 7 TCU. Kick-off is scheduled for 11 a.m. at Amon G. Carter Stadium.

The game will headline with a national broadcast on FOX, as well as Big Noon Kickoff, which will air from 10-11 a.m. from the TCU campus during the pregame. This will be Texas Tech’s Big Noon Kickoff’s first appearance since the show debuted in 2019.

Gus Johnson will have the call, alongside Joel Klatt providing analysis while Jenny Taft will be on the sidelines. Fans can also access the game from their mobile or streaming device using the FOX Sports app.

Texas Tech Sports Network will also broadcast the game on 46 affiliates statewide in Texas and New Mexico, with Brian Jensen having the call alongside analyst John Harris and sideline reporter Chris Level. The radio show can also be heard on SiriusXM channel 158 or 200, as well as on the Varsity app.

BATTLE FOR SADDLE TROPHY SATURDAY

Texas Tech and TCU renewed their battle for the Saddle Trophy in 2017. Both schools previously played for the Saddle Trophy from 1961 to 1970 before it suddenly disappeared. A replica of the trophy was created for the 2017 reunion following discussions between the two schools. It includes the logos of both programs and the results of the 60+ year rivalry.

Texas Tech will look for its third win against a ranked opponent this season when the Red Raiders travel to Fort Worth for the annual Battle for the Saddle game with No. 7 TCU. The Red Raiders have left the Metroplex with the saddle in hand on two of their last three visits after wins in the 2016 and 2018 seasons.

WELCOME TO THE METROPLEX

The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is home to the largest Texas Tech alumni base in the United States outside of Lubbock, as approximately 40,000 graduates currently reside in the area. Texas Tech has enjoyed great fan support in the DFW area due to its large alumni base, as Texas Tech previously hosted Baylor at AT&T Stadium in Arlington every year from 2009-18, as well as spring football games at the Star in Frisco for the past few years. The Red Raider basketball program, meanwhile, turned a neutral NCAA first- and second-round venue in Dallas into the United Supermarkets Arena with capacity crowds in 2018.

Returning to the Metroplex will be something of a homecoming for many Red Raider roster members, as Texas Tech has 36 players on its roster who call the DFW region home. This list includes several notable starters such as running back SaRodorick Thompson Jr., wide receivers Myles Price, Jerand Bradley, Trey Cleveland III and Brady Boyd, offensive lineman Caleb Rogers, defensive lineman Jaylon Hutchings and linebackers Kosi Eldridge and Dimitri Moore.

Texas Tech’s coaching staff includes four members who were previously high school head coaches in the DFW region, none more notably than Joey McGuire, who led Cedar Hill to three state titles in 14 memorable seasons. . Additionally, the Texas Tech staff also includes longtime DFW head coach Kenny Perry, former Dallas Lincoln head coach Zarnell Fitch, and legendary South Oak head coach Cliff Emmett Jones.

RED RAIDERS GO TO DFW FOR 65TH ALL-TIME REUNION WITH TCU

Texas Tech and TCU will meet for the 65th time in history on Saturday as the Red Raiders lead the all-time series with a 32-29-3 advantage. It will be the 10th meeting between the two former Southwest Conference foes since the Horned Frogs joined the Big 12 before the 2012 season.

Both schools have already enjoyed a five-year run where the visiting team prevailed from 2015-19 with the Red Raiders winning twice at Fort Worth in the 2016 and 2018 seasons. TCU ended that streak in 2020 with a 34-18 victory, then added a 52-31 win a year ago at Lubbock.

Texas Tech’s three-game losing streak against the Horned Frogs is the longest since the 1958-60 seasons under head coach Dewitt Weaver. The Red Raiders’ final loss in that streak came in 1960, the first year as members of the Southwest Conference for Texas Tech and TCU. The Red Raiders haven’t lost four straight to the Horned Frogs since the two schools began their series in 1926, with TCU winning the first five meetings (1926-30).

Texas Tech and TCU were formerly members of the Southwestern Conference from 1960 to 1995, where the Red Raiders held a 21-12-3 advantage in those games. The two schools met twice as non-conference opponents in 2004 and 2006 before TCU joined the Big 12 in 2012. Both schools shared those two games with the Red Raiders delivering a 70-35 rout in 2004 followed by a 12-3 victory. by horned frogs two years later.

