Game Preview: TCU

Saturday, November 16

Lubbock, Texas

11 A.M.

Texas Tech Athletics

TCU

November 11, 2019 | Football

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Red Raiders will pay tribute to our Nation’s heroes for the Celebrate America game this Saturday.

By: Texas Tech Athletics Communications

LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech ignited its month of November with an impressive 38-17 road victory last weekend at West Virginia and will look to do the same Saturday when the Red Raiders host TCU in the Battle for the Saddle Trophy at 11 a.m. inside Jones AT&T Stadium.

This is the third year since Texas Tech and TCU renewed the Battle for the Saddle Trophy, which was originally presented to the winning team from 1961-70 before it suddenly disappeared. The two schools created a replica trophy prior to the 2017 meeting, which was a 27-3 TCU victory in Lubbock. Tech regained the trophy a year ago with a 17-14 victory in Fort Worth.

The Red Raiders will once again have a "backs against a wall" mindset this weekend, an area Matt Wells has stressed to his team after Texas Tech entered the month of November needing three wins to reach its 39th bowl in school history. With one November win already achieved, Tech will turn its attention to back-to-back home games against TCU and Kansas State.

Matt Wells has stressed the importance of not only playing well at home but also winning during the month of November. Wells, who is 15-10 now over his career during November, is looking to lead the Red Raiders to their fourth home win this season, which would be their most since 2015.

The game will broadcast to a national audience on ESPN2 with Dave Neal on the call alongside analyst DJ Shockley and Dawn Davenport reporting from the sideline. 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 XM channel 200, Sirius channel 137 or via the TuneIn app.

SERIES HISTORY

Texas Tech and TCU will meet for the 62nd time in history Saturday as the Red Raiders lead the all-time series with a 32-26-3 advantage. This will be the seventh meeting between the two former Southwest Conference foes since the Horned Frogs joined the Big 12 prior to the 2012 season.
The Red Raiders have traditionally played well against TCU inside Jones AT&T Stadium as Texas Tech is 16-7-3 all-time when hosting the Horned Frogs in Lubbock.
The road team has prevailed in each of the last four meetings between the two schools, the longest such streak in the series. Three of those contests have come down to the wire with only three points as the margin of victory, including a 27-24 win by the Red Raiders in double overtime in 2016.
Texas Tech took advantage of three takeaways a year ago en route to a 17-14 victory that featured a Jett Duffey 38-yard touchdown run with only seven minutes remaining. It marked the fourth time since the Horned Frogs joined the Big 12 that the Red Raiders had held TCU to 30 points or fewer.
Texas Tech and TCU were previously members of the Southwest Conference from 1960-95 where the Red Raiders held a 21-12-3 advantage in those games. The two schools met twice as non-conference foes in 2004 and 2006 prior to TCU joining the Big 12 in 2012.

TEXAS TECH-TCU CONNECTIONS

The ties between the two head coaches this weekend date back to the mid-90s when Matt Wells was a quarterback at Utah State and TCU head coach Gary Patterson was the secondary coach for the Aggies. Patterson spent three seasons in Logan, Utah, as his tenure began during Wells' true freshman season in 1992. The Aggies claimed the Big West Conference title in 1993 on their way to a win in the Las Vegas Bowl II. It marked the first bowl win in Utah State history.
In addition to Wells, Patterson previously worked with Texas Tech associate head coach and special teams coordinator Mark Tommerdahl as the two were both on staff at New Mexico in 1997. Patterson was the Lobos' defensive coordinator and safeties coach, while Tommerdahl was the special teams and tight ends coach. The two would later work together at TCU from 1998-00 as Tommerdahl held the same responsibilities as he had in New Mexico. Patterson, meanwhile, was TCU's defensive coordinator the first two seasons before being promoted to head coach in 2000.
Texas Tech fans will see several familiar faces on the opposing sideline Saturday as TCU co-offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie, defensive coordinator Chad Glasgow and offensive line coach Chris Thomsen all either played at Texas Tech in Cumbie's case or were former staff members.

