No. 13 Texas Tech preps for tough road test at Kansas State

#13 TEXAS TECH AT KANSAS STATE
Manhattan, Kan. | Bill Snyder Family Stadium (50,000)
Nov. 1, 2025
FOX | 2:30 p.m. CDT

GAME LINKS

LUBBOCK, Texas – No. 13 Texas Tech (7-1, 4-1 Big 12) enters this Saturday's matchup at Kansas State (4-4, 3-2 Big 12) seeking its best nine-game start to a season since 2008, as well as its first road win versus the Wildcats since 2008, when traveling for a 2:30 p.m. kick at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The Wildcats enter the week having won eight straight in the series, as Texas Tech's last win came in a home game in 2015. A victory in the Little Apple would be an important one in the Big 12 race for the Red Raiders, who are one of four teams with one loss or less in the Big 12 standings, and are chasing a spot in Arlington for the Big 12 Championship game in December.

Television coverage will be provided by FOX. In the broadcast booth will be Jason Benetti (play-by-play) and former Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III (analyst), while Alexa Landestoy will serve as the sideline reporter. In addition to traditional outlets, 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 137 or 198, the SiriusXM app on channel 952, as well as on the Varsity app.

TWO HOME GAMES REMAIN IN 2025; ONE OF TWO ALREADY SOLD OUT

Texas Tech announced on Sept. 30 that it sold out of its primary ticket inventory for the Nov. 8 contest versus BYU.
Single-game tickets remain available for purchase for the Red Raiders' season finale on Nov. 15 versus UCF.
All five games already played this season sold out of their primary ticket inventory as Texas Tech is on pace to set the school record for average home attendance, besting the 58,934 average set in 2014.
Tickets can be purchased online at TexasTech.com or by speaking to a ticket sales representative at 806-742-TECH.
Fans are encouraged to visit SeatGeek for tickets for games that the Texas Tech Athletics Department has previously announced as a sellout.
Texas Tech sold out of season tickets for the third consecutive season in early May as Red Raider fans purchased more than 33,000 season passes for the 2025 campaign.

BEHREN MORTON EXPECTED TO START VERSUS KANSAS STATE

Behren Morton is expected to return to his role as Texas Tech's starting quarterback Saturday versus the Wildcats. It will only be the second time in Morton's career that he's faced Kansas State and the first time to do so on the road.
Morton, who did not play as a redshirt freshman in Texas Tech's visit to Manhattan in 2022, departed the 2023 contest at halftime due to injury, finishing 14-of-21 overall with 125 yards, while rushing six times for eight yards and a score.

PUT J-ROD ON YOUR BALLOT

Jacob Rodriguez should be on every national ballot this year as not only one of the nation's top linebackers but also one of the top players in general.
The leader for one of the nation's top defenses, Rodriguez the second-highest graded defensive player in college football, according to Pro Football Focus, as his 92.7 grade trails only Miami's Rueben Bain Jr. (94.7).
Rodriguez enters this week with a share of the FBS lead with five forced fumbles, including one he forced and later returned 69 yards for a touchdown last Saturday in the win over Oklahoma State.

ULTIMATE GOAL: GET TO ARLINGTON

Texas Tech began this season with the ultimate goal of finding its way to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, the site of the Big 12 Championship game. That goal is still very much in reach as the Red Raiders are tied for third in the Big 12 standings at 4-1 overall. Texas Tech is now one of four Big 12 programs at 4-1 or better in Big 12 play, joining unbeaten BYU (5-0), Cincinnati (5-0), and then Houston (4-1).
The Red Raiders will be searching for only their third 5-1 start to Big 12 play since joining the conference in 1996. Texas Tech previously put together 5-1 starts in 2005 and 2008, ultimately finishing with Cotton Bowl appearances both years.

