Game Preview: Iowa State

LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech returns to the road Saturday as the Red Raiders head to Jack Trice Stadium in Ames for an 11 a.m. kickoff against Iowa State.

The game will broadcast to a national audience on ESPN2 with Anish Shroff on the call alongside analyst Ahmad Brooks and field analyst Roddy Jones. Fans can also find the game on any streaming device by using the ESPN 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 137, XM channel 200 or via the TuneIn app.

INSIDE THE IOWA STATE SERIES

Texas Tech and Iowa State will meet for the 17th in program history Saturday as the Red Raiders are 11-5 all-time against the Cyclones, including a 4-3 mark in games played at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames.
The Red Raiders have won two of the past three meetings in Ames after a 24-13 victory in 2012 and a 34-31 win in 2014. Iowa State handed Texas Tech a 66-10 loss in its last visit to Ames late in the 2016 season.
The Red Raiders are 9-5 against the Cyclones during the Big 12 era. The two schools met twice prior to the formation of the Big 12 Conference in 1996 as Texas Tech routed Iowa State, 52-0, in 1967 and then added a 24-3 victory in 1974.
Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury is 3-2 against the Cyclones with wins in his first three meetings with Iowa State (2013-15).
DeAndre Washington rushed for 186 yards and a touchdown while adding two catches for 51 yards and a touchdown through the air in Texas Tech's last victory in Ames during the 2014 season. Patrick Mahomes II also threw for 328 yards and four touchdowns in the win, which was sealed by a 44-yard strike to Kenny Williams with just over four minutes to play.

SUCCESS ON THE ROAD

Texas Tech will be looking to extend its three-game Big 12 road winning streak that dates back to the 2017 regular-season finale against Texas. That streak, as it stands now, is the longest by the Red Raiders since defeating Kansas State, Texas A&M and No. 19 Kansas away from home in 2008.
Texas Tech has not previously won four-consecutive Big 12 road games since the 1996-97 seasons when the Red Raiders topped Kansas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Baylor (1997). It represents the longest Big 12 road winning streak in school history.
Texas Tech has won three or more Big 12 road games only one additional time, which came during the 1997-98 campaigns where the Red Raiders topped Texas, Oklahoma State and Iowa State.
In addition, Texas Tech has won four-consecutive Big 12 games away from home as the Red Raiders also dropped Baylor, 38-24, in the 2017 Texas Farm Bureau Shootout at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The victory started the four-game Big 12 winning away from home.
Texas Tech's four-game Big 12 winning streak away from home (road and neutral site games) is tied with its streak from 1996-97 as the longest in school history.

WESLEY AMONG NATION'S TOP WIDEOUTS

Antoine Wesley has been among the top wide receivers in college football this season as the junior leads the Big 12 in receptions (50) and receiving yards (858). He is also fourth in the league with six touchdown catches.
In addition to ranking third nationally in both receiving yards and receiving yards per game, Wesley also ranks 10th among FBS receivers in receptions per game (7.1) and 20th in receiving touchdowns.
Wesley's 858 receiving yards through seven games ranks fourth among Texas Tech wideouts since 2000. He trails the totals of only Michael Crabtree (2007), Jarrett Hicks (2004) and Jonathan Giles (2016) during that span (chart below).
Wesley's needs only 307 receiving yards over the final five regular-season games to match Michael Crabtree's 2008 total for 10th all-time on the Texas Tech single-season chart. Crabtree also set the school single-season mark with 1,962 receiving yards in 2007 en route to winning his first of two Biletnikoff Awards.
Wesley compiled another 150-yard performance against Kansas as he hauled in nine catches for 155 yards and a touchdown in the win. He is the only Big 12 player and one of five power-five receivers nationally to record multiple 150-yard games this season.

NEWS & NOTES

The Texas Tech defense has been nothing short of outstanding through the first four games of Big 12 play as the Red Raiders have only allowed 89 points, the fewest of any conference team during that span. The Red Raiders have surrendered 20 or fewer points in three of their four conference games thus far, all victories.
Texas Tech has been boosted by its run defense as the Red Raiders are allowing only 113.8 yards per game on the ground in league play, which narrowly trails Oklahoma for the conference lead. Overall, Tech ranks 36th nationally and third in the Big 12, averaging 134.3 rushing yards per game.
Texas Tech has held each of its last two opponents - Kansas and TCU - to less than 20 points, marking the first time the Red Raiders have done so in back-to-back Big 12 games since facing the same two teams to start league play in 2013.
The Red Raiders kept both TCU and Kansas out of the end zone via the ground game the last two weeks, marking the first time since the 2001-02 seasons where Texas Tech has not allowed a running touchdown in back-to-back Big 12 games. Tech did not surrender a rushing touchdown in the 2001 league finale versus Oklahoma and then shut out No. 23 Texas A&M to start conference play the following year.
The Red Raiders are averaging 43.9 points per game, which ranks seventh 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 scored in 88.0 percent of its red zone appearances this season (37-of-42), 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 34th nationally and fifth 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 successful on third and fourth downs this season on both sides of the ball as the Red Raiders currently rank 10th nationally in third down conversions (.491), 20th in third down conversion defense (.308), 22nd in fourth down conversion defense (.357) and 41st fourth down conversions (.600).
Through seven games, Texas Tech is controlling the clock to an average of 33:41 minutes, which ranks fourth among power-five schools only behind Texas A&M (36:39), Michigan (34:17) and- Wisconsin (33:47). The Red Raiders have not finished higher than 48th nationally in time of possession since the NCAA started tracking the stat in 2005.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Antoine Wesley