Game Details
Good Guys: Texas Tech Red Raiders (4-2, 1-2)
Bad Guys: Iowa State Cyclones (4-2, 2-1)
When: Saturday, October 21st at 11:00 a.m.
Where: Jones AT&T Stadium; Lubbock, Texas
TV/Stream: FS1 (FOX Sports Go)
Radio/Stream: 97.3 FM | Affiliates | TuneIn App
Weather:
What Happened Last Week
| Player: | David Montgomery |
| Position: | Running Back |
| Ht/Wt: | 5-11/219 |
| Year: | Sophomore |
| Key Stats: | 478 rushing yards; 8 touchdowns; 4.64 yards per carry; 17.17 attempts per game; 79.67 yards per game; 21 receptions; 204 receiving yards; 9.71 yards per catch |
| Player: | Allen Lazard |
| Position: | Wide Receiver |
| Ht/Wt: | 6-5/222 |
| Year: | Senior |
| Key Stats: | 30 receptions; 350 yards; 11.67 yards per catch; 4 touchdowns; 5 receptions per game; 58.3 receiving yards per game |
Iowa State absolutely throttled Kansas, at home in Ames to a tune of 45-0. This game really wasn’t even close from the beginning and the funny thing is that Iowa state only had 318 yards of total offense (yet still scored 45). That’s a pretty neat trick. Iowa State is essentially in a spot similar to Texas Tech, although the Cyclones aready have two conference wins, against Oklahoma and against Kansas. They did drop a Thursday night affair to Texas.
Meanwhile, Texas Tech was dropped in Morgantown by 11, 46-35 after a great first half, the Texas Tech offense faded and the defense gave up a ton of points. there was really no flow for Texas Tech in the second half in any way shape or form.
Why This Game Is Important
Texas Tech needs this game in a desperate way if they want to get to 7 or 8 wins. Heck, the same could be said for Iowa State too and I’m sure they feel the same way. Both teams probably feel the pressure to win this game. This really is a situation where both teams are attempting to stay out of the cellar and this could be quite determinative of that situation.
What to Know About Iowa State
| Player: | Joe Lanning |
| Position: | Linebacker |
| Ht/Wt: | 6-2/230 |
| Year: | Senior |
| Key Stats: | 18 rushing attempts; 70 rushing yards; 3.89 yards per attempt; 64 tackles; 2.5 sacks; 6.0 tackles for a loss; 1 interception |
| Player: | J.D. Waggoner |
| Position: | Defensive End |
| Ht/Wt: | 6-3/248 |
| Year: | Senior |
| Key Stats: | 20 tackles; 5 tackles for loss; 1.5 sacks; 2 quarterback hurries; 1 forced fumble |
The biggest question will be who plays and starts at quarterback. The safest guess would be that senior Kyle Kempt (6-5/210) gets teh start and is then supplemented by throwback linebacker / quarterback Joel Lanning (6-2/230) who is essentially a running back but playing quarterback. Kempt hasn’t been great (he was great against Oklahoma), but he’s been very good for two games. For whatever reason, the combination of Kempt and Lanning has worked well enough to beat OU, in Norman and then to take care of business with Kansas.
At running back is the incredibly good David Montgomery (5-11/219) who has been fantastic running the ball, while Mike Warren (6-0/211), who absolutely gashed Texas Tech a few years ago, has a fourth of the carries and not nearly the success that Montgomery has had.
Maybe the best part of the Iowa State offense is the giant receivers, senior Allen Lazard (6-5/222) and Hakeem Butler (6-6/219) are obviously match-up problems for teams that have receivers that are around 6-0. The Cyclones do have small receivers, but truthfully, it’s about 4 guys that contribute, including Lazard and Butler. Seniors Trever Ryen (5-11/193) and Marchie Murdock (6-1/205) round out that top four and they’re okay, both averaging about 13 to 15 yards per catch.
Aside from being a leader on the offensive side of the, Lanning is the absolute leader on the defense, leading the team in tackles, while fellow linebacker Marcel Spears, Jr. is second on the team in tackles. Willie Harvey (6-0/222) rounds out the linebackers and this linebacking group is actually very good. they make a ton of plays, by far the most on the team in terms of havoc rate.
The defensive backs appear to make a ton of plays and the Cyclones seem to run a ton of them out there. Of top 10 tacklers on the team, 6 of them are defensive backs, led by Reggie Wilderson (5-11/180) and Brian Peavy (5-9/190), most likely at cornerback, but I really don’t know. Evrett Edwards (6-0/188), Kamari Cotton-Moya (6-2/198), D’Andre Payne (5-10/180) and De’Monte Ruth (5-10)/170) round out that top six.
The defensive line is led by defensive ends J.D. Waggoner (6-2/248) and JaQuan Bailey (6-2/260), while Ray Lima (6-3/306) is most likely the nosebackle that anchors the whole thing and Vernell Trent (6-3/282) is probably at a defensive tackle.
The Early Line
Via OddsShark, Texas Tech is an early 5 point favorite, which means that the Red Raiders are getting three for being at home and Vegas initially thinks that Texas Tech is just 2 points better. And as of this morning, the line has moved to -6.