Will Texas Tech football manhandle West Virginia? Our prediction
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One more regular-season game stands between the Texas Tech football team and the Big 12 Conference championship game.
This could be figured out for the Red Raiders before they even get to their game Saturday at West Virginia, but Joey McGuire will make sure his team knows what’s still at stake beyond that.
Closing the regular season against a 4-7 West Virginia team could be a trap game for the Red Raiders (10-1, 7-1). Still, any losses before getting to Arlington would only enhance the need to hoist the trophy to keep their College Football Playoff potential alive.
The Mountaineers, though, have found a groove as of late, winning two of their last three games and almost pulling off another upset win at Arizona State two weeks ago.
How do the two teams stack up after both were off last week? Take a look.
Matchup to watch: Texas Tech football’s run defense vs West Virginia’s run offense
Long story short, there isn’t much concern about West Virginia’s passing offense. The Mountaineers run the ball on nearly 63% of their plays from scrimmage and rank 15th in the Big 12 in passing yards.
That puts the onus on West Virginia’s run game, which employs, well, a lot of different options. Five players who currently play (excluding former starting QB Nicco Marchiol) have at least 40 rushing attempts on the season.
A lot of it has come from new starting QB Scotty Fox Jr. The freshman gunslinger has taken over behind center and has at least 10 rushing attempts in each of the five games. However, just two of those games registered any sort of meaningful yardage, most notably the 65 yards and two touchdowns in the upset win at Houston earlier this month.
Texas Tech, meanwhile, still boasts the top-ranked rush defense in the country, allowing just 71.8 yards per game. Just three teams have been able to get over 100 yards on the ground against the Red Raiders, the most coming from Kansas State, thanks in large part to another mobile quarterback, Avery Johnson.
Led by Tech’s touted Heisman hopeful Jacob Rodriguez and the national leader in sacks, David Bailey, the Red Raiders have seen every possible version of a mobile quarterback this season. While Fox has leveled up WVU’s offense since taking over, nothing the freshman can do will be new to Tech.
Players to watch: Texas Tech football’s Cameron Dickey and West Virginia’s Cam Vaughn
Texas Tech running back Cameron Dickey went into the team’s open date leading the Big 12 in rushing yards. Then BYU’s LJ Martin and Arizona State’s Raleek Martin went ham, so Dickey is now third headed into the final game of the regular season.
In a game where not putting quarterback Behren Morton in harm’s way before the postseason seems the most logical move, look for Texas Tech to feed Dickey early and often to get him back in the race as much as possible. Should Dickey eclipse 1,000 yards, it would mark the first time in program history the Red Raiders have had three consecutive years with a 1,000-yard rusher.
If the Mountaineers are going to open up the offense to move the ball downfield, it’ll likely have to come from Fox connecting with big-play weapon Cam Vaughn. The WVU receiver averages 49.2 yards per catch and has four touchdowns on the season. He hasn’t scored lately, but had three catches for 79 yards at Arizona State.
Who has the advantage between Texas Tech football vs West Virginia?
Texas Tech offense vs. West Virginia defense: Texas Tech
West Virginia offense vs. Texas Tech defense: Texas Tech
The specialists: West Virginia
Score prediction for Texas Tech football vs West Virginia
Texas Tech 42, West Virginia 17: The Mountaineers could catch the Red Raiders sleeping if they clinch a spot in the Big 12 title game Friday night (Arizona must beat Arizona State to do this), but Texas Tech still can’t afford to let up right now, even if that’s the case.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Scouting report, prediction as Texas Tech football visits West Virginia
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