Red Raiders head to DFW for Saturday showdown vs. TCU

TEXAS TECH at TCU
Fort Worth, Texas | Amon G. Carter Stadium
Oct. 26, 2024
FOX | 2:30 p.m. CT

GAME LINKS

LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech (5-2, 3-1 Big 12) returns to the road on Saturday to square off against TCU (4-3, 2-2 Big 12) in Fort Worth, seeking to capture the Saddle Trophy for a second straight year. Kickoff is slated for 2:30 p.m. This begins back-to-back weeks on the road for the Red Raiders with Iowa State due up next. Tech is 1-1 away from home this season, most recently defeating Arizona in Tucson on Oct. 5.

Television coverage will be provided by FOX with Tim Brando behind the mic. He will be joined by former Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner serving as the broadcast analyst in the booth while Josh Sims will be reporting from the sidelines. 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 391, as well as on the Varsity app.

TWO HOME GAMES LEFT; ONE OF TWO ALREADY SOLD OUT

Texas Tech has just two home games left, Nov. 9 versus Colorado and Nov. 30 versus West Virginia.
Texas Tech announced an advanced sellout of its next home game, Nov. 9 against Colorado, on Sept. 5. Limited inventory remains for its regular season finale against the Mountaineers on Nov. 30.
When Nov. 9 rolls around, it will be the fourth sellout (60,229) out of six home games this season having sold out versus ACU (Aug. 31), Cincinnati (Sept. 28) and Baylor (Oct. 19). Its other two home games were near-capacity crowds on Sept. 14 versus North Texas at 11 a.m. (57,865) and Sept. 21 at 2:30 p.m. versus Arizona State (58,795).
While seats are sold out via the Texas Tech Athletic Ticket Office, tickets can be found via SeatGeek for the Nov. 9 contest against Colorado, the official secondary ticket provider of Texas Tech Athletics.
Tickets for the West Virginia game can be purchased online at TexasTech.com or by speaking to a ticket sales representative at 806-742-TECH.

BATTLE FOR THE SADDLE TROPHY

Texas Tech will look to keep the Saddle Trophy in Lubbock in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the two schools brought back the traveling trophy in 2017.
Texas Tech and TCU previously played for the Saddle Trophy from 1961-70 - dubbed at the time as the "West Texas Championship" - before it suddenly disappeared.
The new saddle sits on a stand and includes the logos for both Texas Tech and TCU as well as the scores for the 60-plus meetings all-time in the series.

TECH SEARCHING FOR ANOTHER ROAD WIN

The Red Raiders will be looking to build off their 28-22 road win at Arizona a few weeks ago this weekend at TCU.
With a win, Texas Tech can secure back-to-back Big 12 road wins for the first time under Joey McGuire, and the first time since 2021.
The turnover margin is one key element to Texas Tech's potential success. Texas Tech is a perfect 5-0 when it leads the turnover margin and 0-2 when trailing in it as the Red Raiders will be facing a TCU program that is minus-10 in the turnover margin entering this weekend.

BROOKS APPROACHING 4,000 CAREER YARDS

Tahj Brooks will enter Saturday's game needing another strong performance to become only the third Red Raider and the ninth Big 12 player in history to reach 4,000 career rushing yards.
Brooks, who is third in the country this season with 134.0 rushing yards per game, needs 144 yards on the ground versus the Horned Frogs to reach the 4,000-yard mark.
His chase to snap Byran Hanspard's career rushing total is now down to 363 rushing yards after he carried 25 times for 125 yards and a touchdown last weekend versus Baylor.

NUMBERS TO KNOW

3: Behren Morton is one of only nine FBS quarterbacks and the lone one from the Big 12 to have 200 passing attempts this season with three or fewer interceptions. Of that group, he is third with 17 passing touchdowns.
6: Caleb Douglas joined Tahj Brooks versus Baylor as Red Raiders with three touchdown performances this season. Tech is one of six schools nationally with a rusher and a receiver owning a three-score game.
17: Tahj Brooks is only the second FBS player since 1996 to rush for 95 yards or better over 17-consecutive games. Only trailing Mohamed Ibrahim (Minnesota) in that span, who had 19-straight games from 2020-22.

INSIDE THE TCU SERIES

Texas Tech and TCU will meet on Saturday for the 67th time in history as the Red Raiders lead the all-time series with a 33-30-3 advantage. This will be the 13th meeting between the two former Southwest Conference foes since the Horned Frogs joined the Big 12 prior to the 2012 season.
Texas Tech and TCU were previously members of the Southwest Conference from 1960-95 where the Red Raiders controlled a 21-12-3 advantage. The two schools met twice as non-conference foes in 2004 and 2006 prior to TCU joining the Big 12 in 2012. The two schools split those two non-conference games with the Red Raiders delivering a 70-35 rout in 2004 followed by a 12-3 victory by the Horned Frogs two years later.
The Red Raiders defeated the Horned Frogs a year ago with a 35-28 victory in Lubbock. The victory snapped a four-game losing streak to the Horned Frogs, which previously marked Texas Tech's longest losing streak in the series since the first five contests from 1926-30. It was the longest winning streak for either team in the series since the Red Raiders rolled off six-consecutive wins from 1985-90 during their stay in the Southwest Conference.
Texas Tech is 3-3 in road games against the Horned Frogs since TCU joined the Big 12 Conference prior to the 2012 season. All three of those victories have been by only three points with two heading to overtime as the Red Raiders needed triple overtime to edge TCU in the first-ever Big 12 meeting between the two schools in 2012 and then two extra periods in 2016. The two teams played a defensive battle in 2018 with the Red Raiders prevailing with a 17-14 victory. TCU has won each of the last two meetings in Fort Worth.

