The No. 22 Texas Tech Red Raiders (3-0) vs Oklahoma State Cowboys (1-2)
Game Preview
Big-12 Season Kickoff
The No. 22 Texas Tech Red Raiders (3-0) will visit the Oklahoma State Cowboys (1-2) this Saturday at 3:30 eastern time, in an important early Big-12 match up. This weekend kicks off conference games in the Big-12 and Texas Tech is looking to show it belongs among the top tier teams in the Big-12 conference.
In last season's game, Oklahoma St. led Texas Tech 17-0, but the Red Raiders scored on five straight possessions to take the lead and eventually went on to win 30-24. Texas Tech has already put that explosive offense on display by scoring an average of 51 points per game. Red Raider quarterback Graham Harrell keys the offense as he has thrown for 1317 yards with a 75% completion percentage. Harrell also sports a 14 to two touchdown to interception ratio.
For Oklahoma State to have a chance, they will have to focus on the rushing attack. Texas Tech is getting out rushed 429 to 268 in yardage and the Cowboys have racked up 544 rushing yards to date behind a multiple back rushing attack. Oklahoma St. does not have a running back with over 200 yards, but Kendall Hunter and Keith Toston have helped lead a solid rushing attack that should give Texas Tech some trouble. If Oklahoma St. rushes the ball well, it should help control time of possession and limit the chances for Texas Tech to get into a rhythm passing the ball.
The rushing attack for the Cowboys needs to be successful on first and second down to create manageable third down distances. On the season, Oklahoma St. has converted on third down only one quarter of the time. On the other hand, Texas Tech is successful at a 59 percent rate. Long drives are built on being successful on third down. If Oklahoma St. is able to be successful in this part of the game, then they will have a shot to upset Texas Tech.
Another negative for Texas Tech is the mental mistakes that the team makes. The Red Raiders are averaging 107 yards of penalty yards per game. These kinds of mistakes can negate big plays that are made in the passing game by Texas Tech and can lead to better field position for Oklahoma St. , who is going to need to cash in on these chances when they present themselves.
Texas Tech should win this game on paper, but as evident this season, anything can happen in college football. These two teams know each other well and Texas Tech needs to clean up certain areas in order to make a significant push to play in the Big-12 title game.
Denis Brown is an independent contributor to College Football Poll.com.