TEXAS TECH, TCU CONNECTIONS

This weekend’s game will pit the Red Raiders against another Texas Tech graduate in TCU head coach Sonny Dykes. Dykes, the son of legendary Red Raider head coach Spike Dykes, earned his bachelor’s degree in history from college in 1993 and was a member of the Texas Tech baseball program for two seasons. He previously spent seven seasons as an assistant coach for his alma mater, serving as receivers coach from 2000 to 2004 before adding the offensive coordinator title from 2005 to 2006. Dykes will become the fourth Texas Tech graduate to face his alma mater as opposing head coach, joining Tom Wilson (Texas A&M 1978-81), Art Briles (Baylor 2008-15) and Lincoln Riley (Oklahoma 2017-21).

Dykes isn’t the only Texas Tech grad on the TCU staff, as offensive coordinator Garrett Riley graduated from the university with a general business degree in 2012. Garrett Riley, a West Texas native from Muleshoe, is the younger brother of Lincoln Riley.

Texas Tech, meanwhile, has a TCU grad on its team in defensive line coach Zarnell Fitch, who earned his communications degree and minored in social work in 2006. Fitch has been a man of letters two-year stint for the Horned Frogs from 2004-05 where he made three starts as a senior, including making a pair of interceptions that season from inside. He arrived at Texas Tech after six seasons serving in a similar capacity for his alma mater under former head coach Gary Patterson.

Fitch isn’t the only former TCU assistant on the Texas Tech staff, as associate head coach and special teams coordinator Kenny Perry received his first college job with the Horned Frogs. Perry, a DFW native, served as TCU’s director of high school relations in 2013 before being promoted to cornerbacks coach the following year. Additionally, he also worked under TCU Head Coach Sonny Dykes as he was a Special Teams Quality Control Analyst at SMU in 2020 and then Special Teams Coordinator for the Mustangs in 2021.

NEWS AND NOTES TO THE TCU

After a run of five ranked opponents in the first six games, Texas Tech will look to win at least two of its last four games to become eligible for the bowl for the second straight season and the 40th time in school history. Texas Tech is looking to return to a bowl in consecutive seasons for the first time since the 2012-13 campaigns.

Texas Tech heads into November at 4-4 overall for the first time since 2017 and the sixth time during the Big 12 era. In the previous five events, the Red Raiders have won at least two games in November to reach bowl eligibility four times (1997, 1999, 2010, 2017) with the sole exception of 2016.

Texas Tech had just 401 penalty yards on 49 flags, marking its second-lowest total in eight games since the start of the 2000 season. The Red Raiders have already been penalized 40 times for 341 yards at the same time in the season. last.

Baylor’s loss shattered Texas Tech’s previously perfect 4-0 record at home this season. A win over Kansas or Oklahoma in November would mark the Red Raiders’ most home wins in a season since Texas Tech finished 6-1 at the friendly Jones AT&T Stadium in 2019. .

The loss to Oklahoma State ended a six-game winning streak for the Red Raiders by scoring at least 30 points that dated back to the start of the 2021 season. Texas Tech is 3-1 in such games this season after his victory over West Virginia.

RED RAIDERS IN SEARCH OF THE TOP 10

With a win this weekend, the Red Raiders would earn their first victory over a top-10 team on the road since shocking Oklahoma, 41-38, at Norman in the 2011 season. TCU already represents the Texas Tech’s sixth-ranked opponent this season as the Red Raiders are 2-3 in those games with wins over then-No. 25 Houston and No. 22 Texas.

More importantly, a win would move the Red Raiders one step closer to a first-season bowl appearance under Joey McGuire as Texas Tech closes out its season with three unranked opponents currently down the Big 12 standings at Kansas, Iowa State. and Oklahoma. .

THE FIRST TWO OFFENSES OF THE BIG 12 ARE SHOWN

Saturday’s contest will feature the Big 12’s top two offenses as TCU leads the league in averaging 44.2 points per game and 518.6 yards, while the Red Raiders lead the league in passing yards per game (338.0) and rank second in total offense, averaging 475.9 yards per game. Game.

While Texas Tech continues to claim one of the best offenses in the nation, its defense ranks in the first half of the Big 12 for total defense, with the Red Raiders giving up just 365.8 yards per game. This average would currently place Texas Tech’s defensive performance as its best relative to total defense since 2009.

-TECHNOLOGY-