On the Pitch

Lubbock Avalanche Journal’s Nathan Giese has a terrific story on Macy Blackburn who is became the all-time assist leader for Texas Tech against Oklahoma State with her 28th assist on Sunday night. Blackburn spent years rehabbing injuries (she’s only played in 44 games in 4 years) and for her to come back and get that assist on Sunday was a big deal. Both her parents are Red Raiders and a very good read.

Texas Tech soccer returned to the Top-25 poll after an early season exit. Keep climbing.

On the X-C Course

Texas Tech announced that cross-country runner Edwin Kiprono was named the Big 12 Conference Runner of the Week. Kiprono ran 8k (which is about 5 miles) in 23:30.70. That’s insane.

On the Court

Media availability for Lady Raiders head coach Krista Gerlich.

NCAA’s Andy Katz with the top sophomores and TJ Toppin is at the top of the list:

Toppin, the 2024 Mountain West Freshman of the Year, transferred to Texas Tech after an impressive season at New Mexico. The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 12.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game while shooting 62.3% from the field. Known for his physicality and rebounding prowess, Toppin’s presence in the paint will be crucial for Texas Tech. His ability to dominate the boards and protect the rim makes him one of the top sophomores to watch this season.

On the Gridiron

Texas Tech football will face Arizona next Saturday night at 10:00 p.m. local. I can assure you that I will be asleep and not awake for this game.

Red Raider Sports’ Justin Apodaca on Kittley and DeRuyter’s expectations for what to expect from Cincinnati:

“You look at an elite tight end like (Joe) Royer, (Xzavier) Henderson, the receiver, he’s one of the top receivers in the conference. The two backs, you’ve got to start there, you know, (Corey) Kiner and (Evan) Pryor, big time backs. Overall, they’re running for right at 200 yards and throwing for another 270 and that’s big time efficiency. And so they challenge you, not only in the run game, but they use the run game to set up their down the field throws.”

The Bearcats mostly run the ball in wide-zone concepts, where Kiner is able to utilize one of his best traits, putting his foot in the ground and accelerating downhill with extreme quickness.

Media availability.