Big 12 Football: Week 11 Power Rankings

9. Texas Tech Red Raiders (Record: 4-7)

I tried warning people that Iowa State wasn’t a team to take lightly, however, most of my sentiments were met with a dull response. Had some favorable calls or plays gone in the Cyclones’ favor this season, they would be looking at a much different record. This was the similar case made for Texas Tech, but for some reason, the Red Raiders suffered a complete collapse on Saturday in Ames.

Whether the coaches or players simply didn’t respect Iowa State the way they should have, or people took naps in film study, Texas Tech arguably played its worst football game in program history.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes has dominated Big 12 records and statistics this season, but was only able to connect on 18 of 36 passes, for 219 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. Texas Tech has tried opening the run game, but against a tenacious Iowa State defense, was only able to amass 84 yards on the ground through 30 carries.

When asked about the loss in the post game press conference, Kingsbury said, “All I can do is apologize. It’s very disappointing.” Kingsbury went on to say, “The program is disappointed. The players, the coaches. It’s not acceptable to play like that, and represent the university that way.”

Texas Tech had to win out to become bowl eligible, but with that out of the picture, job security is definitely the issue. While problems with injuries continued to plague the Red Raiders this season, there’s a lot of fan apathy to the situation. Unfortunately, there’s been a very vocal contingent to counter that demanding Kingsbury to be fired. It looks to be a weekly decision, but this could go either way depending on the outcome of Baylor. With a lot on the line for the Red Raiders, if the players care one iota about saving its staff from further embarrassment, it has to play like this is its bowl game.

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