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Texas Tech Red Raiders (3-4, 2-2) |
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BYU Cougars (4-2, 1-2) |
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October 21st @ 6:00 p.m. |
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LaVell Edwards Stadium | Provo, Utah |
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Texas Tech -3 |
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FS1 | FOX Sports Live |
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70, Sunny |
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal’s Nathan Giese – Texas Tech football visits BYU: Scouting reports & predictions:
When Texas Tech football passes
It’s a matter of which quarterback will take the field for the Red Raiders. Behren Morton left last week’s game at halftime and didn’t return. As of Monday, Joey McGuire said Morton is a game-time decision. Should he be unable to go, it’ll be Jake Strong, a true freshman, making his first career start. Strong showed the yin and yang of being a talented freshman. He showed off his arm, took deep shots and went across the middle (battling a shoulder injury, Morton hasn’t been able to make those throws the last few weeks) and then threw three interceptions that allowed K-State to blow the game open. On the flip side, BYU is allowing 248 yards a game through the air.
Advantage: BYU
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal’s Don Williams – Lloyd Hill savoring second college football career via his son | Williams:
Hill was an all-American receiver during his time as a Texas Tech football player. For the past five years, though, he’s rarely missed a game involving BYU, his son being a wide receiver for the Cougars. Tech and BYU square off at 6 p.m. CDT Saturday in Provo, Utah.
“I’ll have my Red Raider shirt on for sure,” Hill said. “I told my son, ‘You better hope I don’t get a sideline pass, because if I do and I see you running out there trying to catch a pass, I’m going to knock it down.’ ”
More generously, he said, “Of course I’ll be cheering for Tech, because that’s my school. But at the same time, I’ll be cheering that my son has a really good game.”
Desert News’ Jay Drew – Can BYU avoid another October collapse when Texas Tech visits Saturday?:
That’s because BYU again appears headed for another nightmarish month, after going winless last October with losses to Notre Dame, Arkansas, Liberty and East Carolina. After getting an inopportune bye the first Saturday of October, slowing whatever momentum they had garnered with the home win over Cincinnati, they were pummeled 44-11 last week at TCU. They looked slow, out of sync and a bit disinterested after TCU’s pick-six on the third play of the game.
KSL’s Brett Ciancia – Pick Six Previews: Expect Texas Tech to hammer ground game in win over BYU:
When I interviewed McGuire two springs ago, he referred to his quarterback battle as 1A, 1B, and 1C — three great options to build an offense around. Due to a transfer and now two injuries, that whole trio is out of the lineup for Saturday.
Veteran starter Tyler Shough suffered another long-term injury — for the third straight season — and backup Behren Morton was knocked out of last Saturday’s loss to Kansas State. Freshman Jake Strong was handed the keys to the offense, led a 99-yard touchdown drive, but otherwise struggled against the defending league champions.
Texas Tech has found success in the run game, with a high 5.0 yards per carry, which places fourth in the Big 12, and a top-15 ranking in my opponent-adjusted metric. That is a huge advantage against BYU’s bottom five rushing defense, and I expect McGuire to lean heavily on the ground game given the inexperience at quarterback.
After a promising start to the season defensively, the unit regressed against TCU and simply could not stop the Horned Frogs. Given Jay Hill’s change in scheme, BYU was expected to blitz more and register more sacks, tackles for loss and disruption in the backfield. That has not materialized, and they are again ranked among the nation’s worst in those categories.
Midland Reporter-Telegram’s Oscar LeRoy – LEROY: Texas Tech QB status up in air heading to BYU:
While McGuire won’t rule out Morton entirely, it seemed that and he and offensive coordinator Zach Kittley were preparing for the strong possibility of starting start true freshman Jake Strong at quarterback against the Cougars.
Strong was forced to come into the second half of last Saturday’s 38-21 home loss to Kansas State after Morton took a couple of hard shots in the first half. Morton was already dealing with a banged-up shoulder and it was obvious he wasn’t 100% against the Wildcats. McGuire said the decision was made to hold him out to avoid further injury.
“There are a lot of players who have come out of games and I don’t think I’ve seen a person more upset than Behren was,” McGuire said. “He’s feeling good but he’s really sore. I feel great about Jake. I thought he did some really good things. Brady Boyd will take all the (second team reps in practice) with Behren kind of beat up and not taking as many snaps in practice.”
Desert News’ Jay Drew – BYU football: Former Granger High star and assistant Kenny Perry enjoying his return to Utah as Texas Tech’s associate head coach:
It’s simple. Although he’s listed as a native of Arlington, Texas, and he played college football for the University of Houston, Perry began his high school career playing for legendary Utah prep coach Mike Fraser at Granger High in West Valley City, starring for the Lancers his sophomore season as a running back.
However, Perry’s stepfather was transferred back to Arlington midway through his sophomore season, and he returned to his hometown and finished his prep career at Arlington Lamar, playing for another legend, Eddy Peach.
“I played for one of the winningest coaches in Texas history, Eddy Peach, and Mike Fraser was right up there with Eddy Peach,” Perry said, noting that Fraser went from Granger to Hunter High when that nearby school opened and built it into a state power as well.
“What Mike Fraser did for kids in West Valley was unbelievable. He was a great coach, and I still talk to him. I tell people about him. He was a great motivator. Honestly, my coaching style is a lot like how Fraser was, to be honest with you.”
Action Network’s Drew Harris – Texas Tech vs BYU Prediction, Picks | NCAAF Betting Preview (Saturday, Oct. 21):
BYU is finding out what it’s like to play a Power Five schedule. It successfully concluded its non-conference schedule with a win over Arkansas before losing a competitive road game to Kansas, beating Cincinnati at home for its first Big 12 win and getting absolutely shellacked by TCU in Fort Worth last Saturday.
Through it all, the Cougars are 4-2, and it’s hard to anticipate a repeat of the TCU game since that was their worse game of the year by far.
Slovis is having a solid season with 1,392 yards, 10 touchdowns and four interceptions, and wide receiver Chase Roberts and tight end Isaac Rex are reliable targets.
Slovis carries the weight of responsibility because BYU’s run game has been dreadful. It ranks 133rd in Rush Success Rate, which makes perfect sense because the Cougars are averaging just 2.4 yards per carry.
BYU does run into some trouble on defense. It’s giving up 35 points to Power Five competition and is 77th in Passing Success Rate Allowed, which is not encouraging. However, its run defense has been decent and ranks 39th in Rushing Success Rate Allowed.