AthlonSports digs in on their preview of Texas Tech and they’ve got Texas Tech pegged as the No. 64 team in the nation for 2017 and 9th in the Big 12. Here’s the big about the defense:

David Gibbs enters Year 3 of his tenure as defensive coordinator, the first man to achieve such longevity at Texas Tech since 2009. He has nowhere to go but up, as the Raiders finished last in the nation in both total defense and scoring defense.

There are signs of hope, though. Linebacker Jordyn Brooks recorded 86 tackles (5.0 for a loss) last year as a freshman, and he will be joined by Dakota Allen, one of Texas Tech’s leading tacklers in 2015 who spent 2016 in the junior college ranks. The linebacking corps should be considered the strength of the defense.

Additionally, AthlonSports has their full Big 12 predictions up and Texas Tech didn’t receive any of the top five Big 12 best position units (i.e. RB, WR, OL, etc.) and they think the Red Raiders finish 5-7 on the year. All three of their experts predicted that Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury is the coach on the hot seat:

At Texas Tech, coach Kliff Kingsbury sits squarely on the hot seat after a 5-7 record last fall. Even with quarterback Patrick Mahomes leaving early for the NFL, the Red Raiders should be dynamic on offense once again. New quarterback Nic Shimonek is a good fit for Kingsbury’s scheme, and there’s no shortage of receivers. But any hopes of a bowl or saving Kingsbury’s job likely rests with the defense. This unit gave up 43.5 points a game last fall and has significant concerns up front and in the secondary.

This somewhat falls in line with what Vegas has predicted as well. The Vegas odds have Texas Tech pegged at either 4.5 or 6 wins, depending on who you believe.  This has seemingly been one of those things where the spring and summer are supposed to spring some hope about the upcoming year, despite all of the negative things that are written, but this year it feels a bit different. I feel a bit beat up with everything happening. The biggest cure for all of this is probably winning. I often wonder how well David Gibbs and Kingsbury sleep at night knowing that it is likely that their jobs are on the line. There are other times that I feel like that the expectations are similar to what they were in 2008, but in a completely opposite manner. I had a tremendous anxiety for 2008 for what I thought the season could be and I feel somewhat the same way. Win and all of this goes away.