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Texas Tech football: Reasons to be optimistic about WVU game

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - OCTOBER 05: Quarterback Jett Duffey #7 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders passes the ball during the first half of the college football game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Oklahoma State Cowboys on October 05, 2019 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS - OCTOBER 05: Quarterback Jett Duffey #7 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders passes the ball during the first half of the college football game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Oklahoma State Cowboys on October 05, 2019 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Adrian Garcia/Getty Images)
(Photo by Adrian Garcia/Getty Images) /

The Mountaineers are not a good team either

Yes, Tech is coming off a loss to an awful Kansas team.  Yes, Tech is in last place in the Big 12.  Still, this is a game the Red Raiders can win because West Virginia is not any better than the Red Raiders on paper.

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The best win the Mountaineers have secured thus far in 2019 was a 44-27 win over an NC State team that is currently 4-4 on the season.  While that road win was impressive, keep in mind that three of the Wolfpack’s wins have come against non-Power 5 teams and the fourth came against a Syracuse team that sits at just 3-6 right now.

Some look at the fact that WVU managed to come out of Lawrence with a 29-24 win to open Big 12 play as a reason to think that Tech is doomed this week.  However, since that game, the Mountaineers are 0-4 with three of those losses coming by double-digits.

It is on offense where Neal Brown’s team has been struggling.  Averaging just 21.6 points per game, WVU is last in the Big 12 in scoring and their 302 yards of offense per game are also the fewest of any team in the league.

Also working in Tech’s favor is the fact that DC Keith Patterson might be able to give extra help to his ailing secondary because West Virginia simply can’t run the ball.  Averaging just 78.9 yards per game on the ground, they rank 128th out of 130 teams in the nation.

Therefore, Tech should be able to defend the run without committing extra men to the box.  That should give the defensive staff options on how to best fortify one of the nation’s worst pass defenses and could help the Red Raiders come out with a win.

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