GAME DETAILS
Where: Jones AT&T Stadium, Lubbock, Texas
When: 6:00 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 2
Watch it on: FS1
All-time series: TCU leads, 30-29
What to know: TCU
Head coach: Sonny Dykes (2nd season)
Record: 4-4 (2-3 Big 12)
Conference standings: 8th
The “Battle for the Saddle” returns to West Texas, with Texas Tech set to take on TCU Thursday night at Jones AT&T Stadium. The Red Raiders are looking for their first win in the series since 2018, which was another Thursday affair in Fort Worth. It will be the third time the two teams have played on Thursday, the first occurring in 2013, a victory that swung in Tech’s favor.
The Red Raiders enter the contest coming off a much-needed bye week, highlighted by the return of quarterback Behren Morton to practice. Morton is expected to start against the Horned Frogs after missing Tech’s previous game against BYU. Last season’s loss to the Horned Frogs was the final one that the Red Raiders suffered before a four-game win streak to finish the campaign. They will try to replicate that November magic again this season. At 3-5 on the year, Tech is running out of opportunities to reach bowl eligibility for a third-straight season.
The Horned Frogs hold a 4-4 record and are returning from their own week off. TCU is in its second season under Sonny Dykes, son of legendary Tech coach Spike, hailing from the Hal Mumme and Mike Leach coaching tree. After a successful tenure at SMU, Dykes led the Horned Frogs to a national championship appearance in 2022. It’s been rocky territory for the Horned Frogs this season, with conference wins over the pair of Cougars in Houston and BYU, the latter a dominating 44-11 performance. Before the season intermission, TCU was dismantled, 41-3, by Kansas State.
It was a reloading year for the Horned Frogs, from players on the field and in the coaching staff. Key contributors on both sides of the ball have been replaced, as did former offensive coordinator Garret Riley. In his place stepped Kendal Briles, who has taken a balanced approach with the schematics of the offense.
Ones To Watch: TCU
Chandler Morris was slated to replace Max Duggan at quarterback, and he did, for a while. A sprained MCL has kept Morris sidelined, and redshirt freshman Josh Hoover has stepped up in his absence. Hoover, a graduate of Rockwall-Heath, was a three-star recruit coming out of high school and has a cannon for an arm. Emani Bailey has established himself as one of the premier running backs in the league, and he sits right behind Tahj Brooks in the Big 12 for rushing yards at fourth. The Horned Frog defense is tied for the lead in the conference in total sacks with 20, spearheaded by Namdi Obiazor who has three. The 6-foot-3 junior linebacker is TCU’s leading tackler with 65, ranking fifth in the Big 12. TCU returns a 2022 All-Big 12 first team defensive back in Josh Newton, who is now in his sixth year of college football.
The Final Word
There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding this Tech team following a string of admittedly bad performances. The Red Raiders backs are against the wall and the road does not get any easier from here on out. Behren Morton is back, but how healthy is he, really? Tech will have to take care of the ball offensively, and get back to its brand against the run game defensively. Josh Hoover exploded against BYU, can Tech’s defense keep that game looking like an anomaly? With shifts happening all around for the Red Raiders, Thursday night’s game will be intriguing, to say the least.
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