We chatted with Kevin Lonnquist of SicEmSports as Baylor prepares to travel to Lubbock to take on a 4-3 Texas Tech team. With an emotional game on tap for Joey McGuire and some of his staff, Lonnquist spoke about some key things for Baylor this weekend.

How has Blake Shapen grown since we saw him last year in Waco?

Well, it's been good and not so good. The good is that he has a big arm and Baylor's passing game has a more vertical threat to it. It ready didn't have that in 2021. Shapen has a good feel for the offense. Nothing has really changed from last year when it comes to him being a runner. What has been a problem is he's turning it over too much. He has six in the last three games.

What does Richard Reese bring to the table? Who carries the bulk and who mixes it up in the run game?

Probably the nicest surprise of the season because he's a true freshman. Reese picks his spots very well and understands what's asked. He had a career performance against Kansas last week (31-186 2 TDs). They will work Qualan Jones into the mix. Everything appears set that Sqwirl Williams will return. He missed Kansas because of a concussion.

How has the secondary looked after losing some guys to the NFL?

That's been one of the weaker spots of this team. While Snaxx Johnson, A.J. McCarty, Mark Milton will make plays every now and then, they've been caught sitting on an island too much to where they have been surrendering too many big completions. Some of this falls on the defensive line, which has struggled to generate any kind of a pass rush all season.

How has the Baylor defense looked as a whole?

Up and down. It's certainly not the group that many were expecting to see after what happened in 2021. Couple what was mentioned in the secondary question, Baylor does have a pretty solid LB group led by Bryson Jackson, Matt Jones and Dillon Doyle. They've done a pretty strong job against the running game, holding KU to just 56 yards last week.

What needs to happen for Baylor to win on Saturday?

For starters, they can't turn it over. The Bear have eight in the last three games. Baylor's pass rush needs to do something to make Behren Morton or whoever is the signal for the Red Raiders feel uncomfortable. Plus, if their running game, which has been pretty strong throughout the year, can keep Tech's offense off the field, they'll give themselves a chance.

Prediction on how the game goes?

Considering the last time Baylor won at Tech, the Southwest Conference still existed (1990), it's been a crazy long time. The Bears can win this if they stop beating themselves and creating some turnovers of their own. I'm going to lean to the Red Raiders because it's at night. While the blackout hoopla and the honoring of Patrick Mahomes are good sidebars, I do think this one means a lot to Joey McGuire and he wants to win it.