Game Thread: #9 Texas Tech (7-0) at #12 Oklahoma (6-1)

[tshirt]

3:30 PM (ET) Saturday on FOX

Texas Tech
#9 in Coaches Poll
#10 in AP Poll
#10 in BCS Standings

Oklahoma
#12 in Coaches Poll
#15 in BCS Standings
#17 in AP Poll

--Oklahoma is favored by 6.5

--Oklahoma is 81-5 at home under Bob Stoops (the five losses were: Oklahoma State in 2001, TCU in 2005, Texas Tech in 2011, Kansas State in 2012, Notre Dame in 2012). Against the Big 12, Oklahoma is 49-3 at home under Stoops

--Texas Tech is 2-10 all-time vs Oklahoma teams that finished with 9 or more wins (1-6 at Oklahoma)
2012 -- L 20-41 vs OU (10-3)
2011 -- W 41-38 @ OU (10-3)
2010 -- L 7-45 @ OU (12-2)
2008 -- L 21-65 @ OU (12-2)
2007 -- W 34-27 vs OU (11-3)
2006 -- L 24-34 @ OU (11-3)
2004 -- L 13-28 @ OU (12-1)
2003 -- L 25-56 vs OU (12-2)
2002 -- L 15-60 @ OU (12-2)
2001 -- L 13-30 vs OU (11-2)
2000 -- L 13-27 @ OU (13-0)
1993 -- L 10-41 in the Sun Bowl (El Paso) vs OU (9-3)

--Since 1976 (37 years), Texas Tech has only finished in the AP Top 25 seven times, and only once in the AP Top 15:
2009 -- #21
2008 -- #12
2007 -- #22
2005 -- #20
2004 -- #18
1995 -- #23
1989 -- #19

--this is the first time Texas Tech has been ranked in the Top 10 since 2008 (the year they beat #1 Texas)

--ESPN: "This weekend, the 7-0 Red Raiders will play in their biggest game in almost five years as they travel (350 miles) to Oklahoma for a Big 12 showdown that could hold major conference title implications."

 

[HizzleRocker]

Way to early for a game thread... But I'll jump.

I have nothing meaningful to say because I have no idea who to root for. Normally it would be Tech hands down. However, we now have the equivalent of a 2 game lead on OU for the Big 12. Tech needs to lose. It's hard to root for OU. Sighhhhhhh. Dunno.

 

[ugafan6612]

Wow i didnt know they were undefeated

 

[tshirt]

Texas Tech is unsure which of their QBs will start:

“We’ll see,” Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury said Monday when asked about his starting QB for the OU game. “We’ll see how Baker (Mayfield) feels and take it from there.”

true freshman Mayfield suffered a knee injury in Game Five vs Kansas and has been sidelined since. Through five games he was 132 for 201 (65.7%) for 1,488 yards, 8 TD, 5 INT

true freshman Davis Webb is 107 for 176 (60.8%) for 1,427 yards, 11 TD, 5 INT

Number of Pass Attempts Per Each QB
SMU -- 60 Mayfield / 0 Webb
SFA -- 30 Mayfield / 17 Webb
TCU -- 40 Mayfield / 4 Webb
TSU -- 20 Mayfield / 43 Webb
Kansas -- 51 Mayfield / 6 Webb
Iowa State -- 0 Mayfield / 56 Webb
WVU -- 0 Mayfield / 50 Webb

Mayfield

Webb

 

[sakau2007]

wouldn't be surprised if oklahoma wins big. it will continue to pump up that ole miss team every time texas or oklahoma do well. haha

 

[tshirt]

ESPN on Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury: "at 34, the second-youngest coach in college football...brought his brand of swagger back to Texas Tech football...Despite rotating a pair of true freshman quarterbacks, Kingsbury has led a team picked to finish seventh in the Big 12 to its first top-10 ranking in five years"

Kingsbury back when he was QB of Texas Tech

 

[tshirt]

chairman of the board of the Texas Tech Board of Regents Mickey Long: "This is such an exciting time at Texas Tech"

 

[tshirt]

pic of the painting Kingsbury had commissioned for his office: Kliff Kingsbury (June 13, 2013): "Just got my 'Suns up, Guns up' painting finished for my office!! Incredible work by my friend Dave Grizzle."

Kingsbury back when he was QB of Texas Tech

 

[Doctor Krieger]

Cliff's got so much fucking swag (I normally hate this word, but it's the truth)

I'm rooting for the Red Raiders for sure.