TALKING TAKEAWAYS

New defensive coordinator Keith Patterson has already showed an attacking style to the Red Raider defense as the Red Raiders share the Big 12 lead and ranks 13th nationally with 18 takeaways through nine games.
Patterson's units have now recorded 50 takeaways the past two seasons during his time at both Utah State and Texas Tech. Compared to his peers across the country, Patterson leads all defensive coordinators nationally in takeaways since the start of the 2018 campaign.
After a slow start in the takeaway category, Texas Tech now sits at plus-nine in the turnover margin, which leads the Big 12 ranks tied for ninth in the country.
Texas Tech is plus-10 in the turnover margin during Big 12 play alone, which easily leads all league teams entering this weekend as Baylor ranks second at plus-6 overall.

THREE THINGS ON JORDYN BROOKS

Jordyn Brooks enters this weekend ranked second in the FBS for tackles for loss per game (2.0), fourth in solo tackles per game (6.7) and seventh in total tackles per game (10.9).
Brooks leads the Big 12 with his 98 total tackles, four more than any other conference player entering this weekend. He also controls the league high with 18.0 tackles for a loss this season.
Brooks' 18.0 tackles for a loss this year mark the most by a Red Raider since Brandon Sharpe totaled the same amount during the 2009 season. Brooks, who has recorded at least one tackle behind the line of scrimmage in every game this season, needs 6.5 more to match the Texas Tech single-season record of 24.5 that was set by Adell Duckett in 2003.

Make plays.

That's what he does, and no linebacker in the country makes more.

??#WreckEm | @jordynbrooks25?? pic.twitter.com/6dyucVhv3X
— Texas Tech Football (@TexasTechFB) November 9, 2019

THREE THINGS ON DOUGLAS COLEMAN III

Douglas Coleman III is the national leader in interceptions. His eight interceptions place Coleman in a tie for second all-time on both the Texas Tech and Big 12 single-season charts.
Coleman is the only Red Raider during the Big 12 era to record eight interceptions in a season as his picked-off pass at West Virginia moved him into a tie for second all-time in Texas Tech single-season history alongside John Thompson (1951) and Tracy Saul (1989 & 1991). He needs three more interceptions to match Elmer Tarbox's school record from 1938.
Among his Big 12 counterparts, Coleman is the first league player to record at least eight interceptions in a season since West Virginia's Rasul Douglas totaled the same amount in 2016. His eight interceptions are tied for second in Big 12 single-season history, two shy of the league record of 10 that was set by Nebraska's Josh Bullocks in 2003.

Another game, another pick.

Nobody in the nation has more.

??#WreckEm | @LightsOut_DC3?? pic.twitter.com/Jltqr8IvOS
— Texas Tech Football (@TexasTechFB) November 9, 2019

TEAM NOTES...

Texas Tech has been impressive over the opening 15 minutes this season as the Red Raiders are outscoring opponents, 72-27, in the first quarter. Tech has shut out opponents in the first quarter in six of nine games thus far.
Even more impressive, Texas Tech has forced either a 3-and-out or a takeaway on the opening drive of six of nine games so far.
Heading into the final three games of the regular season, Texas Tech is only surrendering 28.0 points per game, which would be the Red Raiders' lowest clip since 2009 if the season ended today.
On the opposite end, Texas Tech is averaging 31.6 points per game, which, if the season ended today, would mark the 19th-consecutive year the Red Raiders have averaged at least 30 points per game.
Texas Tech has not given up a sack in each of its last two games against Kansas and West Virginia as the Red Raiders have surrendered only 11 this season despite being one of the most active passing teams in the country. The Red Raiders have attempted 390 passes already this season, which ranks seventh in the FBS. Tech is currently tied for 14th nationally and ranks second in the Big 12 after allowing only 1.22 sacks per game through the first nine games. Washington State is the only other school besides Tech to have at least 385 pass attempts and rank in the top 15 for fewest sacks allowed this season.
The Red Raiders are currently averaging 167.9 rushing yards per game, which, if the season ended today, would rank as the fourth-highest clip during the Big 12 era and the second-highest average since Texas Tech moved to a spread offense in 2000. Tech averaged 273.2 yards on the ground in 1996, 201.7 yards in 1998 and 191.3 yards per game in 2015.
Texas Tech has converted 90 percent of its red zone appearances (38-of-42) into points this season, which ranks 24th nationally. The Red Raiders have turned 25 of those red zone appearances into touchdowns.

FULL TEXAS TECH GAME NOTES