Preview: Red Raiders return home to host WVU

LUBBOCK, Texas – The long wait is over. After 28 days, football returns to Jones AT&T Stadium as Texas Tech hosts West Virginia on Saturday for homecoming. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. between two programs that share a 3-3, 1-2 Big 12 record in what will be a pivotal game as the second half of the 2022 schedule gets underway.

Television coverage will be provided by FS1 with Noah Eagle behind the mic. He will be joined by longtime coach Mark Helfrich, whose most recent collegiate stop was offensive coordinator and then-head coach for the Oregon Ducks (2009-16), serving as the broadcast analyst. Fans can access the game from their mobile or streaming device by using the FOX Sports app.

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 and sideline reporter Chris Level. The radio broadcast can also be heard on SiriusXM channel 109 or 200, as well as on the Varsity app.

WEST VIRGINIA BEGINS SECOND HALF OF BIG 12 PLAY

Texas Tech will kick off the second half of its schedule with four of its remaining six games at home, beginning this Saturday when the Red Raiders host West Virginia for Homecoming at Jones AT&T Stadium. The Red Raiders are historically 56-33-3 in Homecoming games, which includes a 2-1 mark all-time against the Mountaineers.
The Red Raiders will be looking to build on a three-game winning streak over the Mountaineers as each of the last two contests have gone to the wire with Zech McPhearson returning a late fumble in 2020 before a Jonathan Garibay 32-yard field goal with 18 seconds remaining a year ago.

HOMECOMING IN RAIDERLAND

Texas Tech is 56-33-3 all-time on Homecoming with wins in 10 of its last 15 games dating back to the 2007 season. This will be the fourth time the Red Raiders have hosted West Virginia for its Homecoming contest as the Red Raiders are 2-1 in those games with wins in 2012 (49-14) and 2020 (34-27) and a loss in 2016 (48-17).
The Red Raiders are 19-7 in Homecoming games during the Big 12 era and are 23-7 since 1992 alone with losses against Kansas (2001), Missouri (2006), Kansas State (2011), West Virginia (2016), Iowa State (2017, 2019) and TCU (2021).
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.

TEXAS TECH LOOKS TO ADD TO WINNING STREAK OVER MOUNTAINEERS

Texas Tech and West Virginia will meet for the 12th time Saturday and the 11th time as Big 12 Conference members as the Mountaineers own a 6-5 advantage in the all-time series. The series is split at 5-5 since West Virginia joined the conference prior to the 2012 season.
The Red Raiders enter the matchup with wins in each of their last three meetings against the Mountaineers, including a 23-20 victory a year ago that was sealed by a Jonathan Garibay field goal with only 18 seconds remaining in regulation. It is the longest winning streak for the Red Raiders all-time in the series.
Since the Mountaineers joined the Big 12 in 2012, Texas Tech and West Virginia have traditionally played several close games with six of those 10 decisions determined by one possession and one more by only 11 points. The two teams are 3-3 against each other in games determined by seven or fewer points entering this weekend with the Red Raiders winning each of the last two such games.
The only other meeting between the two schools outside the Big 12 era came in the 1938 Sun Bowl where West Virginia edged the Red Raiders, 7-6, in front of 12,000 fans in El Paso. It was the first of now 39 bowl appearances for the Red Raiders, who rank among the top 25 teams all-time in postseason trips.

TEXAS TECH, WEST VIRGINIA CONNECTIONS

Texas Tech and West Virginia have several staff members with connections to the other university, none possibly more notable than Mountaineers head coach Neal Brown and offensive coordinator Graham Harrell. Brown was the Red Raiders' offensive coordinator for all three seasons (2010-12) of Tommy Tuberville's tenure. The Red Raiders won two bowl games during Brown's tenure at the 2010 TicketCity Bowl and the 2012 Meineke Car Care Texas Bowl before he departed for a similar position at Kentucky.
Harrell, meanwhile, remains a legendary figure in Texas Tech history after he set numerous school records during his three years as the Red Raiders' starting quarterback. To this date, Harrell remains the school record holder for career passing yards (15,793), career passing touchdowns (134), career passing attempts (2,062), career completions (1,403), career yards of total offense (15,611) and career touchdowns responsible for (146). Harrell is still a fixture in the NCAA FBS record book as well, ranking third all-time in career passing touchdowns and single-season passing yards (5,705 in 2007) as well as fourth in both career passing yards per game (351.0) and career passing yards. This will be the first time he has faced his alma mater since he joined the coaching profession in 2010.
Prior to his time at Texas Tech, Harrell was a record-setting high school quarterback at Ennis High School under his father, Sam Harrell, who, ironically, was an early coaching mentor for Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire. The elder Harrell tried on multiple occasions to hire McGuire to his staff early in his coaching career as the two remained in contact as McGuire eventually was promoted to head coach at Cedar Hill to start a legendary run of his own.

