Preview: Red Raiders hit road for No. 25 K-State

LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech will look for its third win over a top-25 foe in just its fifth game of the season on Saturday as No. 25 Kansas State hosts the Red Raiders at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Action kicks off at 11 a.m. CT for the two teams that both enter the game 3-1 and 1-0 in Big 12 play.

Broadcast coverage will be provided by Big 12 Now on ESPN+. Mark Neely will have the call, alongside Ryan Leaf providing the analysis while Shane Sparks will be on the sideline. The broadcast can be accessed from any desktop or laptop computer, any personal cellular device and television streaming services using the ESPN app. Registration for the subscription service can be found at ESPNPlus.com.

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 389, as well as on the Varsity app.

RED RAIDERS HEAD TO LITTLE APPLE

The Red Raiders are coming off a memorable 37-34 overtime victory over No. 22 Texas this past weekend that marked only the third time in program history Texas Tech has secured two overtime victories in the same season. The win, most importantly, started the Red Raiders off at 1-0 in conference play and was their first all-time over Texas in a Big 12 opener.
Texas Tech will be looking to build on that win by snapping a six-game losing streak to Kansas State this weekend. In the process, a victory over the Wildcats would also push the Red Raiders to 2-0 in league play for the first time since starting 4-0 against conference foes in 2013.

YES, ANOTHER TOP-25 FOE ON TAP

Texas Tech will look for their third win over a top-25 foe already this season as Kansas State will enter ranked at No. 25 in the Associated Press poll. The Red Raiders, who are receiving votes in both polls this week, are 2-1 against ranked opponents this season with wins over then-No. 25 Houston and No. 22 Texas and a loss at No. 16 N.C. State.
In its history, this will be the first time the Red Raiders have started a season with four of its first five games coming against top-25 teams. Texas Tech has not faced four-consecutive ranked opponents since 2012 when the Red Raiders went 2-3 overall over a five-game stretch.

TEXAS TECH LOOKS TO SNAP LOSING SKID VERSUS WILDCATS

Texas Tech will look to reverse its recent fortunes against Kansas State this weekend as the Red Raiders enter Saturday's trip to Manhattan riding a six-game losing streak to the Wildcats. Kansas State has won six-consecutive games in the series and 10 of the last 11 contests overall as the Wildcats are 13-9 all-time against the Red Raiders.
The Red Raiders will be looking for their first win over Kansas State since late in the 2015 season when Texas Tech downed the Wildcats, 59-44, at Jones AT&T Stadium. Texas Tech has lost five-straight to the Wildcats in Manhattan as the Red Raiders' last win in the Little Apple came in a 58-28 rout in 2008.
Texas Tech has gone down to the final moments in recent years against Kansas State as four of its six losses have come in one-possession games. Of the other two games, Kansas State scored its final touchdown with just over two minutes remaining to push its lead to 31-21 in its 2020 victory. The Red Raiders are 1-6 all-time in games determined by seven points or less versus the Wildcats with their lone win coming in the first-ever meeting between the two schools, a 6-0 victory in 1933.
The Red Raiders' sole win in recent memory came in 2015 when DeAndre Washington rushed for a career-high 248 yards and three touchdowns in a 59-44 victory in Lubbock. Washington became the first Red Raider to rush for at least 200 yards since Shaud Williams did so against Colorado in 1999 as it was the seventh-highest rushing total in school history. Patrick Mahomes also threw for 248 yards and three touchdowns in that win.
The two schools have only met three times outside of Big 12 play with the first coming in a 6-0 victory by the Red Raiders in 1933. The two schools also played in Lubbock during the 1963 and 1986 seasons, both Texas Tech victories.

TEXAS TECH, KANSAS STATE CONNECTIONS

The lone connection between the Texas Tech and Kansas State coaching staffs is with associate head coach Kenny Perry, who worked alongside K-State defensive ends coach Buddy Wyatt at Kansas in 2018. Wyatt was a senior analyst for the Jayhawks that season, while Perry was in his fourth and final year as special teams coordinator and recruiting coordinator.
Texas Tech Director of Athletics Kirby Hocutt was a four-year letterman at linebacker at Kansas State where he led the Big 8 Conference in tackles as a junior in 1993. Hocutt, who was elected captain his senior year under legendary K-State head coach Bill Snyder, was named to the All-Big 8 Conference team following his junior season. The Sporting News selected him in 1993 as one of the nation's top-20 "most underrated" players. He earned his degree in political science from Kansas State in 1995.

