Game Primer: Texas Tech

Texas Tech

¹⁵ Oklahoma

October 24 | 2:30 p.m. | Norman, Okla.

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ABC / ESPN2 (Map) // WatchESPN

Twitter // #TTUvsOU

OPENING KICK

• No. 17/15 Oklahoma (5-1, 2-1) looks to move to 4-0 at home when it hosts Texas Tech (5-2, 2-2) on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT in Norman. The game will be televised by ABC in the Big 12 region and by ESPN2 elsewhere.

• OU's Bob Stoops is 11-5 vs. Texas Tech and 2-0 against Kliff Kingsbury.

• Oklahoma is 14-0 all-time when ranked No. 17 in the AP poll. It is 12-2 all-time as a ranked team playing against Texas Tech.

• The Sooners are coming off a 55-0 road win over Kansas State, which marked the largest margin of victory against a Power Five team this year and the Wildcats' first home shutout since 1991. Oklahoma held K-State to 110 total yards, the fourth fewest by an FBS team on the road this season and fewest overall by a Big 12 team. OU racked up 568 yards and outgained KSU by 458 yards. The Wildcats pushed current-No. 4 TCU to the brink the week before (led 35-17 at half before losing 52-45).

• Texas Tech, a 30-20 winner at Kansas on Saturday, has lost two games this season, both to current AP top-five teams (55-52 vs. No. 4 TCU and 63-35 vs. No. 2 Baylor). The Red Raiders have scored at least 30 points in every game and have topped the 50-point mark on four occasions.

• The Sooners are 93-8 (.921) at home under Stoops with all 101 of those games sellouts. OU has outscored its foes by an average of 42-15 in those contests.

• Oklahoma is 41-6 (.872) since the start of the 2010 season against teams unranked in the AP Top 25 Poll.

FIVE TOP STORYLINES

mayfield

Before transferring to OU, Sooner starting quarterback Baker Mayfield was the Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year in 2013 as a walk-on for Texas Tech.

• Oklahoma owns a 16-6 (.727) all-time record against Texas Tech and is 9-2 against the Red Raiders in Norman. In the Big 12 era, the Sooners hold a 13-6 advantage (8-2 in Norman). Tech's two Big 12 wins in Norman came in 1996 (22-12) and 2011 (41-38). OU's eight Big 12 home wins against Tech have come by an average score of 40-23.

• Saturday's game will pit a Texas Tech squad that leads the Big 12 in passing offense (427.6 yards per game) against an Oklahoma team that leads the league in passing defense (152.2 yards per game). In conference play, both teams' stats are even more impressive. Tech is averaging 449.0 passing yards in Big 12 games while OU is giving up just 91.0 per outing.

• All eyes will be on Sooners' junior quarterback Baker Mayfield, who played in eight games (seven starts) as a freshman walk-on at Texas Tech before transferring to OU. Mayfield was named the 2013 Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year after throwing for 2,315 yards and 12 TDs with the Red Raiders. He completed 64.1 percent of his passes. Also, Texas Tech is the alma mater of OU offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Lincoln Riley. A walk-on QB for the Red Raiders, Riley spent seven years (2003-09) on former head coach Mike Leach's TTU staff. OU offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh (2000-06) and Sooners outside receivers coach Dennis Simmons (2000-09) also worked at Texas Tech under Leach.

In its three home games, OU is averaging 579.7 yards of total offense and 415.3 passing yards.

• In its three home games, OU is averaging 579.7 yards of total offense and 415.3 passing yards. Mayfield is 69 for 96 through the air for a 71.9-percent completion rate and is averaging 396.7 passing yards and 3.3 passing TDs per home game.

• OU's defensive effort against Kansas State on Saturday shot the Sooners to the top of the Big 12 season charts in multiple categories. OU now leads the conference in scoring defense (18.8 ppg), total defense (321.7 ypg), passing defense (152.2 ypg) and pass defense efficiency (99.5). The Sooners are the only team in the country to give up 55 or fewer yards passing in two games this season (55 vs. Texas and 45 at Kansas State).

SCOUTING TEXAS TECH

mahomes

Sophomore quarterback Patrick Mahomes ranks third in the nation in total offense (407.4 ypg) and fourth in passing offense (374.0 ypg).

• Texas Tech, looking for its fourth straight road victory for the first time since 2008, enters Saturday's contest riding a two-game winning streak. It is coming off a 30-20 triumph at Kansas and posted a 66-31 home win over Iowa State the week before.

• The Red Raiders boast one of the country's top offenses. They rank second nationally in total offense (623.7 ypg), second in passing offense (427.6 ypg) and third in scoring offense (49.4 ppg).

• On the other side of the ball, Tech ranks ninth in the Big 12 in total defense (553.6 ypg), fourth in rushing defense (197.3 ypg), eighth in passing defense (289.7 ypg) and ninth in scoring defense (36.9 ppg).

• Texas Tech ranks third in the Big 12 and 17th nationally in turnover margin (+0.86 per game).

• Sophomore quarterback Patrick Mahomes ranks third in the nation in total offense (407.4 ypg) and fourth in passing offense (374.0 ypg). He has thrown 20 touchdown passes and six interceptions. Through 11 career starts, Mahomes has racked up 4,046 passing yards while throwing 34 TDs and eight interceptions. He has thrown four or more TDs in six of those 11 starts.

• Senior running back Deandre Washington ranks fourth in the Big 12 with his 106.6 rushing yards per game. He ranks No. 11 nationally with his 7.0 yards per carry and has scored seven rushing TDs and one through the air.

