Texas Tech football: Texas Tech vs Baylor, Winners and Losers

The Texas Tech football team and Baylor are set to square off this upcoming Saturday night in Lubbock. Baylor leads the all-time series 40-39-1 and will be looking for their fifth win of the season. We all know the history of Joey McGuire and Baylor so let’s get right to the meat and potatoes.

Breaking down Baylor

Baylor has yet to live up to the preseason hype after winning the Big 12 and being favorites going into this season. The Bears started the season as hot as you could be against Albany dropping 69 points and only giving up 10.

The next week they would fall on the road against BYU. The following week Baylor would play Texas State at home which held no match for the Bears. In week 4 Baylor would open up conference play against Iowa State in Ames. Iowa State managed to stay in the game and mounted a fourth-quarter comeback. However, the Cyclones would fall short as Baylor held on to win 31-24.

Baylor would then go on to lose two back-to-back games against Oklahoma State and West Virginia, with WVU being on the road. Last week Baylor hosted Kansas for homecoming. The Bears looked very solid in the first half holding KU to only 3 points while putting up 28.

The second half was a different story. Kansas came out of the half strong and put up 20 points on Baylor. The Bears would hold off on homecoming to win 35-23. Now, Baylor will be looking for their third conference win this weekend against Texas Tech and their first win at The Jones in over 30 years.

Texas Tech

As to tradition, Texas Tech has been a team riddled with injuries. The most highlighted injury is Oregon transfer, Tyler Shough. This marks Shough’s second collarbone injury in two seasons.  Shough, who has missed the last six games has been cleared as of Monday morning per Joey McGuire.

"“Tyler got cleared this morning so I’ll have Tyler Shough back.”"

Shough being back poses a tough decision for first-year coach Joey McGuire. Will he start Behren Morton who beat WVU in style and put up a fight the week before against #7 OSU in Stillwater?

Or will he go with veteran Tyler Shough who was the starter going into the season? Donovan Smith will also play a factor in this game behind center.

Smith is credited for winning two top-25 games while having the starting role. Smith was able to beat Texas and future Big 12 member Houston earlier in the season. All three quarterbacks have shown the capability of winning games.

The question is… who gets the start?  This question will have a major factor in Saturday night’s game. All three quarterbacks pose different threats to an opposing defense. This can be a good thing if the coaches utilize it correctly. The Red Raiders will also be looking for their third conference win this weekend.

Why Baylor Will Win

Dave Aranda will not let former associate head coach Joey McGuire beat Baylor in his first year at Texas Tech. Shapen will have to throw the ball in order to keep up with Zach Kittley’s offense.

However, The Bears will still stick to their game of running the football down their opponent’s throat. This will also help to give their defense a breather from Tech’s high-octane offense.

With a breather provided by the run game, the defense will step up and make a key turnover at some point during this game. Sophomore Blake Shapen will do just enough in the passing game to beat Texas Tech at home marking Baylor’s first win in Lubbock in over 30 years.

Why Baylor Will Lose

Baylor has not yet shown they are a Big 12 contender this season. They will either have to face Behren Morton, Big 12 Newcomer of the week or Tyler Shough who is out to light the world on fire after being sidelined with an injury for two seasons.

Baylor will also have to prepare for Donovan Smith as he will probably come in for certain packages. The game is sold out and will be Baylor’s largest opposing crowd so far this season. It is also worth a mention Tech is undefeated at home. Baylor has struggled on the road and has not won in Lubbock in over three decades.

Why Texas Tech Will Win

Texas Tech is coming off a bye week and a stomping of West Virginia 48-10. The Red Raiders have found their future quarterback, Behren Morton during the last two games.

Regardless of Shough or Morton getting the start, The Red Raiders will wear out Baylor’s defense and put up enough points to win the game. Both teams have the same record, however, Tech has had by far the toughest schedule in the Big 12. Five of their first six games were top 25 teams.

Patrick Mahomes will also be at the game getting inducted into the Texas Tech Ring of Honor. The stadium will be electric and Texas Tech will stay undefeated at home.

Why Texas Tech Will Lose

Texas Tech can not seem to stay healthy. With a poor offensive line the quarterbacks take too many sacks and are forced to throw the ball quick. Texas Tech will have three options at quarterback going into this game. This decision will play a factor in the turnout of Saturday’s game.

Tech’s defense will not be able to replicate the same results they had against WVU when they forced four turnovers. Baylor will do enough on offense to win in Lubbock this weekend bringing an end to their Lubbock Blues.