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Texas Tech Football: Red Raiders face Baylor for bowl eligibility

By Zach Bigalke

LUBBOCK, TX - NOVEMBER 11: Tre King #24 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders looks for running room during the game against the Baylor Bears on November 11, 2017 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Texas Tech defeated Baylor 38-24. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TX - NOVEMBER 11: Tre King #24 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders looks for running room during the game against the Baylor Bears on November 11, 2017 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Texas Tech defeated Baylor 38-24. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /
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Bowl eligibility is on the line for both Texas Tech football and Baylor when they meet up at AT&T Stadium. Which team will book a trip to the postseason?

The end of the year is always a mad scramble to jockey for bowl position and, for some teams, to secure those last necessary wins to become eligible for postseason play. In the Big 12, the final weekend of the regular season features one such game where both teams are vying to get their sixth win. Baylor and Texas Tech face off against one another in a neutral-site game at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, with the winner going bowling and the loser going home.

Baylor opened the season 3-1, but once Big 12 play hit the Bears struggled to keep on a consistent winning streak. Charlie Brewer continues to develop at quarterback, and the sophomore has his hot days and his cold days. Baylor has generally been an undisciplined team this season, as they rank outside the top 100 in penalties incurred. An upset of Oklahoma State opened the door to get six wins, but the Bears have only one more chance to go.

Texas Tech is in a similar boat. The Red Raiders also started the year 3-1, and as they entered the final weekend of October they needed just one more victory to become bowl eligible. Instead, Kliff Kingsbury’s team has lost four in a row and is now in danger of missing the postseason entirely after such a hot start. They have matched one of the country’s best passing attacks with one of the worst secondaries in the FBS.

It could be a sloppy affair dominated by offense when the Bears and the Red Raiders duel on Here’s how you can watch the Saturday contest between Baylor and Texas Tech:

Date: Saturday, Nov. 24
Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
Location: Arlington, Texas
Venue: AT&T Stadium
TV: FS1
Live Stream: FOX Sports Go | FuboTV

Keys to Victory

Protection at the line of scrimmage has been an issue all season long for Baylor. To have a shot at beating Texas Tech at Jerry World, the Bears need to do a better job at the line of scrimmage both of protecting Brewer under center as well as opening holes for John Lovett and the other Baylor running backs. Generating turnovers is also going to be critical for a defense that has struggled to take away the ball throughout the season.

As bad as Baylor is at keeping their wits about them, Texas Tech actually takes even more penalties and loses more yardage to infractions. They need to cut back significantly on their penalties to stem the four-game losing streak. Getting good play from whichever quarterback manages to go for an injury-plagued roster is a prerequisite to any victory bid on neutral turf.

Betting Odds

Odds courtesy of oddsshark.com

Point Spread: Texas Tech -6.5
Over/Under: 65

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Prediction

Texas Tech is nearly a one-touchdown favorite against Baylor, which might be too high in a game where neither team is great at playing effective defense. Penalties, more than the opposing defenses, will work to kill several drives for both sides. In the end, though, the winner will be the first to get to 40 points.

Final Score: Texas Tech 41, Baylor 38

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