TEXAS TECH CAREER NOTABLES AGAINST THE WILDCATS

Adrian Frye, if he is able to return this week, has recorded two of his seven career interceptions against the Wildcats during his career. Frye's interception in the 2018 meeting between the two schools marked his fifth of the season as he eventually earned Freshman All-America accolades. Frye's interception in 2019 came with only 6:53 remaining in the game as the Red Raiders capitalized with a 58-yard touchdown pass to RJ Turner on the ensuing possession to cut K-State's lead to three points.
Austin McNamara's eight career punts and 43.0 average versus Kansas State might be his second-favorite memory thus far in the series as his only pass completion of his career - a 34-yard strike to Erik Ezukanma - came against the Wildcats in 2019. It remains the only pass attempt of McNamara's career.
Myles Price found the end zone for the first time in his career in the 2020 meeting with Kansas State as the then true freshman hauled in a 13-yard scoring strike from Henry Colombi with 11:11 remaining in the game. For his career, Price has caught 10 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown versus the Wildcats to go along with a punt return for 27 yards and two kick returns for 30 yards.
SaRodorick Thompson is likely Texas Tech's most experienced offensive standout against Kansas State as he has received 43 carries for 149 yards and three touchdowns the past three years to go along with 11 total receptions for 59 yards. He found the end zone twice on the ground a year ago, one of 11 multi-touchdown performances thus far in his career.
Xavier White notched the first 100-yard rushing game of his career in the 2020 battle between the two schools as he carried only 12 times for 113 yards and a touchdown. White recorded the bulk of his yardage in the second half as he found the end zone via a 49-yard scamper late in the third quarter that cut Kansas State's lead to 17-14.
Since moving to a wide-open passing offense in 2000, Texas Tech has thrown for at least 300 yards in 14 of the 17 meetings against Kansas State with the single exception coming in 2018 and 2020.

WHAT'S NEXT! RED RAIDERS 1-0 IN BIG 12 PLAY

To head coach Joey McGuire, the best part about topping Texas this past weekend was that it pushed the Red Raiders to 1-0 in Big 12 play. The win snapped a three-game losing streak in conference openers for the Red Raiders, who last opened league action with a victory in their 2018 upset at No. 15 Oklahoma State.
For those who have been around McGuire much since his hiring at Texas Tech, they have likely adopted the phrase "What's Next!" in their regular everyday conversation. The phrase is intended to signify the importance on focusing on the next important goal or play no matter the previous result. With that, the goal now for McGuire is to build on that success as Texas Tech is looking for its first 2-0 start to league play since the Red Raiders rolled off four-consecutive wins in 2013. Texas Tech has kicked off Big 12 play with a 2-0 mark six times in its history after doing so also in 2008, 2005, 2003, 1998 and 1997.
The victory over Texas improved the Red Raiders to 15-12 all-time in Big 12 openers and 1-5 in such games against Texas. It marked the sixth time in school history and the third time in as many years that the Red Raiders kicked off league play against the Longhorns.

ADDITIONAL NEWS & NOTES

Texas Tech is 13-13 all-time in Big 12 road openers as the Red Raiders will be looking for their first win since its victory over No. 15 Oklahoma State in 2018. The Red Raiders have faced Kansas State in their first Big 12 road game four times previously, going 1-3 in those games with their lone win coming in a 58-28 rout in 2008.
Texas Tech is looking to start its season at 4-1 overall for a second-consecutive season with a win at Kansas State. The Red Raiders have not recorded back-to-back 4-1 starts since the 2012-13 seasons.
Texas Tech overcame a 14-point deficit in the second half to defeat Texas, its largest since overcoming a similar amount in the 2021 season opener against Houston. Prior to that Houston win, Texas Tech had not battled back from a deficit of at least 14 points to win since trailing by 20 points in a 45-34 victory at Kansas in 2011. It also matched the second-largest deficit Texas Tech has ever rallied back from in its series against Texas as the Red Raiders overcame a 17-point deficit in its 1988 win at home.
Texas Tech is now 9-7 all-time in overtime games after going past regulation to defeat both No. 25 Houston and No. 22/19 Texas. The win over Houston snapped a three-game losing streak in overtime contests as the Red Raiders' last overtime win came in 2016 with a 27-24 victory at TCU. Like Donovan Smith, Texas Tech also capitalized on the quarterback scramble in that win as Patrick Mahomes II found the end zone from 15 yards out in the first overtime, which was followed by a Clayton Hatfield 37-yard field goal to win it a period later.
Texas Tech has won multiple overtime games in a season for only the third time since the NCAA began allowing games to go past regulation in 1996. The Red Raiders also scored multiple overtime wins in 2012 (Kansas, at No. 21 TCU) as well as 2006 (at UTEP, bowl game versus Minnesota). The victory over Texas marked the first time in program history that the Red Raiders won back-to-back home games in overtime.
Texas Tech is now 4-4 all-time in overtime games against ranked opponents as prior to this season, the Red Raiders had only recorded wins over No. 23 Texas A&M in a memorable 2002 victory and then No. 21 TCU in 2013. The Red Raiders had gone to overtime in two of the last three seasons previously, falling at No. 22 Baylor and against No. 8 Texas in 2020.
Texas Tech is one of only two schools to play multiple overtime games through the first four weeks of the college football season as the Red Raiders are joined by Houston and UTSA. In addition to their game against Texas Tech, the Cougars went to overtime in their season opener against UTSA. The Roadrunners also needed overtime in their week two victory at Army.
Through four games, Joey McGuire has proven he isn't afraid to leave his offense on the field on fourth downs as the Red Raiders are 9-of-15 on conversions. That total includes six first downs gained in the win over Texas alone, which marked the most fourth-down conversions in a single game dating back to 2000. It marked the most fourth-down conversions for a Big 12 team in a conference game since late in the 2020 season when Baylor had the same total against Oklahoma. McGuire was on the sideline for that game as well as Baylor's associate head coach.
One of the key components of Joey's McGuire's official "Plan to Win" at Texas Tech is for the Red Raiders to win the middle eight minutes (last four of second half, first four of third quarter). Thus far, the Red Raiders are outscoring opponents 28-14 during that time.

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Texas Tech University Athletics

Preview: Red Raiders hit road for No. 25 K-State

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