Game Preview: Kansas

LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech will look to improve on its 2-1 start to Big 12 play Saturday afternoon when the Red Raiders host Kansas for Homecoming. Kickoff is slated for 2:30 p.m. at Jones AT&T Stadium.

The game will broadcast to a national audience on FOX Sports 1 with Brian Custer on the call alongside analyst Ben Leber. Fans can also find the game on any streaming device by using the FOX Sports Go app.

The Texas Tech Sports Network will also broadcast the game over 46 affiliates throughout the state of Texas and New Mexico as Brian Jensen will have the call alongside analyst John Harris, sideline reporter Chris Level and engineer Steve Pitts. The radio broadcast can also be heard on Sirius channel 106, XM channel 199 or via the TuneIn app.

INSIDE THE KANSAS SERIES

Texas Tech and Kansas will be meeting for the 20th time in school history Saturday in a series that has historically been dominated by the Red Raiders. Tech is 18-1 all-time against the Jayhawks with wins in each of the last 11 meetings.
The Red Raiders are 8-1 all-time when facing the Jayhawks in Lubbock. Texas Tech has won each of the past five meetings with Kansas at Jones AT&T Stadium, including a 55-19 victory in 2016.
Kansas' lone win in the series came in 2001 when the Jayhawks used overtime to shock the Red Raiders, 34-31, at Jones AT&T Stadium.
Texas Tech has won each of the last 11 meetings against Kansas with nine of those coming by double-digit margins. The Red Raiders have won by an average of 22.5 points per victory during the winning streak over the Jayhawks.
Texas Tech's 10-game winning streak over Kansas is the longest active streak for the Red Raiders against a Big 12 opponent.
Texas Tech scored 65 points in a rout of the Jayhawks last season in Lawrence. It marked the most points by the Red Raiders all-time in the series against Kansas.

TECH ALL-TIME IN HOMECOMING GAMES

Texas Tech is 54-31-3 all-time on Homecoming with wins in eight of the last 11 games dating back to the 2007 season.
The Red Raiders are 17-5 in Homecoming games during the Big 12 era. Texas Tech will be looking to snap a two-game losing streak on Homecoming after consecutive losses in recent years to West Virginia (2016) and Iowa State (2017).
This is the fourth time Texas Tech has hosted Kansas for Homecoming as the Red Raiders are 2-1 in those games. The Red Raiders' two wins over the Jayhawks came via a 17-7 victory in 1997 and then a 34-21 toppling in 2014. Kansas used overtime for its only win over Texas Tech all-time to spoil Homecoming events in 2001.
Texas Tech's first-ever Homecoming game came in 1930 when the Red Raiders fell to Hardin-Simmons, 20-6, in the final game of the season. That marked only Tech's sixth season fielding a collegiate football program.

KANSAS CONNECTIONS

Both head coaches in this weekend's matchup previously worked together in 2012 during Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury's one season at Texas A&M. Kingsbury was the offensive coordinator on that staff, while David Beaty was the wide receivers coach for the Aggies. Beaty took over as Kansas' head coach prior to the 2015 season.
Since then, Kingsbury is 3-0 against Beaty following a 30-20 victory in Lawrence in 2015, a 55-19 rout in 2016 and a 65-19 win a year ago. Kingsbury is 5-0 overall versus Kansas during his tenure leading his alma mater.
Texas Tech defensive coordinator David Gibbs earned his first full-time position at Kansas in 1996. He spent two seasons as the Jayhawks' defensive backs coach before being named Minnesota's defensive coordinator in 1997.
Kansas tight ends and fullbacks coach Garrett Riley hails from the South Plains as a Muleshoe native. He graduated from Texas Tech in 2012.
Texas Tech boasts one Red Raider from the state of Kansas in senior running back Tre King, a Wichita native. King arrived at Texas Tech prior to the 2017 season as a transfer from Hutchinson Community College in Kansas.

NEWS & NOTES

Texas Tech's 2-1 start to Big 12 play places the Red Raiders into a tie for third in the conference standings entering the Kansas game. With a win, Tech would move into a tie for second place with West Virginia, which is idle this weekend.
Texas Tech started Big 12 play by facing three teams projected to finish in the top five of the preseason media poll. The Red Raiders went 2-1 during that stretch with both wins coming on the road (Oklahoma State and TCU).
Despite using three different starting quarterbacks through six games, Texas Tech remains one of the country's top offensive leaders as the Red Raiders currently rank second nationally in passing offense (373.3 yards per game), fifth in total offense (551.7 yards per game) and 10th in scoring offense (43.2 points per game). Tech leads the Big 12 in both passing and total offense entering this weekend.
The Red Raiders have boasted a balanced offense with 262 rushing attempts to 270 passing attempts. That balance has helped Texas Tech control time of possession as the Red Raiders currently lead the Big 12 and rank ninth nationally in the category (34:03).
The Texas Tech defense is coming off possibly its best performance of the season as the Red Raiders forced three turnovers while limiting TCU to only 14 points off 411 yards of total offense. The Red Raiders forced three turnovers, which included an Adrian Frye interception on TCU's final play to seal the victory.
TCU's 14 points marked the fewest allowed by the Red Raiders against a conference foe since Texas Tech defeated the Horned Frogs, 20-10, to open league action in 2013. It was the fewest points allowed in a conference road game since Tech topped Iowa State, 24-13, in its 2012 trip to Ames.
Texas Tech has been successful on third and fourth downs this season on both sides of the ball as the Red Raiders currently rank 18th nationally in third down conversions (.479), 19th in fourth down conversions defense (.308), 20th in third down conversion defense (.315) and 38th in fourth down conversion (.600).
The Red Raiders are averaging 43.2 points per game, which ranks 10th nationally and second in the Big 12. Texas Tech is currently on pace to average at least 40 points per game for the third time in a four-year stretch and the sixth time in school history.
Texas Tech has limited opponents to less than 200 rushing yards in five of six games this season. The Red Raiders are 23-5 under Kliff Kingsbury is such games and 4-1 this season.
Texas Tech has scored in 86.0 percent of its red zone appearances this season (31-of-36), which is a drastic improvement on a year ago where drives resulted in points on only 69.4 percent of red zone entries. Tech currently ranks 57th nationally and sixth in the Big 12 for red zone offense after finishing 125th in the country and last in the league in 2017.
Texas Tech has been among the top teams in the country in protecting the ball as the Red Raiders have lost only one fumble, which leads the Big 12 and ranks tied for second nationally. Mississippi State is the only school in the FBS without a lost fumble this season.
Kansas leads the Big 12 with seven fumbles recovered already this season. The Red Raiders, meanwhile, lead the league with only one fumble lost this season.
Tony Jones leads the Red Raiders with 4.0 sacks through six games, which already matches from his debut season in 2017. Jones has notched at least one sack in four of six games.
The Red Raiders have surrendered 169 points this season, their fewest through six games since Kliff Kingsbury's debut season in 2013 when Tech allowed only 104 points during the same span.

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Players Mentioned

Adrian Frye

Tony Jones

Tre King