Texas Tech hosts Arizona in this big time Big 12 showdown.
The Texas Tech Red Raiders need to focus on boosting their offense for this one. Quarterback Will Hammond has 1,561 passing yards, but he has thrown only six touchdowns and has six interceptions on the season. Explosive running back J'Koby Williams has 619 rushing yards and 5 TDs, but if you take away the Arizona State and Oregon State games, he has been inconsistent for the Red Raiders this season. Kenny Johnson, a receiver, is the main downfield target but only has one touchdown reception this season and, besides the Houston and Arizona State games, has not had a significant impact on the Texas Tech passing attack. All three as well as some other key offensive players need to step up and have big games against Arizona to win this game.
The defense has to get back to focusing and dominating like they have for a lot of the season. The Red Raiders have one of the most ball-hawking secondary units in the country, sitting near the top of NCAA FBS with 13 interceptions. Defensive lineman A.J. Holmes Jr. anchors the front seven and has 6 sacks this season. However, the Red Raiders are coming off their first loss of the season, a 37-24 loss to Cincinnati where they gave up 427 yards and gave up four passing touchdowns. They will be seeking to bounce back at home to stay undefeated at home this season.
Arizona, on the other hand, has a five-game winning streak and defeated Cincinnati by a final score of 34-7. Their only loss of the season was to BYU on the road. Veteran quarterback Noah Fifita leads the Arizona Wildcats, who again have a high-efficiency passing offense, with Fifiti already having 2,064 passing yards and 18 TDs through seven games. Kedrick Reescano leads the ground game with just over 300 rushing yards and five touchdowns, while wideout Isaiah Mizell is an explosive playmaker with 493 yards and 5 TDs this season, most of which have come in the Wildcats' last two games against Iowa State and West Virginia.
Linebacker Taye Brown has a team-leading 27 tackles and leads the Wildcats defense. Edge rusher Chase Kennedy leads the team in pressure rate with 4 sacks, and the Texas Tech offensive line has a tough task trying to stop him from getting to the quarterback. Arizona has a scoring defense that gives up only 16.7 points per game, but they did give up 31 points against West Virginia.
Arizona recently crushed Iowa State 39-3 and has put up a total of just over 200 points in their last five games. The Wildcats are also 2-1 on the road this season heading into Lubbock for this top 25 game.
The key matchup for this game will be Noah Fifita vs. the Texas Tech secondary. Fifita’s efficient throwing (almost 74% completion rate) will face immediate tests from a Red Raider defense that excels at creating takeaways via interceptions. Another major matchup in this game pits the Red Raiders offensive line against Arizona’s front seven on defense. Texas Tech’s running offense behind J’Koby Williams and Quinten Joyner will face a challenge against an Arizona front seven that is holding opponents under 110 rushing yards per game. This game also has Big 12 Championship ramifications since both teams are deadlocked at 3-1 in conference play behind undefeated Utah, and the winner is squarely in the race for a Big 12 Championship Game berth.
An early game prediction for this game that may change slightly as the injury reports for both teams come out later this week, but the Red Raiders bounce back and win a very close game by a final score of Texas Tech 28, Arizona 27.
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