Texas Tech (5-2, 3-1 Big 12) is set to face off against TCU (4-3, 2-2) this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on Fox, where the odds from BetMGM favor TCU by 6.5 points. The historical series favors Texas Tech, which leads with a record of 33 wins, 30 losses, and 3 ties.
In this heated rivalry, the coveted Saddle Trophy will be at stake. TCU aims to clinch back-to-back victories in the Big 12, a feat they have not accomplished since their perfect 2022 regular season. Conversely, Texas Tech hopes to recover after experiencing their first loss in the conference, a surprising 24-point defeat at home to Baylor, a team that had previously struggled in Big 12 competition.
The key matchup to watch is between Texas Tech quarterback Behren Morton, who boasts an impressive average of 275 passing yards per game, with a total of 17 touchdown passes so far. Morton is one of only nine FBS quarterbacks, and the sole representative from the Big 12, to record 200 passing attempts with three or fewer interceptions. In contrast, TCU’s defense has only surrendered an average of 161.7 passing yards per game, with UCF being the only team to exceed 200 yards against them.
Featured players in this matchup include Texas Tech’s Tahj Brooks, the Big 12 rushing leader with an average of 134 rushing yards per game. Remarkably, he is just the second player since 1996 to achieve at least 95 rushing yards in 17 consecutive games, following Minnesota’s Mohamed Ibrahim, who set the record with 19 straight games. Brooks has exceeded 100 rushing yards in 14 of those contests, including a notable 146 yards against TCU last season.
On the TCU side, Josh Hoover, a third-year sophomore QB, leads the Big 12 with an impressive average of 324.3 passing yards per game. His remarkable streak of nine consecutive games featuring at least 20 completions and two touchdown passes came to an end last week in a tightly-contested 13-7 victory over Utah. Hoover has completed 66.4% of his passes, which places him just short of the single-season school record of 67.3%. He has accumulated a total of 2,270 passing yards thus far, putting him on track to break Trevone Boykin’s school record of 3,901 yards.
In terms of interesting facts, Texas Tech’s previous 35-28 home victory over TCU last season halted the Horned Frogs’ four-game winning streak in the rivalry—this streak being the longest since TCU won the first five meetings from 1926 to 1930. TCU’s receiving corps leads Power Four teams with an average of 21.3 receptions per game. Additionally, the Frogs have achieved a remarkable streak of at least 10 passing first downs in 19 consecutive games, falling just short of LSU’s longer streak of 23. Under the leadership of third-year coach Joey McGuire, Texas Tech has shown resilience, holding an impressive record of 11 wins and 3 losses in one-possession games.