Baylor vs. Texas Tech Prediction, Game Preview


Baylor vs. Texas Tech prediction and game preview. Projecting who wins the game between the Bears and Red Raiders.


Baylor vs. Texas Tech Game Preview

When: Friday, November 25 – 6:00 p.m. ET
Where: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX
Broadcast: ESPN

Two Big 12 teams that are crawling to the 2016 finish line meet Friday evening in Arlington. Fireworks are a given when Baylor and Texas Tech meet, with the winner scoring at least 45 in each of the last six games. The potential for a shootout aside, though, there isn’t much appeal left in this year’s matchup. The 4-7 Red Raiders have lost three in a row for beleaguered coach Kliff Kingsbury, capped by a stunningly inept 66-10 drubbing at the hands of Iowa State on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Bears are playing out the string for their likely one-and-done coach Jim Grobe, losing four straight after starting 6-0 and climbing as high as No. 8 in the polls. Baylor has taken five in a row in this series.

What To Know About Baylor

Once the Bears veered off course at the beginning of the month, there was no getting back on track. Baylor isn’t just losing, it’s been blown out by at least three touchdowns in the last three games. With Seth Russell out for the year, the ball was given to true freshman Zach Smith, who completed 27-of-45 for 258 yards, three touchdowns and three picks versus Kansas State. While run defense has been a huge part of the problem in Waco, the team leads the Big 12 in pass defense, allowing just eight TD passes all year. And that bodes well against this week’s opponent.

What to Know About Texas Tech

This team has packed it in, bad news for Kingsbury and anyone who follows the Red Raiders. An Iowa State squad that sits at 3-8 right now abused Tech for 608 yards. And while star Patrick Mahomes has been able to singlehandedly keep his team competitive throughout the year, he was spent and battered in Ames. The Red Raiders are always dangerous, because they average 43 points per game behind an up-tempo attack that drains defenses. But Tech does very little else well, which is why they won’t be bowling for the second time in the last three years.

Advantages

Offense: Push. Texas Tech has the sizable edge behind center, but Baylor is better at the line of scrimmage and can run the ball with Shock Linwood.

Defense: Baylor. Both teams have been gutted this fall, but defensive backs Orion Stewart and Travon Blanchard give the Bears a shot against the Bears.

Special Teams: Texas Tech. Special teams have been a problem in Lubbock and Waco. Slight edge to Tech, since Clayton Hatfield has hit 11-of-12 field goal tries.

Coaching: Baylor. Kingsbury has been exposed as no more than a developer of gunslinging quarterbacks in his own likeness. Grobe is a veteran, albeit one who’ll soon be out of the game again.

Intangibles: Push. Neither team wants to be here, especially since both rosters are littered with veterans eager to get to the offseason.

Matchup To Watch

Linwood vs. the Texas Tech front seven

Although Grobe certainly won’t put a pitch count on Smith, this is a great spot to lean a little harder on Linwood. He came off a one-game suspension to rush for 110 yards in last week’s loss. And the Red Raiders have been bludgeoned all year at the point of attack, yielding 5.8 yards per carry and 237 yards per game.

Baylor vs. Texas Tech Betting Odds

Spread: Baylor -2.4
Over/Under: No line as of post

Baylor vs. Texas Tech Prediction

Something has to give in Arlington. On Friday, it’ll be a Red Raider D that’s allowed at least 66 points three times this fall. Smith has almost two full games under his belt, and his development will hasten in the face of the Texas Tech defense. He’ll team up with receivers KD Cannon and Ishmael Zamora, while Linwood exploits the soft interior on the ground. The Bears will snap their losing streak, sending the Red Raiders to their second 4-8 campaign in the last three seasons.

Baylor vs. Texas Tech Score Prediction: Baylor 45, Texas Tech 34

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