 

[tshirt]

 

[outofyourmind]

I don't know how we are favored by 6.5pts.
I hold out little hope that we win this game.

If we can hold the ball for long periods of time by running it, and score on those drive, and if we get some interceptions from the pass happy red raiders, then we might just have a chance.

If it's a shootout, we're toast.

 

[tech_iceman]

 

[tech_iceman]

 

[tshirt]

The Oklahoman:
October 18, 2013

For the first time as the Sooners head coach, quarterbacking has become a legitimate question mark for Bob Stoops. Expect him to answer it the same way he has most every other situation he's faced.
...
After a charmed 14-season run of quarterbacks who could sling it around pretty darn well, OU now finds itself with a quarterback conundrum. The Sooners are half way through the season and don't really know what they're going to get out of the position on any given Saturday.
...
Blake Bell is causing consternation after a pair of poor passing performances, most notably his 12-of-26, no-touchdown, two-interception day against Texas.
...
Asked earlier this week about playing a different quarterback, Stoops seemed uninterested in that tact. ... “No, that's not something we're looking to do.”


OU QB Blake Bell of Kansas as a recruit:
--#41 on the Scout150, #4 QB, 5-star
--#65 on the ESPN150, #3 QB
--#104 on the Top 247, #3 dual-threat QB
--#126 on the Rivals150, #6 pro-style QB
--Under Armour All American
--offers: Oregon, Oklahoma, Georgia, Notre Dame, Miami, Texas A&M, Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa, Kansas State, Kansas, Maryland, UNC, etc

he has 24 career rushing TD at OU (but none this season). This season, he is 99 of 155 for 1,099 yards, 8 TD, 3 INT

 

[tshirt]

comments from a thread on Blake Bell started 2 days ago on SoonerFans:

--Indecision - This is the biggest issue that's plagued Bell so far. ... hesitation is his worst enemy. Once he hesitates, it seems he panics and bails out of the packet too soon, abandoning his reads altogether.

--His receivers have not helped him much.... a lot of drops...receivers were not getting open

--One thing that keeps troubling me is that Bell has absolutely no touch on his throws...if he has to drop it in, put it between coverages, whatever, he struggles mightily..

--He has No kind of touch on the ball...He holds the ball to long in the pocket

--he doesn't throw on the run all that well.

--He is an awful passer and has no touch plus very inconsistent. He has proven too slow on most runs and has no ability to escape in the pocket. There is a reason he (got beat out by a freshman as the starting QB to start the season) ... If the opponent is bad he is OK but against a good cover team or with pressure he doesn't look good at all.

--He hurries his throws too often and doesn't put it out there for the receiver to run under it enough.

--I am not sure he has much upside...

--WRs aren't getting open. Our two best WRs are small guys getting blown up at the LOS. ... we really miss a guy like Kenny Stills, who had some strength and size. Reynolds isn't gonna cut it. But yeah, BB has been inconsistent, and the WRs and playcalling are making him regress in the confidence game, IMO. ... the passing game is not a strength right now, whether you want to blame the WRs, BB, Heupel, or all of the above.

--he can't make all the throws. He can't find the open receivers, and there have been plenty of times that they have been open. ... I don't want to bash Bell, because he plays for us. ...I would really like to see him succeed, but I'm afraid with the performances that he has brought to the table so far, it's going to be hard for us to win against Tech, Baylor, or Oklahoma State.

--I have to disagree on the receivers not getting open bit.. His tendency to hold the ball too long is allowing db's to close the space...So by the time he is making a decision to throw, the window is a lot smaller..But many times, they are still open. I think he is scared of his own accuracy issues not to mention the dropping his eyes bit.

--One thing he needs to improve on for sure is when to throw it away and live to play another play. When the pocket breaks down and he bails out, bad things seem to happen.

--I think the bottom line with Blake right now (and probably the reason he wasn't the starter at the start of the year), is he plays too cautiously. He'd rather hold the ball than make a dangerous throw, and sometimes that puts him in a position that he tries to string out the play, and ends up making a bad throw anyway.

--I don't think Bell is that good of a QB

--he has lost confidence. afraid to pull the trigger.

--he seems to be afraid to make some throws. I think I mentioned it earlier, but I believe the reason he wasn't named the starter to begin the season was because he was playing overly cautious in the summer.

