Texas Tech-Baylor: How They Match Up
Texas Tech and Baylor square off at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Jones AT&T Stadium with identical records of 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the Big 12.
Both teams snapped two-game losing streaks last week, the Red Raiders with a 48-10 rout of West Virginia, the Bears with a 35-23 conquest of Kansas.
Here's a look at how the teams match up.
When Tech runs
Tech RB Tahj Brooks carried 17 times for 107 yards, a season high, and two touchdowns last week. It was the first 100-yard performance of the season for the Red Raiders, who are 86th in the FBS in rushing offense. Baylor, with veteran linebackers Dillon Doyle and Matt Jones wreaking havoc, ranks 16th in rushing defense. Tech coach Joey McGuire said C Dennis Wilburn might have played his best game last week. Wilburn needs to keep up the good work, because NG Siaki Ika can be a tough day at the office for any interior lineman. Brooks shares time with RB SaRodorick Thompson, and one of Thompson's five career 100-yard games came three years ago at Baylor when he carried 28 times for 153 yards, both career highs, and two TDs. Advantage: Baylor
When Tech passes
Tech QB Behren Morton has topped 300 yards passing in the first two starts of his career, a 41-31 loss at Oklahoma State and the win over West Virginia. Morton figures to get the call again, though original starter Tyler Shough was medically cleared this week to return from the clavicle injury that sidelined him since the first half of the season opener. Slot receiver Myles Price (31-309-2) missed the past two games with an ankle injury. Xavier White (31-409-3) replaced his production by catching 25 passes for 321 yards and three TDs in the past 2 1/2 games. Baylor is tied for last in the Big 12 with 11 sacks. Senior S Christian Morgan and Star OLB-S Al Walcott (team highs of 41 tackles, six tackles for loss) lead a Bears secondary that was decimated by the loss of five players to the NFL, three as draft picks and two as free agents. Advantage: Texas Tech
When Baylor runs
Battering-ram back Abram Smith set Baylor single-season rushing records last year with 1,621 yards and nine 100-yard games as a fifth-year senior. Now a different style of back is becoming a focal point of the Bears' ground game: 175-pound freshman Richard Reese ran 31 times for 186 yards and two touchdowns last week, moving to fifth in the Big 12 in rushing yards (643) and tied for third in rushing touchdowns (nine). The Bears, after ranking No. 10 in the FBS in rushing offense last year, are still more than respectable at No. 27 out of 131 teams. Tech LBs Krishon Merriweather and Kosi Eldridge, the team's leading and third-leading tacklers, will try to keep Reese hemmed in. The Red Raiders yielded 343 rushing yards at Kansas, but held all the other opponents under 155. Advantage: Even
When Baylor passes
Tech's turnover-starved defense finally rained takeaways last week as DBs Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, Malik Dunlap and Rayshad Williams intercepted passes and LB Tyrique Matthews recovered a fumble. Dunlap and Williams, both 6-foot-3 corners, have used the size to their advantage, helping Tech rank first in the Big 12 and 35th in the FBS in pass efficiency defense. Dunlap leads the Big 12 with eight pass breakups, and Williams is tied for second with seven. Baylor QB Blake Shapen has a pair of 300-yard performances in the past three games, but OTs Connor Galvin and Gavin Byers have to protect him from DE Tyree Wilson, the Big 12 co-leader in sacks with 6 1/2. The Bears have gotten big games recently from WRs Monaray Baldwin (7-142-2 against Oklahoma State) and Gavin Holmes (7-210-1 at West Virginia), but Baldwin is questionable with an injury. Advantage: Texas Tech
Special teams
No teams in the FBS love going for it on fourth down more than Texas Tech and Baylor, so both like to keep their specialists on the sideline. They have good ones, though. Baylor P Issac Power and Tech P Austin McNamara average 44.3 and 44.1 yards, respectively, third and fourth in the Big 12. Tech K Trey Wolff has made 10 of 13 field goals, three in end-of-game, clutch situations. Baylor K John Mayers is 4 for 4 this season and 30 for 38 in his career with, like Wolff, a long of 51 yards. Bears WR Gavin Holmes is the Big 12 punt-returns pacesetter, his 15.2-yard average boosted by a 72-yard runback in the season opener against Albany and a 22-yarder last week against Kansas. In a loss to Oklahoma State, the Bears allowed 98- and 50-yard kickoff returns. Advantage: Texas Tech
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech-Baylor: How They Match Up in Oct. 29, 2022 Big 12 game
