Big 12 Football: Week 2 Power Rankings

7. Texas Tech Red Raiders

Texas Tech might have beat the Arizona State Sun Devils soundly in the 2014 Holiday Bowl in San Diego, Calif., however, the rematch against ASU in Tempe, Ariz. was a different story. Despite a 55-68 loss for the Red Raiders, Pat Mahomes and the offense were up to its usual high-flying selves, and despite the score differential, the team as a whole didn’t look gassed, even in the heat. That’s a huge credit to the strength and conditioning staff–whose mission this offseason was to get the team ready to give it 120 percent through all four quarters, and beyond.

ASU head coach Todd Graham said in Monday’s press conference that defensive backs ran for about four miles on Saturday covering the Air Raid.

With that much offense, Mahomes is definitely on a lot of Heisman radars, and his numbers are self-explanatory as to why: 68/96 for 1,023-yards, nine touchdowns, and two interceptions in the air, and 21 carries for 101-yards, and three touchdowns rushing.

An all-too-familiar red flag for Texas Tech lies within the defense, which is unfortunate because given how much faith has been placed in second-year defensive coordinator David Gibbs, defensive issues shouldn’t be this problematic–especially given what his units accomplished at Houston.

Penalties were also an issue (again) on Saturday, so all things considered, I hope to see all business from Tech from here on out, but it’s college football, so the needle could move either way.

Next Game:

Next: 6. TCU Horned Frogs