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Big 12 Football Preview: Texas Tech Hosts Kansas State with Bowl Eligibility Within Reach

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Texas Tech returns home with its 5-2 record, and sights set on bowl eligibility as Kansas State travels to town for an 11 a.m. showdown at Jones AT&T Stadium. This weekend marks Family Weekend at Texas Tech, a tradition since 1936.

Television coverage will be provided by FS1 with Tim Brando behind the mic alongside his longtime analyst Spencer Tillman.

INSIDE THE SERIES

  • Texas Tech and Kansas State will meet for the 22nd time Saturday in a back-and-forth series that currently has the Wildcats at a 12-9 all-time advantage. The Wildcats enter this weekend having won nine of the past 10 meetings, including a 31-21 victory last season in Manhattan. The Red Raiders had won five-consecutive games against K-State before the Wildcats' string of success began in 2011. 
  • The Red Raiders' lone win during that eight-year stretch came in 2015 when DeAndre Washington rushed for a career-high 248 yards and three touchdowns in a 59-44 victory in Lubbock. Washington became the first Red Raider to rush for at least 200 yards since Shaud Williams did so against Colorado in 1999 as it was the seventh-highest rushing total in school history. Patrick Mahomes also threw for 248 yards and three touchdowns in that win. 
  • Over the course of its current five-game losing streak against the Wildcats, Texas Tech has dropped three of those games by only one possession. The Red Raiders are 1-5 all-time in games determined by seven points or less versus the Wildcats. 
  • The two schools have only met three times outside of Big 12 play with the first coming in a 6-0 victory by the Red Raiders in 1933. The two schools also played in Lubbock during the 1963 and 1986 seasons, both Texas Tech victories.

TEXAS TECH-KANSAS STATE CONNECTIONS

  • Kansas State defensive tackles coach Mike Tuiasosopo was on staff at Utah State in 1996 during Matt Wells' final year as an Aggie student-athlete. That season was the first of four for Tuiasosopo as Utah State's defensive line coach where the Aggies claimed the Big West Conference title. 
  • Kansas State defensive ends coach Buddy Wyatt worked with Texas Tech defensive line coach Paul Randolph for three seasons at Alabama from 2003-05 where they both worked with the Crimson Tide defensive line. He left the Alabama staff prior to the 2007 season to take the same role at Nebraska where he worked under current Texas Tech linebackers coach Kevin Cosgrove, who was the Huskers' defensive coordinator at the time. 
  • Kansas State cornerbacks coach Van Malone has worked with a handful of the Texas Tech staff, including with Tommerdahl at Texas A&M from 2006-07 as well as Randolph and defensive coordinator Keith Patterson at Tulsa in 2010. Malone was the secondary coach at both stops as he eventually worked under Patterson for one season when he was the co-defensive coordinator. Randolph was also on that Tulsa staff as the executive senior associate head coach and co-defensive coordinator in charge of the defensive line. 
  • Texas Tech outside receivers coach Joel Filani put together possibly the best game of his playing career versus Kansas State in 2005 as the then-junior hauled in 10 catches for a single-game school record 255 receiving yards in a 59-20 rout. Filani's single-game record was later snapped in 2018 when Antoine Welsey totaled 261 yards through the air against Houston. 
  • Texas Tech Director of Athletics Kirby Hocutt was a four-year letterman at linebacker at Kansas State where he led the Big 8 Conference in tackles as a junior in 1993. Hocutt, who was elected captain his senior year under legendary K-State head coach Bill Snyder, was named to the All-Big 8 Conference team following his junior season. The Sporting News selected him in 1993 as one of the nation's top-20 "most underrated" players. He earned his degree in political science from Kansas State in 1995. 

BOWL ELIGIBILITY IN REACH FOR RED RAIDERS

  • The Red Raiders will look to secure bowl eligibility for the first time since 2017 Saturday against Kansas State. The Red Raiders, one of the most frequent bowl participants in college football history, are looking to avoid their first four-year bowl absence since staying home from postseason play over eight consecutive seasons from 1978-85. This is currently the longest Texas Tech has gone without a bowl season since missing the postseason from 1990-92. 
  • A victory over Kansas State would improve the Red Raiders to 6-2 overall, marking their best start to a season since 2013 when Texas Tech was 7-1 through eight games. It would mark the seventh time in the Big 12 era where Texas Tech has started a season at 6-2 overall or better as the Red Raiders had similar starts in 1998 (6-2), 2005 (7-1), 2007 (6-2), 2008 (8-0), 2012 (6-2) and 2013 (7-1). The Red Raiders finished with eight or more wins in five of those six seasons previously. 
  • This is the 14th time during the Big 12 era where the Red Raiders have started a season at 5-2 overall. Of the previous 13 occasions, Texas Tech has reached a bowl game in 11 of those seasons with the two exceptions coming in 2011 and 2018. 
  • Texas Tech entered this season ranked tied for 21st all-time with 38 career bowl appearances, matching the totals of fellow Big 12 member TCU as well as Ole Miss, BYU and Notre Dame. The Red Raiders are tied for third among current Big 12 members for bowl appearances, trailing only Texas (57) and Oklahoma (54).

RANDOM TIDBITS HEADING INTO KANSAS STATE GAME

  • The win over Kansas marked Texas Tech's third on the road, or at a neutral site this season. Its most in a season since 2017 when the Red Raiders headed home with victories over Houston, Kansas, Baylor (AT&T Stadium - Arlington) and Texas. The Red Raiders only have two remaining road games at Oklahoma (Oct. 30) and at Baylor (Nov. 27) to close the season. 
  • Both of Texas Tech's conference wins this season have come on the road as the Red Raiders traveled to top both West Virginia and Kansas in recent weeks. It marks the first time Tech has secured back-to-back Big 12 road wins since 2018 when the Red Raiders opened their league slate with a 41-17 rout of No. 15 Oklahoma State and then followed with a 17-14 victory at TCU. Tech has not won three-straight Big 12 road games since 2008 when the Red Raiders topped Kansas State, Texas A&M and Kansas. 
  • The injury bug has plagued the Red Raiders in recent weeks as 14 members of Texas Tech's two-deep have missed a game over the last three weeks, a list that includes two of its three All-Big 12 preseason selections in wide receiver Erik Ezukanma (WVU) and center Dawson Deaton (WVU, KU). Tech has also missed DaMarcus Fields (WVU), Tyler Shough (all three games), Adrian Frye (KU), Tony Bradford Jr. (KU), Marquis Waters (out for season), Malik Dunlap (WVU, TCU), J.J. Sparkman (all three games), T.J. Storment (KU), Reggie Pearson Jr. (TCU), Kosi Eldridge (TCU, KU), Troy Te'o (KU) and Tahj Brooks (all three games) during that stretch. 
  • This is only the fourth time in the Big 12 era where Texas Tech has faced the two Sunflower State schools in Kansas and Kansas in back-to-back weeks. The Red Raiders previously did so in 2000, 2001 and 2016, splitting the two games in each of those three years. 
  • Texas Tech enters this weekend with a 42-17 record against unranked conference opponents at home during the Big 12 era. 
  • Matt Wells is an impressive 36-15 over his career in home games (.706 winning percentage) after going 27-7 over his season seasons at Utah State and then 9-6 so far during his Texas Tech tenure. The Red Raiders were 4-2 at home a year ago, marking its first winning season at home since 2015.