How to watch Texas Tech vs. Baylor: Broadcast info, game notes, more

The Texas Tech football team is currently rewriting one of the narratives of the Joey McGuire era. For the first two years of the current head coach's tenure, the Red Raiders struggled early in the season going just 7-7 overall in September and October.

This year, though, Tech sits at 5-1 in the middle of October and could earn the right to play in a bowl game by beating Baylor in Lubbock on Saturday afternoon. Currently, the earliest that Tech has reached bowl eligibility in any calendar year under McGuire has been November 18.

Of course, the Red Raiders have bigger aspirations than just squeaking into a mid-tier or lower-level bowl game. Instead, Tech wants to play for the Big 12 Championship.

To accomplish that goal, McGuire's team can't afford to stumble this weekend. That's because after Saturday, three of the next four games will be road tests.

Like Tech, Baylor comes into this game after an open week. But it could be argued that the Bears are the more desperate team.

Having dropped their first three conference games, they are looking to prevent a four-game losing streak. Additionally, their head coach, Dave Aranda, is on the hot seat in Waco.

On the other hand, it could be argued that the Bears have little to play for other than pride. Just 2-4 on the season, they have yet to defeat a team from a power conference.

Still, the Red Raiders enter this game as the hunted by virtue of their 5-1 start to the season and their 3-0 record in Big 12 action. Since Baylor won five games in a row in this series from 2011-15, these two programs have split the last eight games.

What's more, three of the last five games in the series have been decided by one score. Thus, Red Raider fans should be ready for another nail-biter this weekend.

Texas Tech vs. Baylor broadcast information

Kickoff: 3 p.m. Central

TV:
ESPN2
Play-by-Play: Beth Mowins
Analyst: Rod Gilmore
Sideline Reporter: Lauren Sisler

Radio:
97.3 FM in Lubbock and across the Texas Tech Radio Network
Play-by-Play: Brian Jensen
Analyst: John Harris
Sideline Reporter: Chris Level
SiriusXM (local): Channel 160 or 199
Mobile App: Varsity Network (Texas Tech)

Texas Tech vs. Baylor series history

Texas Tech all-time record: 40-41-1
First meeting: Baylor 34 - Texas Tech 0 in 1929 (Waco, Texas)
Most recent meeting: Texas Tech 39 - Baylor 14 in 2023 (Waco, Texas)

Texas Tech vs. Baylor weather forecast

High: 69
Low: 58
Skies: Partly to mostly cloudy
Rain: 40%
Humidity: 83%
Winds: SSE 15-25 MPH

Texas Tech vs. Baylor game notes

All game notes courtesy of TexasTech.com.

• This will be the 13th time in program history Texas Tech has welcomed Baylor as its Homecoming opponent as the Red Raiders are 7-5 in those games with wins in each of the last three meetings.

• Tickets are already sold out for Saturday’s afternoon kick against the Bears, marking Texas Tech’s fourth advanced sellout this season. The home-field advantage has been noticeable for the Red Raiders, who are a perfect 4-0 at home this season and an impressive 14-3 under head coach Joey McGuire. The Red Raiders enter this weekend riding a six-game home winning streak, the longest since Texas Tech won a school record 12 consecutive games inside Jones AT&T Stadium over the course of the 2007-09 seasons.

• Texas Tech has won each of its last seven contests determined by eight or fewer points as the Red Raiders are 11-3 in one-possession games under Joey McGuire after topping Arizona prior to their open date.

• The Red Raiders are 19-9 against the Bears since the two schools joined the Big 12 as charter members.

• Texas Tech currently has 12 coaches or support staff members who are either Baylor graduates or previously worked for the Bears at one point. That list consists of three members of the coaching staff in assistant head coach and wide receivers coach Justin Johnson (running backs coach 2020-22), inside linebackers coach Josh Bookbinder (Baylor ‘09, student assistant 2007-08, defensive quality control 2019-21) and tight ends coach Josh Cochran (graduate assistant 2017-18, quality control 2019). Bookbinder and Cochran were both charter members of McGuire’s first staff at Texas Tech in 2022, while Johnson joined prior to the 2023 season following three seasons as the running backs coach with the Bears.

• Tahj Brooks will be facing the Bears for the fifth time in his career Saturday as the senior has combined for 356 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 75 carries over his career. Brooks rushed for a then career-high 170 yards versus the Bears a year ago off 31 carries to lead the Texas Tech offense. He had 98 yards on the ground via 16 carries in the 2022 matchup between the two schools as well as 40 yards and a touchdown in 2021 and 48 yards and two touchdowns in 2020. Brooks recorded his first career multi-touchdown game of his career in that 2020 victory over the Bears.

• This will be Behren Morton’s third career start versus the Bears as he is a combined 30-for-60 for 332 yards and four touchdowns the past two seasons. He has also rushed for two of his seven career rushing touchdowns against the Bears. Morton was particularly efficient against the Bears a year ago, completing 19-of-26 passes for 180 yards and three touchdowns in the rout.

• Texas Tech will be searching for only its third 4-0 start to Big 12 play in history Saturday when the Red Raiders host Baylor. Texas Tech previously began its Big 12 slate with four consecutive victories in both 2008 and 2013, finishing with at least eight wins in each of those two seasons.