Wreck'Em Red
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Texas Tech football: Toss-up games that will be pivotal in 2021

By Matthew Conner

Nov 3, 2018; Lubbock, TX, USA; The Texas Tech Red Raiders Masked Rider enters the field before the game against the Oklahoma Sooners at Jones AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 3, 2018; Lubbock, TX, USA; The Texas Tech Red Raiders Masked Rider enters the field before the game against the Oklahoma Sooners at Jones AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 3, 2020; Manhattan, Kansas, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders running back SaRodorick Thompson (4) runs away from Kansas State Wildcats defensive tackle Eli Huggins (92) during a game at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 3, 2020; Manhattan, Kansas, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders running back SaRodorick Thompson (4) runs away from Kansas State Wildcats defensive tackle Eli Huggins (92) during a game at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports /

vs. Kansas State

Two weeks after facing TCU, the Red Raiders will face the Big 12’s other purple team, Kansas State, looking to end another frustrating losing streak.  The Red Raiders have now dropped five games in a row to the Wildcats, their longest losing streak in the series.

But this could be the year that the Red Raiders finally find a way to top the Cats.  If so, it would be a key in helping Wells turn the tide for the Red Raiders.

It feels as if Skyler Thompson has been around Manhattan since the George W. Bush administration and the QB will be back for a sixth season this fall.  He suffered a season-ending shoulder injury against Tech last year and that sent his team into a tailspin but he’s back to lead the way and though he’s never going to wow anyone with stats, the gritty veteran will find a way to make the Wildcats competitive nearly every week.

But the real star for KSU is sophomore RB Deuce Vaughn.  The pint-sized dynamo was one of the Big 12’s breakout stars last year as he ran for 642 yards and caught 25 passes for 434 more while finding the endzone nine times.

On defense, a quartet of transfers will help reinforce a defense that lost its best defensive lineman, two of its best linebackers, and its top corner.  Still, there could be some regression on that side of the football and Tech will look to exploit that.

The last time the Red Raiders beat Kansas State, it was the home finale of the 2015 season.  That night, DeAndre Washington accounted for 284 total yards and three TDs in his final game at Jones Stadium.

Perhaps another Red Raider will have a huge day against the Wildcats in 2021 to help put an end to this ugly losing streak.  KSU is a program that Tech should consider itself on par with and that’s what makes dropping five-straight to them so maddening.  Here’s hoping that ends this year and Tech finally solves the KSU puzzle on the way to a winning season.

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