--His problem isn't his ability, it's indecisiveness. Another issue plaguing him seems to be confidence. It seems when a receiver doesn't make a catch that should have been caught he starts losing confidence

--His arm strength is fine, his accuracy and touch is the real problem IMO

--As far as QB development, according to a certain NFL QB coach, we are **** poor at it right now

--I just feel like we are wasting valuable time playing Bell. let's get one of the young guys playing time and moving this offense into the right direction..

--The lack of any tight ends in our offense doesn't help

 

[tshirt]

comments from a thread on SoonerFans started 4 day ago on how OU is favored by a TD against Tech:

--Somebody's out of their mind.

--Seriously? I'm thinking about cashing out the 401k, taking out a second mortgage and cash advancing every credit card I can find and heading to Vegas.

--Uh, OK. Not touching this one.

--The line definitely has me puzzled

--I'm figuring we'll have a hard time beating Tech by a TD.

--how could we be a TD favorite? We just struggled to win against the worst team in the conference and had to get safeties and trick plays to do it.

--We have one victory over a team with a winning record. We struggled against what most likely will end up being the two worst teams in the conference. There is nothing dynamic about our offense, the worst since I would say 2005. The defense has started showing cracks. There just isn't anything I see that would indicate being a touchdown favorite.

--I never do 2 things bet for the Sooners and bet against the Sooners... But looking at the last three weeks play, I might just bet the house against OU... Vegas is on drugs. Then again, maybe they know something none of us on this boards knows...


--Good grief, really? Tech is undefeated, great. Tech has no run game, none. One loss to Texas, and some of you are standing on the cliff.

--Tech has no run game, and Mike installed the 3-3-5 specifically to combat spread passing teams, like Tech.

--OU handled Texas Tech last season with Seth Doege (his worst game of the season) and while Webb of Texas Tech has a lot of promise, he's still a true freshman that's more than likely going to make some big mistakes given the number of different looks that Mike Stoops and co. will show him.

 

[Hornsstampede2.0]

85-5 at home

I think I will stick with the home team in this one.

OU is not quite as good as team's past.

But, it is literally next to impossible to win at that stadium.

No team in college football has the home field advantage that Bob Stoops has had.

Tech did it once there AND they have had OU's number in Lubbock, but I just don't see this one.

Oklahoma 41
TTech 30

 

[Codaxx]

I think OU wins. OU has a great secondary. They are brutal vs tge run since they lost their best DL and LB. The good news is Tech lives to throw the ball.

 

[tshirt]

Oklahoma Offense
#60 total offense (422.0 ypg)
#62 scoring offense (30.0 ppg)
#69 in third down conversions (39.42%)
#18 rushing offense (227.86)
#21 rushing yards per carry (5.16 ypc)
#99 passing offense (194.1 ypc)

Texas Tech Defense
#9 in yards/play given up (4.55)
#16 scoring defense (18.7 ppg)
#32 scoring defense (358.3 ypg)
#15 in pass efficiency D (107.16)
#22 in rushing yards per carry allowed (3.34 ypc)
#13 in tackles for loss per game (7.71)
#53 in sacks per game (2.00)
#8 in third down conversion against (29.17%)
#7 in redzone TD defense (allow TD 42.11% of time)
#22 in redzone scoring defense (allow score 73.68% of time)

Texas Tech Offense
#6 total offense (548.1 ypg)
#14 scoring offense (41.1 ppg)
#23 in 3rd down conversions (49.17%)
#2 passing offense (416.4 ypg)
#94 rushing yards per carry (3.81 ypc)
#99 rushing offense (131.71 ypg)

Oklahoma Defense
#9 scoring defense (17.1 ppg)
#9 total defense (293.4 ypg)
#4 in pass efficiency D (96.23)
#19 in yards/play given up (4.77)
#80 in rushing yards per carry allowed (4.34)
#94 in tackles for loss per game (5.29)
#83 in sacks per game (1.57)
#29 in 3rd down conversion against (33.66%)
#50 in redzone TD defense (allow TD 57.14% of time)
#81 in redzone scoring defense (allow score 85.71% of time)

 

[Texas Jefe]

I think there was one key point in the info TShirt brought up from a Sooners Fans thread:

The 3-3-5 defense the Sooners run is designed to stop Big12 Offenses like Tech's. I think that is why
Texas had success running 60 times in the TX-OU game. Don't think Tech can do that.

I think the only way for OU to win is with the defense, getting some turnovers, and running the ball.