The Texas Tech Red Raiders have been an absolute mess following a 4-1 start to the season. While they won’t contend for a Big 12 title, they will look to give their fans something to cheer for when they visit the Baylor Bears on Saturday.
Texas Tech has lost four in a row and is under .500 heading in to this matchup. In fairness, three of those losses were to teams ranked in the Top 25 and the fourth was an overtime loss to Kansas State. The Red Raiders will need to win two of their last three in order to avoid finishing below .500 for the third time in the last five seasons. If they have any hope of making it to a bowl, they have to win this one.
Meanwhile, Baylor finally has something to build on after picking up its first win of the season last week. It will be very interesting to see whether the Bears can pick up from where they left off with a legitimate chance to make it two wins in a row on Saturday.
Details
Odds: Texas Tech -7.5
Date & Time: Saturday November 11th, 2017 – 12:00 PM ET
Location: McLane Stadium, Waco, Texas
Broadcast: N/A
Reasons To Bet On The Texas Tech Red Raiders
Texas Tech will once again lean heavily on an offense that ranks 17th in the country with an average of 38.2 points per game this season. The Red Raiders are capable of scoring points in bunches and head coach Kliff Kingsbury will need another big performance from quarterback Nic Shimonek and company in order to get it done. Shimonek has thrown for 3,068 yards and 26 touchdowns compared to seven interceptions this season. The senior passer needs to continue to limit his turnovers while effectively moving the football down the field in order for the Red Raiders to win this game. Meanwhile, Shimonek can’t be expected to do it all on his own. The Texas Tech defense has allowed at least 31 points in each of four straight losses including allowing 42 points or more on three occasions. The Red Raiders have allowed 24 points or fewer in three of their four wins this year so they will need a similar performance this week versus Baylor in order to pick up the victory.
Reasons To Bet On Baylor Bears
The Bears hadn’t exactly been lighting it up on offense until last week’s surprising 38-9 win over Kansas changed that. Baylor quarterback Charlie Brewer threw for 315 yards and three touchdowns while running back Terence Williams ran for 62 yards and a score. The Bears will need another balanced effort on offense in order to upset Texas Tech at home this week. Meanwhile, a defense that held the Jayhawks to just nine points will have a much tougher test against the Red Raiders offense. Baylor has allowed at least 33 points in each of its last six losses so they will need to produce one of their best efforts of the season in order to avoid allowing this game to get out of hand in a hurry.
Outlook
We haven’t seen much movement on this betting line. Where it opened is where it currently sits: Texas Tech -7.5. The total also hasn’t shifted around much as it opened at 71.5 but is now down to 71. A small move.
Baylor is 1-8 straight up in its last nine games but owns a 4-2 record against the spread over its last six. It will be interesting to see if the Bears could keep this game close coming off their first win of the season but the reality is that they haven’t been nearly consistent enough to trust them to get it done. Texas Tech is 16-5 straight up in its last 21 games against Baylor and there is a good chance they extend that run on Saturday with a convincing victory. Take the Red Raiders to win and cover to put themselves in position to avoid finishing below .500 on the season. They need a win to boost their confidence and to get their head coach off the hot seat and they’ll get it here.
Pick: Texas Tech -7.5
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