Game Preview: Iowa State

LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech will look for a crucial win Saturday afternoon when the Red Raiders travel to face Iowa State in a 2:30 p.m. kickoff at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames. The game will air nationally on FOX Sports 1 with Justin Kutcher and Petros Papadakis calling the action.

The game can also be heard nationally on the Texas Tech Sports Network with Brian Jensen calling the action alongside analyst John Harris, sideline reporter Chris Level and engineer Steve Pitts. The radio broadcast can be heard nationally on XM (Channel 199) and Sirius Radio (Channel 136) as well as the TuneIn app.

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The Red Raiders will need to win each of their last two games in order to advance to a bowl for the 38th time in program history. Both of these games will come on the road as the Red Raiders will face Baylor in a neutral-site contest to close the regular season following its meeting with Iowa State. Texas Tech ranks tied for 17th nationally and third in the Big 12 for bowl appearances alongside the likes of Miami (Fla.), Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Clemson.
Texas Tech is coming off another close loss last weekend as the Red Raiders fell 45-44 at No. 13 Oklahoma State. Four of Tech' six losses this season have come by eight points or less (essentially one possession), including four of its five losses during Big 12 play.
Texas Tech has historically found success against Iowa State as the Red Raiders are 11-3 all-time against the Cyclones after a 66-31 victory last season in Lubbock. This will be just the sixth meeting in Ames where Tech is 3-2 in series history.
Texas Tech has been among the most disciplined teams in the country the past three weeks as the Red Raiders have committed just eight penalties which have resulted in 34 yards during that time.
The Texas Tech defense has been stingy late in its last two road games at TCU and Oklahoma State. In those two games, the Red Raiders have surrendered just seven points in the fourth quarter which came only 23 seconds into the final frame at TCU. Tech has gone 29:37 consecutive minutes without giving up a fourth-quarter point on the road entering the Iowa State game.
Texas Tech boasts one of the most high-octane offenses in the country this season as the Red Raiders lead the nation in passing offense (474.8 yards per game) as well as first downs offense (319) while also ranking second in third-down conversion percentage (54.3) and total offense (582.7 yards per game).
Texas Tech is currently averaging 46.0 points per game this year which is on pace to be the highest mark in school history. The Red Raiders previously snapped the school record just a year ago when Tech averaged 45.1 points per game. Tech will need to combine to score at least 82 points over the next two games in order to break the school record.

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