Texas Tech has carved out an unexpected spot among the Big 12 Conference leaders by excelling in close games this season.
The Red Raiders put that run of good fortune to a test Saturday when Baylor visits Lubbock, Texas, in the latest renewal of a rivalry that dates back to the old Southwest Conference.
The Red Raiders (5-1, 3-0 Big 12) are sitting in the catbird seat of the league standings, tied with BYU and Iowa State for the lead. They enter the week after a bye that followed an impressive 28-22 road triumph at Arizona on Oct. 5 — the Red Raiders’ third league win by a single score.
Baylor (2-4, 0-3) has encountered the opposite end of the spectrum: With the exception of a blowout loss against Iowa State on Oct. 5, the Bears have hung close in losses to Utah, Colorado and BYU.
Storylines are in large supply for the latest matchup of a series that has been played every season since 1956.
Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire came to Lubbock after several years as an assistant coach under Baylor’s Dave Aranda, who got his coaching career started as a graduate assistant for the Red Raiders.
Bears quarterback Sawyer Robertson is a Lubbock native who played at Coronado High School, also the alma mater of Baylor secondary coach Kevin Curtis, a former Red Raider who was inducted into the Texas Tech Hall of Fame in 2022. Curtis also coached the Red Raiders under former coach Kliff Kingsbury.
More than anything else, though, this game revolves around a Red Raiders team looking to stay in the hunt for a Big 12 crown and a Baylor team trying to get its season redirected.
Texas Tech enters with the Big 12’s most prolific scoring offense, averaging 39.3 points a contest, while registering 460.5 yards per game. Tahj Brooks is the league’s top rusher with 135.8 yards a game despite missing a game — the Red Raiders’ lone loss at Washington State. Behren Morton is throwing for 273.3 yards a game.
“When you put on their tape, you see an aggressive team that is playing with a lot of confidence,” Aranda said.
Robertson has instilled some of that same confidence in the Bears since emerging as the starter four games ago. The junior has thrown for nine touchdowns and run for three and both coaches noted his impact on a unit that is producing 363.5 yards a game. Robertson has averaged 244.5 yards through the air since taking over as the starter.
“He’s done a really good job of running the offense from the standpoint of the passing game,” McGuire said. “Their offense has been more productive in the passing game since he took over.”
