On the Court
Texas Tech volleyball is playing in the Lumberjack Classic in Flagstaff, Arizona playing Southern Utah and NAU on Friday and UC San Diego on Saturday.
On the Pitch
Congrats to Taylor Zdrojewski for being named the Big 12 Co-Offensive Player of the Week! Don’t forget that the next game is set for Sunday, September 14th in Lubbock against Utah State.
On the Gridiron
Red Raider Sports’ Jarrett Ramirez talks to Brice Pollack and being ready for Oregon State:
“I’ve seen a lot more composure compared to the previous quarterbacks,” Pollock told the media Tuesday. “A lot more pocket presence. He’s (Murphy) big and fast, but he’s really a pocket passer. We noticed that, we’re just ready for him to take shots, and he takes a lot of shots. Especially to number seven. We’re just going to be keyed in on that and just follow our rules, really.”
ESPN’s Heather Dinich on the playoff bubble watch after 2 weeks:
The enigma: Texas Tech. The boosters have poured money by the bucketful into a highly rated class of 22 transfers. Billionaire Cody Campbell said publicly the school’s collective has raised $63.3 million since it was formed in 2022. And coach Joey McGuire was quoted this summer in the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal saying it’s “the best roster I’ve ever been a part of.” Now it’s time to see if they got their money’s worth. So far, the Red Raiders have scored 129 points in two games — albeit against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Kent State. ESPN’s FPI says Texas Tech will lose two regular-season games — Sept. 20 at Utah and Nov. 8 against BYU. And the Oct. 18 trip to Arizona State is a 50-50 game. If Texas Tech finishes the regular season as a two-loss team — and doesn’t win the Big 12 — it probably won’t have a résumé impressive enough for an at-large bid. If the Red Raiders’ lone loss is a close one in the Big 12 title game, though, it would give the league a strong chance at two CFP teams.
CBS Sports’ Ross Kelly has football picks this week and thinks that Kent State covers:
Another prediction: Oregon State (+24.5) covers against No. 21 Texas Tech nearly 60% of the time on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET. Former Duke quarterback, Maalik Murphy, is coming off career highs in both passing yards (371) and passing touchdowns (four) for OSU against Fresno State last week. He should be able to generate points versus a Red Raiders defense which hasn’t been tested but has still allowed opponents to score touchdowns every time they entered the red zone. Meanwhile, OSU’s defense has been stout when it has mattered the most as it has the No. 5 third-down defense in college football. The Beavers are projected to have both the game’s leading rusher in Anthony Hankerson and leading receiver in Trent Walker, which allows them to cover. The model also forecasts the Over (62.5) to hit nearly 60% of the time. See the rest of the model’s picks here.