Oklahoma vs. Texas Tech Prediction, Game Preview


Oklahoma at Texas Tech prediction and game preview. Projecting who wins the game between the Sooners and Red Raiders.


Oklahoma vs. Texas Tech Game Preview

When: Saturday, October 22 – 8:00 p.m. ET
Where: Jones AT&T Stadium, Lubbock, TX
Broadcast: Fox

Oklahoma has shaken its slow start, and it’s beginning to make a push toward a repeat Big 12 championship. September was humbling in Norman, marked by losses to Houston and Ohio State. But October has been a time for redemption, with the Sooners defeating TCU, Texas and Kansas State in consecutive weeks. Last Saturday’s three-touchdown win over the scrappy Wildcats was another harbinger of where OU might be headed. Texas Tech resides on the other side of the Big 12 tracks these days. The one-note Red Raiders have dropped back-to-back games, including last week’s humbling 48-17 home loss to West Virginia.

What To Know About Oklahoma

The defense is still a worry, even after holding toothless K-State to 17 points. However, it might not matter in the big picture if the offense continues to hum to the tune of 40 points per game. Baker Mayfield is pitching it like a Heisman contender again, and Dede Westbrook will be lethal for the undermanned Red Raider defense. Even the O-line has taken a step forward since starting slowly. Mayfield will be especially pumped to return to Texas Tech, where he and head coach Kliff Kingsbury endured a messy divorce three years ago.

What to Know About Texas Tech

Mahomes’ right arm will need to be fit for a sling by the end of the regular season. Kingsbury has always leaned on his gunslingers, but that’s especially true this year. Mahomes is a next-level hurler in the mold of a young Brett Favre. And he ought to get back on track at the expense of a Sooner secondary that’s allowed 17 touchdown passes. However, who else can the Red Raiders count upon? The running game isn’t a factor, and the defense has yielded at least 44 points to everyone except Kansas and Stephen F. Austin.

Advantages

Offense: Oklahoma. It’s the singular dimension of the Red Raiders against the Sooners’ balance, especially now that Westbrook has been unstoppable.

Defense: Oklahoma. Neither team is very good on D, but Texas Tech allows more than five yards a carry and is too soft at the line of scrimmage.

Special Teams: Oklahoma. Versatile Austin Seibert gives the nod to the Sooners, despite his three missed field goals.

Coaching: Oklahoma. Bob Stoops is not only the Big 12’s premier coach—still—but he also surrounds himself with quality assistants.

Intangibles: Oklahoma. While the Sooners are the league’s hottest team right now, the Red Raiders may have been broken by West Virginia in Week 7.

Matchup To Watch

Joe Mixon vs. the Texas Tech front seven

There are so many convenient ways to beat this Red Raider defense. After watching the tape of West Virginia amass 332 rushing yards, blowing Tech off the ball, Stoops might be content to pound Mixon, who will see more snaps now that Samaje Perine is out with a pulled muscle, setting up Mayfield to Westbrook on pitch-and-catch play-action.

Oklahoma at Texas Tech Betting Odds

Spread: Oklahoma -13.5
Over/Under: No over/under as of post

Oklahoma at Texas Tech Prediction

Mahomes will get his yards. Mayfield will get the satisfaction of sticking it to his former team. Texas Tech is no match for the pop and diversity of the Sooner offense, which is peaking just in time for the stretch run. As talented and prolific as Mahomes is, he won’t be able to keep pace with an Oklahoma team that’ll roll without much resistance and punt just a couple of times. Mayfield will hear an earful from the Lubbock crowd, but he and his teammates will enjoy the last laugh.

Oklahoma at Texas Tech Score Prediction: Oklahoma 52, Texas Tech 31

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