TEXAS TECH-TCU CONNECTIONS

This week's matchup will place the Red Raiders against a fellow Texas Tech graduate in TCU head coach Sonny Dykes. Dykes, the son of legendary Red Raider head coach Spike Dykes, received his bachelor's degree in history from the university in 1993 and was a member of the Texas Tech baseball program for two seasons. He previously spent seven seasons as an assistant coach for his alma mater, serving as receivers coach from 2000-04 before adding the title of co-offensive coordinator from 2005-06 under Mike Leach. Dykes is the fifth Texas Tech graduate since 1975 to face his alma mater as an opposing head coach, joining Tom Wilson (Texas A&M 1978-81), Art Briles (Baylor 2008-15), Lincoln Riley (Oklahoma 2017-21) and Eric Morris (North Texas 2024).
Texas Tech, meanwhile, has a TCU graduate on its staff in defensive line coach Zarnell Fitch, who earned his degree in communications with a minor in social work in 2006. Fitch was a two-year letterman for the Horned Frogs from 2004-05 where he made three starts as a senior. He arrived at Texas Tech following six seasons serving in a similar capacity for his alma mater under former head coach Gary Patterson.
Fitch isn't the only former TCU assistant now on the Texas Tech staff as associate head coach and special teams coordinator Kenny Perry received his first collegiate position with the Horned Frogs. Perry, a DFW native, served as TCU's director of high school relations in 2013 before being promoted to cornerbacks coach the following year. Additionally, he also previously worked under TCU head coach Sonny Dykes as a special teams quality control analyst at SMU in 2020 and then as the special teams coordinator for the Mustangs in 2021.
TCU, likewise, has two former Texas Tech assistants on its staff in special assistant to the head coach Mark Tommerdahl and nickels coach Julius Brown. Tommerdahl was previously the special teams coordinator for the Red Raiders from 2019-21, while Brown was the cornerbacks coach in 2019.
TCU defensive coordinator Andy Avalos and Texas Tech defensive passing game coordinator and secondary coach Marcel Yates were both on the same Boise State staff from 2014-15 with Yates as the defensive coordinator and Avalos as the linebackers coach. Yates joined the Boise State staff, his alma mater, originally in 2003 as cornerbacks coach when Avalos was a junior linebacker for the Broncos.
Texas Tech has one former Horned Frog on its roster in redshirt freshman defensive back Javeon Wilcox, who arrived at Texas Tech this summer following one season at TCU. Wilcox has yet to see action in a game this season following a preseason injury.

SOUTH END ZONE BUILDING MAKES GRAND DEBUT

Texas Tech officially opened the South End Zone Building to Jones AT&T Stadium, a $242 million project that began following the 2022 season finale on Nov. 26, 2022.
The $242 million project will mark the largest contiguous football facility in the country, as the south end zone building will connect, via a skybridge, to the Womble Football Center and the Sports Performance Center, which opened in 2017 as Texas Tech's indoor football practice facility and indoor track and field venue. Which in total will feature more than 340,000 combined square feet of space.
The Red Raiders now enter Jones AT&T Stadium each gameday through the Gary Petersen Field Club, a 12,000-square-foot premium space that is among the first of its kind in college football. It is one of several new premium areas as Texas Tech has added 17 new luxury suites, on the 3rd floor of the South End Zone building, to go along with 500 club and loge box seats and two spacious party decks on the concourse. Texas Tech now boasts 102 premium suites throughout Jones AT&T Stadium to go along with more than 2,500 club and loge box seat options.
Joey McGuire and his staff moved into their new coaches' offices on the second floor of the south end zone building in July, giving them a stunning view overlooking Cody Campbell Field at Jones AT&T Stadium. The office location places McGuire and his staff steps from each position room and the sky bridge connected to the Womble Football Center where offensive and defensive breakout rooms will be located as well as a team meeting space and a state-of-the-art walkthrough area on the second level.
Texas Tech is slated to open the Womble Football Center side of the project this fall as the two-story building will maintain its football strength and conditioning, sports medicine and equipment areas on the main level as part of the new layout. The Red Raiders' main locker room will be located in the Womble Football Center, which includes space for 120-plus athletes and modern primary designs from Hollman that are fully ventilated and contain USB charging ports and DreamSeat technology for every player.

- TECH -

Red Raiders head to DFW for Saturday showdown vs. TCU

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Tahj Brooks

Caleb Douglas

Behren Morton

Javeon Wilcox

Texas Tech University Athletics

Red Raiders head to DFW for Saturday showdown vs. TCU

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Tahj Brooks

Caleb Douglas

Behren Morton

Javeon Wilcox

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