With senior quarterback Behren Morton back behind center, No. 13 Texas Tech is set for a quarterback duel when it travels to Manhattan, Kansas, to face Kansas State University at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

Morton, who is fully recovered from a leg injury that kept him sidelined for two weeks, will lead a program that hasn’t won a football game at Bill Snyder Family Stadium since 2008. Tech head coach Joey McGuire is looking to change that.

McGuire discussed the history between the two programs with Morton earlier in the week. The Red Raiders last won in Manhattan when Morton was 6 years old. However, McGuire shut down the immediate idea of skepticism during that conversation.

“We’re not going to concern ourselves with the history of what has been there or here,” McGuire said. “This is an entirely different team. The majority of this team, if you think about it, has never played Kansas State.”

Tech offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich said the team wants to get back to its vertical playcalling. Leftwich added he spent the past two weeks scheming to the strengths of backup redshirt freshman quarterback Will Hammond, allowing for a more conservative style.

Morton led the team to a 6-0 record before his leg injury on Oct.11. The fifth-year field general threw for 1,501 yards and 13 touchdowns in those first six games as the team became a top-10 passing offense in the country at the time, according to Tech Athletics.

“You hope Behren gets back to playing like he was playing before his injury,” Leftwich said. “He was playing at a really efficient level, completing a bunch of passes. You look statistically, our explosive passes were really good when he’s been playing quarterback for us.”

While Morton makes his return to the field, Tech has shifted its focus toward the opposing quarterback.

The Wildcats enter the matchup with a 4-4 record. McGuire acknowledged Kansas State’s current efforts after winning three of its last four games. He said a majority of that success has come from junior quarterback Avery Johnson’s dual-threat ability to lead the offense.

The third-year signal caller will be without junior running back Dylan Edwards on Saturday. With less availability in the run game, Johnson will take on a larger responsibility to lead through the air while also contributing with his legs.

“They started off 1-3, and then you turn around and you look up in the last four games, they’re 3-1,” McGuire said. “If you look at the numbers just in conference, they’re playing better on offense than they did overall. Their quarterback is really good.”

Johnson has completed 62.9 percent of his passes for 1,792 yards and 15 touchdowns this season, according to NCAA Stats. He has rushed for 346 yards on 66 attempts — not including yards lost due to sacks.

The Red Raiders enter as the No. 1 defense nationally against the run. Tech has given up an average of 68.1 rush yards while allowing two explosive rushing attempts of 20-plus yards by an opponent all season, according to Tech Athletics.

Johnson’s longest rush this season went for 31 yards. Tech defensive coordinator Shiel Wood said he emphasized the need for pass-rush lane integrity in addition to containing Johnson’s rushing efforts.

“When you have a quarterback that has the legs like Avery does, you’ve got to do a great job with your technique and fundamentals and understand that getting to the level and depth of the quarterback is important and not getting pushed past him,” Wood said.

Saturday’s matchup in the Little Apple will broadcast live on FOX with additional coverage on the FOX Sports mobile app. Information regarding live stats and updates can be found on the Tech Athletics website.