Here and there
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Texas Tech Red Raiders (0-2, 0-0) |
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Tarleton State Texans (2-0, 0-0) |
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September 16th @ 6:00 p.m. |
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Jones AT&T Stadium | Lubbock, Texas |
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No Line |
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ESPN+ | ESPN+ |
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83, Isolated Thunderstorms |
Prologue
Tarleton State has put up 52 points in two weeks, that’s 104 total. their quarterback, Victor Gabalis, has a 185.91 rating, has 7 touchdowns and 3 picks, while averaging 322 passing yards a game while completing 59% of his passes. There are two running backs who are carrying the load, Derrell Kelley III and Kayvon Britten, Kelley is averaging 96 yards a game and Britten is at 76 yards a game. Keylan Johnson is averaging 127.5 yards a game receiving and has 4 touchdowns while averaging 36 yards a catch. Benjamin Omayebu is more human as he only has 11 catches for 104 yards thus far this season.
Defensively, Baker O’tay and Caimyn Layne are both edge rusher types who are about 230 and each have 2 sacks. At linebacker, Qua’Shawn Washington and D.J. Harris, have 15 and 14 tackles thus far this season and Washington has 2 tackles for a loss. Patrick Jones and Blake Smith are two defensive backs, Jones has 18 tackles, a pick, and 2 pass break-ups, while Smith has 12 tackles this early season
The Bakay Index
Quarterback Controversy: it’s not really been mentioned and I don’t even know if McGuire has even discussed it, but I can’t imagine a scenario where 4 turnovers don’t precipitate some discussion and with Tarleton State arriving on Saturday it would seem that Morton would get some playing time. Advantage? Controversy.
Lebby & Briles vs. Oklahoma: Jeff Lebby invited his father-in-law, Art Briles, to the SMU game and had him in OU, on the field after the game, and then Lebby changed his Instagram profile to a photo of Briles, Lebby, and small children (presumably Lebby’s). Reading around, it seems as if Lebby had said that when he was hired that the Art Briles stuff wouldn’t enter the conversation with Brent Venables, but Lebby seems intent on serving up a big plate of Briles and now the OU AD is giving statements stating that it’s been addressed. Enter Lebby changing the Gram profile, and then said that it wouldn’t be a distraction moving forward on Monday. Advantage? Oklahoma.
Running Backs Running the Ball vs. Shough Running the Ball. I was reminded via the Nathan Giese article after the game about how before the season OC Zach Kittley said that Tyler Shough wouldn’t run the ball like he did in the bowl game and they wanted to pull that back, while after the game Joey McGuire said that they were going to exploit the quarterback run. As of this morning, your leading running back has 17 carries for 105 yards and 6.18 yards per carry, for an average of 8.5 rush attempts per game, while Shough is averaging 19. Advantage? Shough.
Old Lights vs. New Lights at Jones AT&T. The new light system is bonkers and amazing. Advantage? New light system.
Quickie Previews & Recaps
This Week: Kansas State @ Missouri (Saturday, September 16th @ 11:00 am on SECN)
Last Week: Kansas State 42, Troy 13
This sets up two undefeated teams and first road test for Kansas State. I expect Kansas Tate to do well because they always do. Kansas State is favored by 5.5 in the early line.
This Week: Long Island University @ Baylor (Saturday, September 16th @ 11:00 am on ESPN+)
Last Week: Utah 20, Baylor 13
Baylor was close to an upset of a very good Utah team, but couldn’t complete the win and allowed Utah to score 14 in the 4th quarter. Odds are that Baylor will get their first win of the year against Long Island.
This Week: Iowa State @ Ohio (Saturday, September 16th @ 11:00 am)
Last Week: Iowa 20, Iowa State 13
Iowa continues to own Iowa State and there may not be a more frustrating result to lose to an inept Iowa team. The Cyclones are favored by just 2.5 points and are on the road to play Ohio, which is a bit different.
This Week: Oklahoma @ Tulsa (Saturday, September 16th @ 2:30 pm)
Last Week: Oklahoma 28, SMU 11
The big news from this game was that Art Briles was at the game wearing OU gear and on the field afterwards talking to players. As you may remember, Briles’ son-in-law, Jeff Lebby is the offensive coordinator for Oklahoma and this may be an issue. Playing Tulsa will definitely be less of an issue is my guess as the Sooners are favored by 26.
This Week: Villanova @ UCF (Saturday, September 16th @ 5:30 pm on ESPN+)
Last Week: UCF 18, Boise State 16
UCF squeaks by Boise State on the road and now gets a break playing Villanova in what should be an easy non-conference game.
This Week: Miami (OH) @ Cincinnati (Saturday, September 16th @ 6:00 pm on ESPN+)
Last Week: Cincinnati 27, Pittsburgh 24
Cincy gets another win, a good win I think, and how hosts Miami of Ohio and has a 17 point spread.
This Week: South Alabama @ Oklahoma State (Saturday, September 16th @ 6:00 pm on ESPN+)
Last Week: Oklahoma State 27, Arizona State 15
Alan Bowman had the most attempts with Garret Rangel next. Gundy may not have a quarterback he really likes, but they got a win on the road against a Power 5 team. Oklahoma State is only favored by 8 here.
This Week: Tarleton State @ Texas Tech (Saturday, September 16th @ 6:00 pm on ESPN+)
Last Week: Oregon 38, Texas Tech 30
Not much to state here, which means that this should be a 40-point win.
This Week: BYU @ Arkansas (Saturday, September 16th @ 6:30 pm on ESPN2)
Last Week: BYU 41, Southern Utah 16
BYU will have their hands full in Arkansas and am definitely interested in this result. Arkansas is favored by 10 early and that seems like too much.
This Week: Pittsburgh @ West Virginia (Saturday, September 16th @ 6:30 pm on ABC)
Last Week: West Virginia 56, Duquesne 17
Cincy beat Pitt last week and now we can see where West Virginia is at overall. The Mountaineers are favored by 1.
This Week: Wyoming @ Texas (Saturday, September 16th @ 7:00 pm on LHN)
Last Week: Texas 34, Alabama 24
Texas is back, beating Alabama in Tuscaloosa is definitely impressive. The Longhorns will host Wyoming and it would be delicious if they beat Texas after upsetting Alabama. Texas is favored by 28, so that result is not likely, but to dare to dream.
This Week: TCU @ Houston (Saturday, September 16th @ 7:00 pm on FOX)
Last Week: Rice 43, Houston 41| TCU 41, Nicholls 6
Houston was upset by cross-town rival Rice and TCU beat up on Nicholls. The first Big 12 conference game means that Houston will need to recover and TCU hits the road. TCU is favored by 6.
This Week: Kansas @ Nevada (Saturday, September 16th @ 9:30 pm on CBSSN)
Last Week: Kansas 34, Illinois 23
Should be another easy win for Kansas, they are favored by 28 and took it to Illinois last week.