Breaking down the Week 9 matchup between Texas Tech and Oklahoma State…
No. 14 Texas Tech vs. Oklahoma State
When: 3 p.m. Saturday at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas
Records: No. 14 Texas Tech (6-1, 3-1); Oklahoma State (1-6, 0-4)
Last meeting: Nov. 23, 2024
Sports Roundup
TV: ESPNU
What’s at stake?
In one corner is the Big 12 Conference Champion favorites with over $28 million across its football roster, and in the other is a program starting its wide receiver at quarterback and on pace for its worst season in over two decades.
The Red Raiders were upset last week by then-unranked Arizona State 26-22 and head coach Joey McGuire said it’s the adversity his team needed to understand how close it is to playoff contention. A confident win over a hobbling Oklahoma State won’t prove much to AP voters, but if Texas Tech intends to establish a culture as a regular in the College Football Playoff, Saturday needs to be a walloping.
When Texas Tech has the ball
Texas Tech will start Will Hammond at quarterback Saturday for a second consecutive week, according to multiple media reports, as Behren Morton continues recovering from a lower-leg injury suffered against Kansas on Oct. 11.
Hammond struggled in the early portion of Saturday’s game against Arizona State, stalling on the first five drives and failing to get his legs active. He led a late two-touchdown comeback before Arizona State countered, but his ball placement throughout the afternoon left questions about his preparedness to be a full-time starter.
Texas Tech offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich said Monday he didn’t call his best game Saturday, referring to the 15 carries Hammond had compared to his running backs’ combined 12. Running back Cameron Dickey rushed for a career-high 263 yards the week prior, yet against Arizona State he didn’t eclipse double-digit rushes.
Leftwich said there would be a change, but didn’t specify how the workload would be divided up.
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When Oklahoma State has the ball
Wide-receiver-turned-quarterback Sam Jackson V is the expected starter Saturday, considering his full-game role against then-No. 24 Cincinnati last week. Jackson began his college career as a quarterback at TCU before transferring to Cal. He transitioned to wide receiver in 2024 at Auburn.
His performances with Oklahoma State haven’t patched the overarching holes in the program, and there are two other quarterbacks on the roster behind him. True freshman Banks Bowen and FCS transfer Noah Walters have each thrown two passes for the Cowboys, so the opportunity for Jackson V and one of the two quarterbacks to be lined up exists.
On the ground, redshirt freshman Rodney Fields Jr. has been a bright spot for the Cowboys. He rushed for 163 yards and a touchdown against Cincinnati, and interim head coach Doug Meacham said the plan is to continue feeding him the ball.
Prediction
The final score will not be pretty, and some pundits will call Texas Tech classless, but there is no room for the Red Raiders not to play at their highest level.
Leftwich’s play sheet Saturday will favor the run in an effort to give Hammond vertical throws by pulling in the safety for run support. Texas Tech’s future first-round pick David Bailey will aim to add to his nation-leading sack total and prevent a single first down in the first half.
The only fear in a game such as Saturday’s is injuries. McGuire will need to rotate his starters out as soon as the game is out of reach. With Morton and star defensive tackle Skyler Gill-Howard already missing extended time, McGuire can’t afford to lose any more bodies.
Final score: Texas Tech 62, Oklahoma State 12
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