K-State Wildcats vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders: Score prediction, kickoff time, line, TV
THE DETAILS
Kickoff: 11 a.m. Saturday
Where: Jones AT&T Stadium Stadium, Lubbock
TV: FS1
Radio: KKGQ (92.3 FM) in Wichita, KCSP (610 AM) in Kansas City
The line: Pick ‘em
PREDICTION
Many have asked about what has changed with the Kansas State football team since it started the season with three consecutive victories.
The Wildcats have lost three games since then and are currently at the bottom of the Big 12 standings. They are certainly searching for answers as they try to bounce back with a road win against Texas Tech on Saturday.
What do they need to do differently?
It’s not that hard of a question to answer. The differences have been obvious. K-State ran the ball effectively in early victories against Stanford, Southern Illinois and Nevada. That allowed them to control the clock, make opportunistic plays on defense and move at their own pace on offense.
K-State rushed for more than 200 yards in all three of those games with star running back Deuce Vaughn reaching the century mark every time. That production helped the defense play more aggressively and good results followed.
Since then? Well, the Wildcats have struggled to move the ball on the ground, committed early turnovers and played from behind. No wonder they lost to Oklahoma State, Oklahoma and Iowa State.
The good news for K-State is that Texas Tech doesn’t boast a strong defense. The Red Raiders are allowing 4.5 yards per rush, which should come as a welcome change of pace for the Wildcats after playing three straight stingy defensive lines. This is a game the Wildcats can control on the ground behind Joe Ervin and Vaughn.
Texas Tech has a potent offense, particularly when it throws the ball, but its defense has been porous at times against Big 12 competition. Texas beat the Red Raiders 70-35 while rushing for 336 yards and TCU beat them 52-31 while running for 394 yards.
Henry Colombi threw for more than 300 yards in both games, and the score still wasn’t close.
The Red Raiders can make things hard on the Wildcats by scoring early and forcing them to play catch up, but if K-State starts strong and runs the ball effectively it should win this game.
K-State 35, Texas Tech 28.
This story was originally published October 23, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "K-State Wildcats vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders: Score prediction, kickoff time, line, TV."