Texas Tech, Arizona headline Saturday night slate on FOX

TEXAS TECH at ARIZONA
Tucson, Ariz. | Arizona Stadium
Oct. 5, 2024
FOX | 10 p.m. CDT / 8 p.m. MST

GAME LINKS

LUBBOCK, Texas – The Red Raiders will look to build on their 2-0 start in Big 12 play on Saturday in a nationally televised game on FOX at Arizona at 10 p.m. CT. It's Texas Tech's first Big 12 game on the road this season after claiming its first 2-0 start to league play since 2013 by defeating Arizona State and Cincinnati at home. It will be the first meeting between Texas Tech and Arizona as Big 12 Conference members, but not near a new pairing as the two have met 33 times before, meeting regularly from 1931-59 as Border Conference foes. Tech owns the all-time series lead, 26-5-2.

Television coverage will be provided by FOX with Connor Onion providing play-by-play alongside analyst Mark Helfrich in the booth. The duo will be accompanied by Allison Williams reporting from the sideline. Fans not using standard cable services can also 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 384, as well as on the Varsity app.

THREE HOME GAMES LEFT; RED RAIDERS RETURN TO JONES AT&T STADIUM ON OCT. 19 FOR HOMECOMING

Among teams who have hosted four games in 2024, Texas Tech ranks No. 9 in the FBS in average attendance - at 59,280 - with two sellouts (60,229) and near-capacity crowds in its other two home contests.
Texas Tech announced sellouts (60,229) for its games against ACU (Aug. 31) and Cincinnati (Sept. 28) while nearing that number on Sept. 14 versus North Texas (57,865) and Sept. 21 versus Arizona State (58,795).
There is a limited inventory of single-game tickets remaining for its next home game, which is homecoming, on Oct. 19 versus Baylor, on sale through the Athletic Ticket Office. There is also a limited quantity of single-game tickets available for the season finale on Nov. 30 versus West Virginia.
While two of three remaining games on the home schedule have tickets available, the Nov. 9 game versus Colorado was announced a sellout on Sept. 5.
Tickets can be purchased online at TexasTech.com or by speaking to a ticket sales representative at 806-742-TECH.

TURNOVER MARGIN KEY FOR RED RAIDERS

If there is one metric that represents Texas Tech's recipe for success this season, it would be the turnover margin. The Red Raiders are plus-2 in the turnover margin for the season but are plus-5 in their four victories this season as Texas Tech has turned takeaways into 50 points thus far.
That mark includes 42 in the past three weeks alone during the Red Raiders' three-game homestand.
The 50 points off of turnover this season marks the most points off turnovers through five games since 2015.
Texas Tech is a combined 14-2 under Joey McGuire when finishing tied or leading the turnover margin.

BROOKS CONTINUES TO POWER OFFENSE

Tahj Brooks continues to prove why he's one of the nation's top running backs as the senior is coming off his fourth-consecutive 100-yard performance after finishing with 172 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the win over Cincinnati.
Brooks will be playing in his 50th career game as a Red Raider on Saturday as he enters this week ranked fourth in the FBS for rushing yards per game (137.8).
He needs only 59 rushing yards against the Wildcats to move into the top three in Texas Tech history, surpassing Ricky Williams for third in the process.

NUMBERS TO KNOW

10: Texas Tech hit the 40-point mark for the 10th time under Joey McGuire versus Cincinnati. The Red Raiders are a perfect 10-0 in those games, including 3-0 this season as Texas Tech is averaging 41.6 a game.
12: Texas Tech is 12-8 in Big 12 contests under Joey McGuire, marking the most wins by a head coach through his first 20 league games since Steve Sloan was 14-6 at the same point from 1975-77.
14: Josh Kelly leads the FBS with 14 catches on third downs and 10 that have converted first downs. The Red Raiders rank 10th in the FBS and lead the Big 12 for third-down conversion percentage entering this weekend.

WHAT A WIN WOULD MEAN SATURDAY...

Texas Tech will be searching for its first 3-0 start to Big 12 play since 2013 and just its fifth in program history Saturday night in Tucson. The Red Raiders previously began their Big 12 schedule with three consecutive victories in 1998, 2005, 2008 and 2013, finishing with at least eight wins in each of the last three occurrences.
Texas Tech has reached a bowl game after each of its previous three occurrences with 3-0 starts to Big 12 play as the Red Raiders played in the 1998 Independence Bowl, the Cotton Bowl in both 2005 and 2008 and then Holiday Bowl in 2013. A victory over Arizona pushes Texas Tech to 5-1 overall, one win shy of bowl eligibility for a fourth-straight season and the 42nd time in program history.
A victory over the Wildcats would also push the Red Raiders to 5-1 on the season, marking the first time Texas Tech won five of its first six games since that same 2013 season. The start to the season was a point of emphasis for Joey McGuire entering this season as the Red Raiders hoped to improve on the 3-3 starts from each of his first two years.

INSIDE THE ARIZONA SERIES

This will be the 34th all-time meeting between the two former Border Conference members and the first as Big 12 Conference foes. Texas Tech has historically dominated the series with the Wildcats, leading the all-time series with a 26-5-2 advantage, which includes a 13-4-2 mark in Tucson.
Texas Tech and Arizona last faced each other as non-conference opponents in 2019 with the Wildcats delivering a 28-14 victory in Tucson. It was the first meeting between the two schools since 1989 when the Red Raiders wrapped a two-game series against Arizona with a 24-14 victory in Lubbock. The return trip from Texas Tech's 2019 trip to Tucson was postponed a year later due to schedule changes related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Texas Tech has been a league member with Arizona once previously as the two schools faced each other regularly as part of the Border Conference from 1931-59 until the Red Raiders were invited to the Southwest Conference. The Red Raiders were 18-2-1 during that span against the Wildcats, winning 15 consecutive matchups from 1937-58 at one point.
Texas Tech and Arizona met 11 times as non-conference opponents from 1971-89 with the Red Raiders going 8-2-1 during that stretch. Texas Tech has lost its last two trips to Tucson, though, falling, 28-14, in 2019, and then 35-19 in 1988. The two schools also ended in a 17-17 tie in a 1979 meeting in Tucson, meaning Texas Tech's last victory on the road in the series was a 32-26 win in 1977.

TEXAS TECH-ARIZONA CONNECTIONS

The trip to Tucson will be a return for Texas Tech defensive passing game coordinator and secondary coach Marcel Yates, who was Arizona's defensive coordinator from 2016-19. Yates was actually on the opposing sideline the last time the two schools met as his Arizona defense caused a pair of takeaways and limited the Red Raiders to only 411 yards of total offense in a 28-14 victory for the Wildcats. Yates joined Texas Tech as part of Joey McGuire's charter staff in 2022.
The Arizona staff has one Texas Tech graduate in defensive analyst Ty Nichols, who was a student assistant on the Red Raider defensive staff from 2019-21. Nichols, an Idalou native, is in his third season on the Arizona staff.

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 skybridge 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 -

Texas Tech, Arizona headline Saturday night slate on FOX

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Tahj Brooks

Josh Kelly

Texas Tech University Athletics

Texas Tech, Arizona headline Saturday night slate on FOX

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Tahj Brooks

Josh Kelly

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