Our game by game preview of Texas Tech’s 2017 season carries on with their final home game of the year, as they take on the Horned Frogs of TCU. Based on our predictions up to this point, the Red Raiders would enter the contest 5-5 and fighting for bowl eligibility.
Since joining the Big 12 in 2012, this series of former Southwest Conference rivals has been an interesting one. In their first matchup of the Big 12 era, they went to three overtimes before Texas Tech emerged victorious, 56-53.
The following year, the two engaged in a defensive struggle on an ESPN Thursday night special, and the Red Raiders won again 20-10. But in 2014, TCU exacted some harsh revenge whooping Tech by a score of 82-27.
And in 2015, TCU ripped the hearts out of the Texas Tech fan base. In the final minute of play, No. 3 ranked TCU scored a go ahead touchdown on a tipped pass on 4th and goal. Had the pass hit the ground, Tech would have had its highest profile win since it knocked off No.4 West Virginia in 2012.
Last year, Texas Tech was able to get back on track by beating TCU 27-24 in double overtime. It was an unorthodox game for the Red Raiders, as their offense struggled throughout while their defense played very well.
Arguably the most important player in the 2017 version of this rivalry is Kenny Hill. His struggles last season opened the door for Tech to come away with a win despite playing poorly on offense. There’s no guarantee that he’ll be the starter by this point in the coming season, but if he is his play will need to be vastly improved. If he’s been supplanted as TCU’s starter, the game would likely come down to how well the Tech defense can play against his replacement.
Another area the Red Raiders will need to improve upon from last year’s performance against the Horned Frogs is the running game. TCU dropped a lot of defenders into coverage to stop Patrick Mahomes in 2016, but Tech was unable to run the ball with a whole lot of success even against an empty box.
For a defense seeking improvement in 2017, Texas Tech will probably have tougher matchups than this TCU squad. Assuming Kliff Kingsbury is able to engineer a more balanced and efficient offensive attack, with the support of the home crowd on senior night, and with a great opportunity to make the season successful by reaching a bowl game, Texas Tech will come out on top.
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