WHERE: Jones AT&T Stadium

WHEN: 6:00 p.m. Saturday

WATCH IT ON: ESPN

SERIES HISTORY: Texas Tech leads 32-28-3 but TCU has won the last two games and has three straight wins in Lubbock. TCU is 5-4 against Tech since entering the Big 12 in 2012.

CURRENT FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK ODDS: TCU -1.5, (OVER/UNDER): 62.5

TCU has ten returning starters on offense from 2020, with their only loss being Texas Tech left tackle TJ Storment. The Horned Frog defense returns eight starters from a season ago, but 2020 Jim Thorpe award winner Trevon Moehrig and former freshman All-American Ar’Darius Washington have both moved on to the NFL.

Gary Patterson has been at the helm for TCU since the start of the millennium (December 2000) and is the second longest tenured head coach in the nation. Patterson is 6-5 against Texas Tech during his career and is the Horned Frogs’ all-time winningest coach with a 180-76 career record.

TCU is 2-2 in 2021, with victories over Duquesne (45-3) and Cal Berkeley (34-32) and lost to rival SMU (42-34) and Texas (32-27). The trip to Lubbock will be the Horned Frogs first road game this season.

Wide receiver Quentin Johnson left Saturday's loss to Texas before halftime due to a hyperextended knee and did not return. Patterson said after the game he should be ok but there’s no word on what his availability will be against Texas Tech. Johnson was a four-star prospect in TCU’s 2020 class and was the second highest rated recruit in school history behind only Zach Evans. Johnson (6-foot-4) is a long target for the TCU offense and made an impact right away as a true freshman last season, leading the team in receiving yards (487) and scoring two touchdowns. He’s the team’s second leading receiver in 2021 despite missing the SMU game and a better part of the Texas game with injuries.

The Horned Frogs are typically known for their defensive prowess, but that side of the football has been a struggle through four games in 2021. TCU is ranked 83rd in total defense giving up 397 yards per game and are ranked 84th in scoring defense allowing 27.25 points per contest.

TCU is 31st in the nation in rushing yards per game (197) but 62nd in passing yards per game (236.2). The Horned Frogs are balanced on offense, but their ground game has been the more efficient method of attack this season. A heavy dose of Zach Evans and Max Duggan running the football should be expected on Saturday night.

The first five-star signee in TCU history and the former number two running back recruit in the nation, Evans averaged a team high 7.7 yards per carry in 2020. The 7.7 YPC was the second highest in TCU history, second nationally for a true freshman last season, and was the highest YPC for a true freshman in the Big 12 since 2008. Evans has topped 100 yards rushing in the last three games and has 433 yards rushing (7.8 YPC) with three touchdowns in 2021. Evans is a threat to catch the ball out of the backfield as well, hauling in seven catches for 95 yards and a touchdown this season. Evans was named to the Doak Walker Award watch list for 2021.

Now entering his third season as the starting quarterback for TCU, Duggan started in nine of ten games last year, throwing for 1,795 yards and 10 touchdowns and added another 526 yards on the ground with 10 rushing touchdowns. Duggan had one of his best performances last year against Texas Tech, rushing for 154 yards and three touchdowns, the fourth most rushing yards in a game by a quarterback in TCU history. Duggan is off to a solid start in 2021, passing for 899 yards and 8 touchdowns to go along with 143 yards rushing and two touchdowns on the ground. Duggan was placed on the watch list for the Davey O’Brien Award, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, the Manning Award, and the Maxwell Award given to the nation’s top player.

Was named a first team All-American by Pro Football Focus, second team All-American by the Associated Press, and was a first team All-Big 12 selection in 2020. Hodges-Tomlinson was also named as a preseason All-American and member of the preseason All-Big 12 team in 2021. Hodges-Tomlinson, the nephew of TCU legend LaDainian Tomlinson, was rated by Pro Football Focus as the nation's highest-graded cornerback in coverage at 90.6 and allowed just 12 catches on 45 targets over the final nine games last season. His 13 pass breakups led the Big 12 and was second in the nation. Hodges-Tomlinson was named to the 2021 watch lists for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Chuck Bednarik Award and is leading the TCU defense this season with 22 tackles, and has one interception and one forced fumble.

Was the Big 12 leader and 12th in the nation in sacks per game (0.9) and led the TCU defense with nine sacks, the most by a Horned Frog since 2017. Mathis was fourth on the TCU defense with 46 tackles and finished third in the Big 12 and 12th in the FBS with 14 tackles for loss. Was a second team All-Big 12 selection for his efforts in 2020. Mathis had his best game a season ago against Texas Tech, posting a career high three sacks. Was named a preseason ESPN All-American and member of the All-Big 12 team for 2021. Mathis was also named to the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Chuck Bednarik Award watch lists and has 15 tackles and one sack through four games this season.

This hasn’t been your typical Gary Patterson Horned Frog defense through four games, and you can’t ignore the fact that this is the first road game of the season for TCU. If the defensive issues were real at home, who knows what could happen on the road. The Horned Frogs are giving up over 200 yards per game on the ground and gave up 272 rushing yards last weekend to Texas. Capitalizing on the weaknesses of your opponents is key in every sport, and it’ll be important this weekend that the Red Raiders recapture the success they were able to have over the first three weeks of the season when they averaged 170.7 rushing yards per game. With the health status of Tahj Brooks still in question, the Texas Tech running game should feature another heavy dose of SaRodorick Thompson against the Horned Frogs. Despite giving up three sacks last weekend, the offensive line still played well enough to get the win and will be critical in establishing the running game and keeping Henry Colombi upright against a tough TCU front four.

KEY OFFENSIVE MATHCUP: RT Caleb Rogers vs. RE Ochaun Mathis

It feels like Murderers’ Row every week for the Texas Tech run defense and this week is no different, as they’ll have to prove they’re up to the task of slowing down Zach Evans and Max Duggan. Evans has rushed for over 100 yards in three straight games and five of his last seven and will provide another tough challenge for the Texas Tech linebacking corps. The Red Raiders are banged up in the secondary and Duggan can make you pay with his arm just as much as he can with his feet. Quentin Johnston’s questionable status will be a factor this weekend because a 6-foot-4 wide receiver with his talent is a bad matchup for any defense. Jaylon Hutchings was able to get pressure from the nose last weekend and that will be an important factor this week. When facing a quarterback like Duggan who likes to step forward when the pocket collapses to make plays with his feet, it's important to get pressure in his face to make him have to run outside, therefore becoming much less effective as a runner.

KEY DEFENSIVE MATCHUP: The Red Raider Linebackers vs RB Zach Evans