By Jason Fleck
This week will feature an all Texas matchup between Texas and Texas Tech in Lubbock. Texas leads the all-time series with a record of 46-15, but that record is almost irrelevant with Tech finally coming into its own when it comes to football. Both teams will come into this game with the exact same 6-2, 3-2 records, but their seasons tell two completely different stories.
Those years when all the Longhorns did was put up points and kept anyone from scoring are long gone. Their offense has struggled at times, but with a defense that can actually keep opponents out of the end zone, they have managed to pull out some pretty big wins. Tech has been a lot better than most would have expected them to be, with their biggest wins so far coming against No. 5 West Virginia and No. 23 TCU, but most recently losing to the No.3 ranked Kansas State Wildcats, in a game they let slip away in the second half. They started out quick but made some big mistakes that would cost them the game. The turning point was the fumble by Seth Doege caused by the Kansas State defense at the end of the first quarter. They would be outscored 52-17 from that point on. They will be looking to repeat the performance they had against West Virginia, but with the way Texas has looked, they probably won’t need to look that good to get this win.
While Texas has underachieved so far, going 0-2 against ranked opponents so far this season and having to comeback to win two games on their final drives. Their most recent final drive win coming against a bottom-feeding Kansas team, in which backup QB Case McCoy took the reins and led his team on a 70 yard drive and connected with D.J. Grant for the game winning 1 yard touchdown with 12 seconds remaining. Question marks have floated around this team all season. At the start of the season it was the question of who their starting quarterback would be, now that question may come up again with McCoy producing two quick touchdown drives to get them bowl eligible. All season long there have been the questions about turnovers and making tackles. With their season looking to end in disappointing turmoil, they need this win especially with a tough Iowa State team, TCU, and Kansas State remaining on their schedule after this game. A loss would be devastating and could cause them to end with a miserable 6-6 record.
Game Info:
#23 TEXAS vs. #14 TEXAS TECH
SAT. NOV. 3 – 2:30PM / ABC
JONES AT&T STADIUM