WHERE TEXAS TECH'S START RANKS

Texas Tech will be looking to improve to 8-1 on the season with a win over Kansas State. It would mark the 12th time in school history the Red Raiders have opened a season with an 8-1 record or better and the first time since their memorable 2008 campaign.
Texas Tech has only started five seasons since joining the Southwest Conference in 1960 with an 8-1 record as the Red Raiders previously did so twice under Mike Leach in 2005 (8-1) and 2008 (9-0) as well as under JT King in 1965 (8-1), 1973 under Jim Carlen (8-1) and 1976 under Steve Sloan (1976). Texas Tech captured at least a share of a conference title in two of those seasons as the SWC co-champion in 1976 and the Co-Big 12 South Division champion in 2008.
Texas Tech's current 7-1 start to its season marks its best record through eight games since the Red Raiders had a similar mark during the 2013 season. The Red Raiders proceeded to lose their ninth game of the season that year, falling to No. 12 Oklahoma State, 52-34, at home.

NUMBERS TO KNOW

2: Texas Tech has allowed only two explosive rushing attempts of 20-plus yards by an opponent all season, making the Red Raiders one of only eight FBS teams to do so.
6: Texas Tech has held opponents under 300 yards of total offense six times this season (6-0) after having done so only five times in Joey McGuire's first three years.
30: Teams with Shiel Wood as its defensive coordinator are a combined 30-1 when scoring at least 30 points since he was promoted at Army in 2021.
57: Texas Tech enters this weekend ranked third in the FBS with 57 offensive plays from scrimmage that have gone for 20 or more yards, including 39 through the air.
61: Texas Tech has scored 61 points off takeaways so far this season, which is the most in the Big 12 and the fifth-most in the FBS.

INSIDE THE SERIES

Texas Tech will look to reverse its recent fortunes against Kansas State next weekend as the Red Raiders are riding an eight-game losing streak to the Wildcats. It is the longest winning streak by either team in the series as Kansas State is 15-9 all-time in the series after winning 12 of the last 13 contests overall.
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 not won in Manhattan since the 2008 season when the Red Raiders downed K-State, 58-28. Kansas State has won six-consecutive games in the Little Apple.
DeAndre Washington rushed for a career-high 248 yards and three touchdowns in a 59-44 victory in the 2015 victory over the Wildcats as he became the first Red Raider to rush for at least 200 yards in a game at the time since Shaud Williams did so against Colorado in 1999. Patrick Mahomes II also threw for 248 yards and three touchdowns in that win.
The Red Raiders have gone down to the wire against Kansas State over the course of the eight-game losing streak as six of those losses have been determined by 10 points or less with four of them being one-possession games. Texas Tech is only 1-6 all-time in games determined by eight points or less versus the Wildcats with its lone win coming in the first-ever meeting between the two schools, a 6-0 victory in 1933.
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

On the opposite sideline, the Kansas State staff features former Texas Tech head coach Matt Wells, who is in his second year with the Wildcats and his first as offensive coordinator. This will be the second time Wells has faced the Red Raiders since departing as Texas Tech's head coach during the 2021 season. He was previously in the role of advisor to the head coach when Oklahoma traveled to Lubbock for its final regular-season contest as a Big 12 member in 2022. Texas Tech won that game, 51-48, in overtime. Wells was the 16th head coach in school history, finishing 13-17 overall over the course of the 2019-21 seasons. The Kansas State staff also features Luke Wells as tight ends coach, who served in a similar capacity with the Red Raiders during that same time span.
The lone other 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.
On the K-State roster, the Wildcats have one former Red Raider in senior wide receiver Jerand Bradley, who spent three seasons at Texas Tech (2021-23) before transferring to Boston College following the 2023 season. He arrived at Kansas State prior to this season. Bradley combined to catch 92 passes for 1,274 yards and 10 touchdowns over his Red Raider career with the bulk of that total coming as a redshirt freshman in 2022. Bradley led the Red Raiders in receiving that season after hauling in 51 passes for 744 yards and six touchdowns en route to earning honorable mention All-Big 12 accolades and second team Freshman All-America honors.
Texas Tech Director of Athletics Kirby Hocutt was a four-year letterman 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.

- TECH -

No. 13 Texas Tech preps for tough road test at Kansas State

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Behren Morton

Jacob Rodriguez

Texas Tech University Athletics

No. 13 Texas Tech preps for tough road test at Kansas State

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Behren Morton

Jacob Rodriguez

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