CAREER NOTABLES VERSUS THE MOUNTAINEERS

If Adrian Frye is able to return Saturday, it will mark his fifth all-time game against the Mountaineers as he has recorded nine tackles and a pair of pass breakups over his career. He and teammate SaRodorick Thompson are the only two Red Raiders who have played in at least four games versus West Virginia entering this weekend.
The 2020 matchup against West Virginia will likely be one Austin McNamara hasn't forgotten and won't anytime soon as he set a Texas Tech and Big 12 record with an 87-yard punt versus the Mountaineers. The punt was one of five that evening for McNamara, who averaged an impressive 53.4 yards per attempt. For his career, McNamara is averaging 48.6 yards on his 13 punts in three games versus West Virginia, a steady improvement on his already-impressive 45.9 career mark.
SaRodorick Thompson has been a steady presence in finding the end zone against the Mountaineers over his career as the senior has five rushing touchdowns in four career games. Thompson has a pair of multi-touchdown performances in his career versus West Virginia as he had two rushing touchdowns in the 2019 matchup and Texas Tech's only two scores a year ago. He also sprinted into the end zone from 48 yards out in the 2020 victory over West Virginia, which gave the Red Raiders a 13-7 lead late in the first quarter. His five career rushing touchdowns are his most against a Big 12 opponent over his career.

NEWS & NOTES HEADING INTO WEST VIRGINIA

Texas Tech is coming off its lone open weekend of the 2022 season as the Red Raiders are 18-13 during the Big 12 era in the week following an open date. The Red Raiders have wins in three of their last five games following an open date after topping West Virginia during both the 2019 and 2020 seasons and then Iowa State a year ago.
Following a stretch of five ranked opponents in the first six games, Texas Tech will look to win at least three of its final six games to become bowl eligible for the second-consecutive season and the 40th time in school history. Texas Tech is looking to return to a bowl in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 2012-13 campaigns.
Texas Tech is a perfect 3-0 at home this season as the Red Raider can secure a winning season at home with a victory over West Virginia. With four home games still on the schedule, Texas Tech will spend the final two months looking to finish with at least five victories inside Jones AT&T Stadium for the first time since 2009 when the Red Raiders were 6-1 overall.
According to Nielsen Media Research, Texas Tech's trip to Oklahoma State drew 1,633,000 television viewers, marking the most-watched Big 12 Conference game on FS1 since November 2017.
The loss to Oklahoma State snapped a streak of six-consecutive wins for the Red Raiders when scoring at least 30 points that dated back to early in the 2021 season. Texas Tech was a perfect 3-0 in such games this season up until falling to Oklahoma State.

THE NATION'S PREMIER PASS RUSHER

The Red Raiders will look to attack a West Virginia protection that is allowing only 1.3 sacks and 4.2 tackles for loss per game entering this weekend, both of which rank third in the Big 12 and in the top half of the FBS. The Red Raiders will look to counter that with Tyree Wilson, who is among the top pass rushers in college football this season.
Wilson enters this weekend ranked tied fourth in the FBS and second in the Big 12 with 1.0 sacks per game (6.0 total). He is also the Big 12 leader with 1.5 tackles for loss per game, a category he ranks eighth in nationally with 9.0 total TFLs already this season from his edge position.

RED RAIDERS SHOWING DEPTH AT QB

Prior to the season, Joey McGuire stated he felt he had the deepest quarterback room in the country. That statement has proven true through six games as Texas Tech ranks second in the FBS in passing yards per contest (365.0) despite utilizing three different starters behind center.
Texas Tech is the only FBS team in the country to boast two quarterbacks that have thrown for at least 300 yards in a game this season as Donovan Smith has done so three times, while Behren Morton is coming off a 379-yard performance at Oklahoma State. Both underclassmen entered the season as the backups to injured starter Tyler Shough.

PLENTY OF EXCITEMENT FOR MCGUIRE ERA

The excitement over Joey McGuire's hire has been felt across Texas Tech Athletics since last November as the athletics department saw significant increases in ticket sales heading into the season opener. Texas Tech boasts more than 7,000 new season ticket holders this year, pushing its total to more than 28,000, which ranks in the top 10 all-time in school history.
The hype is real: Game one of the Joey McGuire era marked the largest home opening crowd (58,823) since 2016 when Texas Tech hosted Stephen F. Austin (60,097). The attendance mark against Murray State ranked just outside the top-10 all-time in Jones At&T Stadium history.
Texas Tech announced a sellout for its win over Texas as 60,975 fans enjoyed the Red Raiders' victory over their in-state rival. That attendance number marked the fourth-highest in Jones AT&T Stadium history and its highest all-time in the series versus Texas. It was the first sellout for Texas Tech since doing so in back-to-back weeks late in the 2018 season against Oklahoma and Texas.
Through three home games, Texas Tech has been at 97.1 percent of its capacity, which ranks 21st in the country and third in the Big 12 Conference. The Red Raiders are averaging 58,690 fans per game, which is also the third-highest total currently in the Big 12. Texas Tech has already announced a sellout for its Oct. 29 home game with Baylor.

-TECH-

Texas Tech University Athletics

Preview: Red Raiders return home to host WVU

Next Event

Related Videos