• Senior wide receiver Jakeem Grant ranks second in the league with his 7.1 receptions per game and ranks third (11th nationally) with his 103.4 receiving yards per outing. He also ranks fourth in the Big 12 (24th nationally) with his 25.5 yards per kickoff return. He has four receiving TDs and a rushing score on the year.

• Kliff Kingsbury (Texas Tech, '01) is in his third season as a head coach, all at Texas Tech (17-15 record). The Red Raiders went 4-8 last year after going 8-5 with a Holiday Bowl win in 2013.

LAST YEAR VS. THE RED RAIDERS

thomas

Cody Thomas accounted for two scores while starting for injured quarterback Trevor Knight, as the Sooners beat the Red Raiders 42-30 last year.

• Samaje Perine ran for 213 yards and three touchdowns (one of them a 64-yarder) and backup quarterback Cody Thomas accounted for two more scores as No. 24 Oklahoma came back to beat unranked Texas Tech 42-30 in Lubbock. Down 21-7 early in the third quarter, OU outscored Texas Tech 35-3 until a Red Raiders touchdown on the game's final play.

• The Sooners, who found the end zone on each of their five second-half possessions, posted a 384-93 advantage in rushing yards, while Tech posted a 393-133 advantage through the air.

• Starting in place of injured quarterback Trevor Knight, Thomas was 10 for 20 passing with one touchdown and three interceptions, but ran for 103 yards and a TD on eight carries (12.9 yards per rush). Perine's 213 rushing yards came at a clip of 8.5 yards per carry.

• Durron Neal recorded team highs of four receptions and 57 yards, and notched OU's only receiving TD. Star receiver Sterling Shepard, in his first game back after an injury, saw limited time and did not log a catch.

• Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes was 27 for 50 through the air for 393 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions. Running back DeAndre Washington led the Red Raiders with 56 rushing yards on 12 carries while Ian Sadler paced the team with 89 receiving yards on four catches (one of them a 59-yard score).

• The Sooners converted 10 of their 15 third downs and were 1 for 1 on fourth-down conversions.

IMPROVED DEFENSE

Jordan Thomas has three interceptions, tied with Zack Sanchez for the team lead.

• Oklahoma's suffocating defensive performance at Kansas State on Saturday vaulted the Sooners up the national rankings. Out of 127 FBS teams, OU now ranks fourth in sacks per game (3.5), seventh in defensive pass completion percentage (.483), ninth in passing defense (152.2 ypg), 10th in pass efficiency defense (99.48), 23rd in total defense (321.7 ypg), 24th in scoring defense (18.8 ppg) and 29th in red zone defense (77.8 opponent scoring percentage).

• The improvement from 2014 against the pass has been dramatic. Last year the Sooners ranked 117th in passing defense (276.2 ypg) and 55th in pass efficiency defense (125.6).

• OU has held three of its six opponents under 100 passing yards each, four to 125 or fewer passing yards and five to under 175 passing yards.

EXTRA POINTS

• Junior quarterback Baker Mayfield ranks fourth among FBS players in points responsible for per game (23.0), sixth in passing TDs per game (3.17), ninth in total offense per game (340.2) and 14th in passing yards per game (312.0).

• Senior receiver Sterling Shepard is rapidly ascending several OU career charts. Shepard is tied for third in career 100-yard receiving games (9) and ranks fourth in career receiving yards (2,693), fifth in career receptions (177) and sixth in career TD receptions (20).

• With 20.0 career sacks (4.5 this season to rank fourth in Big 12), Eric Striker is OU's all-time leader in the category among linebackers. He has 6.0 more than second-place Rocky Calmus (1998-01). Striker ranks fourth in the Big 12 in sacks this year (0.75 per game) and third in tackles for loss (1.67 per game). He has eight tackles for loss over the last three games.

Zack Sanchez has three pick-sixes in his career, tied for the most in school history.

• Junior cornerback Zack Sanchez, a two-time Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week this season, returned an interception for a touchdown at Kansas State last weekend. He has three pix-sixes in his career, tied for the most in school history.

• Seibert is one of 16 kickers in the country who is perfect on both field goals and extra points. Of those 16, no one has made more combined kicks than Seibert's 40.

• Only six Sooners during the 16-plus-year Bob Stoops era have rushed for 2,000 career yards, and current sophomore Samaje Perine did it faster than any of the other five. He reached the mark in only 326 career carries, faster than current NFL stars DeMarco Murray (342) and Adrian Peterson (365).

• In Big 12 play, OU is surrendering only 91.0 passing yards per game (next two lowest figures are 171.3 [Oklahoma State] and 254.2 [TCU]).

• Last Saturday's 55-0 win at Kansas State marked the first shutout of 55-0 or better on the road within Big 12 play since Texas beat Baylor 62-0 on Nov. 5, 2005.

• OU owns a league-best 106-29 (.785) record in regular season Big 12 games since the Stoops era began. Texas ranks second with a 98-37 (.726) record during the same span and TCU is third (18-13; .581). See the complete list in the chart to the right.

• During Stoops' OU tenure, the Sooners have racked up a Big 12-leading 36.8 points per game. During the same span, Texas Tech ranks second among other current Big 12 programs by averaging 35.8 points.

OPENING KICK

Coverage Map

FIVE TOP STORYLINES

SCOUTING TEXAS TECH

LAST YEAR VS. THE RED RAIDERS

IMPROVED DEFENSE

EXTRA POINTS

Players Mentioned

Trevor Knight

Baker Mayfield

Durron Neal

Samaje Perine

Zack Sanchez

Zack Sanchez

Sterling Shepard

Sterling Shepard

Eric Striker

Cody Thomas

Jordan Thomas

Jordan Thomas

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