Big Challenge. LAJ’s Krista Pirtle writes that head coach Dana Holgorsen says that Texas Tech will be a big challenge for the West Virginia defense this year:

“It’s a big challenge for our defense,” Holgorsen said. “It’s a big challenge for our defensive coaches to get a game plan together to be able to slow them down. You’re not going to be able to stop them. You’ve got to slow them down and create some stops when you can.”

Big 12 Stands Behind Johnson Hit. LAJ’s Don Williams writes that the Big 12 is standing behind the hit from S Jah’Shawn Johnson that caused him to be ejected:

“The specific rule reference for the targeting call is 9-1-4,” Big 12 associate commissioner Bob Burda wrote Tuesday in an email to A-J Media. “The category is Striking a Defenseless player by targeting and making forcible contact. Simply put, his strike zone was too high. The same hit had the defender’s head made contact at the chest area would not have been a foul.”

At the end of the article, Williams brings up whether or not officials should have to sit out a game when they are residents of the town where they are officiating, bringing up Randy Christal in Austin and Williams notes that an official named Deterding, who resides in Lubbock, is the one that threw the flag on Johnson and was also the line judge in the 2005 Texas Tech / Oklahoma game.

Roomies. The Post-Gazette has the full transcript from West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen’s press conference and talks about being roommates with Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury when they were in Houston:

On what he remembers about Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury as a roommate
Nothing really. I never saw him. I stayed up late, and he went to bed early. He always got up real early, and I always pushed the limit on when I had to get up. He actually had a room. There was no couch. I would go in one way, and he would go in the other way. We never saw each other. He’s a hard worker and a good football coach. He’s a good guy.

On how his relationship started with Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury
He was a great player, and this story has been told multiple times. He was at that transition where he was deciding if he wanted to keep playing, or if he wanted to try and coach. He was at that point where he would have liked to kept playing, but his options were starting to run out. I always knew he was going to be a good coach. His dad was a coach. He was a quarterback, so he’s a smart guy. He was searching for something to do, and I told him to come on down to Houston. He was able to go up to UH and work out every day, and he was able to see if the coaching thing was something he wanted to do. Coach (Kevin) Sumlin really liked him, so he hired him as a quality control guy. Then when I left, he pretty much took over.

Holgorsen also opines on the Texas Tech offense:

Everything starts with their quarterback. (Sophomore quarterback Patrick) Mahomes is big, tall and athletic. He is dual threat guy. He does a great job of extending the play, running around, keeping his eyes down field and throwing it down field to create plays. I never seen it happen at this rate. They are really good at extending plays. The receivers keep the plays alive and the quarterback is accurate on the run. They are averaging a bunch of yards in the pass game. They are trying to run the ball a little bit more than they have in the past. I really think that (senior running back) DeAndre Washington is a very capable back. He is one of the better backs that we have seen all year. He’s averaging more than a 100 yards a game, and he is capable of some big plays. They have been giving it to him more than I have seen (Texas Tech head coach) Kliff (Kingsbury) give it to a back. They are going to try and run the ball. You can’t just drop nine and expect to be successful against them. You have to stop the run, and you have to contain the quarterback.

Crabtree’s Big Year. Via the AP, a good article on former Texas Tech footballer Michael Crabtree and his terrific season that he’s having in Oakland (thinking that maybe part of the problem in San Francisco was quarterback related):

Crabtree has tied or led the Raiders in receptions in five of the team’s seven games this season. He’s on pace to finish with a career high in catches and match the 1,105 yards receiving he put up with the 49ers in 2012.

“I just do what I have to do,” Crabtree said. “I let all the talk . they can just keep talking. But when you turn that film on, you can see some guys getting after it. All I know is go do what you’re supposed to do and the film will show it.”

Miscellaneous. SB Nation’s Bill Connelly has projected wins for the rest of the way for the Big 12 and it does appear that Texas Tech will be favored in the last two games . . . DMN’s Michael DuPont has a list of where some of the folks are predicting that Texas Tech will play for a bowl game . . . Campus Insiders’ Pete Fiutak previews the game and predicts a West Virginia win . . .