PREVIEW: TEXAS TECH VS AGGIES

Lets just say adios with a kiss and a sighGet your tongue outta my mouth cause I'm kissing you goodbye.

Ray Stevens

Where:  Jones Stadium, Lubbock

When:  6:00pm Central

TV:  FX

Weather:  High 60s, cloudy with possible showers

Line: Tech +9

Saturday is going to be the 70^th time the Red Raiders and Texas A&M Aggies have met since 1927. When they meet for the 71^st time, who knows, maybe the Cotton Bowl next year given that the Ags are off to the SEC. So lets do this one more time and see what happens.

Before we get to that, let’s look to last week….

The Raiders just keep trying to make their games more interesting than they need to be. Nothing like spotting the other team (who you are visiting by the way) a nice 20-0 advantage in the first quarter. Now Tech proceeded to outscore the Jayhawks 45-14 the rest of the game, but good lord the habit of spotting the bad guys a lead has got to stop.  The good news is that Doege continued to put up big numbers (366 and 3 TD) and a running game showed up, with Eric Stephens picking up over 120 yards and two TDs. That’s great, cause we’re going to need it against the Aggies.

If you have turned off the Aggie games the past two weeks at half, you’d think A&M is undefeated and probably a Top 5 (top 10 certainly) team. The only problem for them this season is that like there are two Os in Goose, there are two halves in football boys. The second half of both the Oklahoma State and the Arkansas games have just been train wrecks. And as a farily biased fan without any stake in those games, it looks like the offense tends to panic and get away from running the ball and that’s what’s led to the losses.

I don’t know if you can install the wishbone offense in a week, but if I were the Aggies, looking at Tech’s horrendous defense I’d say “we are running this play on first down, second down, third down. Hell we may even run on fourth down”. I honestly don’t know why you would not put the ball in Cyrus Gray’s or Christine Michael’s hands on every play. They combined for 381 yards and 5 TDs on the ground against Arkansas. And ok, if they want to throw it, its not like they don’t have a good QB Tannehill has over 500 yards in the air the past two games and he has a few weapons, none better than Swope (go chaps) to go to.

Tech’s won 11 of the last 16 matchups between these two teams, but the Aggie’s are riding a nice two game streak over Tech. And for all the changes Tuberville has brought to Lubock, it really seems like he just doesn’t get the importance of this game and the UT game. I think its safe to say that Tech going 10-2, but losing to UT and A&M is a bad year. Going 2-10 but beating UT and the A&M will get you a contract extension and a raise.  Bad news for Tuberville and Tech is they are young and probably don’t have the horses to keep up with the Aggies this year.

But there is always the SECOND HALF! Whoop!

BEST GUESS

TECH      34

Aggies   42

FUN WITH NUMBERS

35 – Zach Thomas’ number while at Tech. His INT turned the tide in this series

10 – number of times the Tech/Aggie game has  been decided by 3 points or less

475.4– Average offense per game in 17 games under Tuberville (6 more yards than last 17 under leach) for what that’s worth Tech PR department

GUNS UP!

PREVIEW: TEXAS TECH VS NEW MEXICO

Who's feeling sorry now? Just when I thought I knew how the man with the master plan I let it all slip through my hands. – LOS LOBOS (couldn’t just cut and paste La Bamba)

Where: Albuquerque, NM

When: 2:30 Central

TV: Versus (or NBC Sports or whatever they are calling it)

Weather:  78 sunny

Line: -21

There aren’t too many songs from hair bands that I can pull lyrics from that you all will enjoy so I’ll default to Los Lobos as recognition of New Mexico’s mascot. And if you look at the Head Coach’s record, well that master plan is damn sure slipping through their hands.

Before we get to that, let’s look back two weeks….

Tech opened the season at home playing a Texas State Bobcat team that is transitioning to D1 and with a new head coach in Coach Fran. The first half was just god awful, no matter how you look at it for Tech. The defense was getting shredded, not in big plays, but in consistent 5 and 7 yard plays and could not get off the field. The offense looked anemic (yes I spell checked that) and could not muster any rhythm let alone points. At half, it was TSU 10, the mighty Red Raiders 9.

Second half the Raiders showed up and just whooped the Bobcats. Final score was a 50-10 drubbing, so I really don’t know what to take out of this. Tech did what they were supposed to do against a very inferior team. Nuff said.

So this week, Tuberville takes the team on the road for their first “test” against a D1 team. This should be the same outcome, hopefully a better first half, but Tech’s depth and talent should prevail.

In case you don’t bet for entertainment’s sake only, New Mexico has been a team you can pretty much ride all year. Since Mike Locksley took over this program, they are 2-24. That’s right, two wins and he still has a job. They are usually dogs by more than 20 points and lose in amazing fashion. They’ve played two games so far, held their own against a bad Colorado State team and got killed by Arkansas. Their offensive leaders are QB Tauren Austin who has an amazing 350 yards passing in two games. He also is ranked as their 2^nd best rusher with 88 yards. Their defense is so bad, their communications department celebrated their first interception of the year in their weekly release.

Tech is playing at ton of young kids, 8 true freshmen played against Texas State, so big plays for the Lobos is always a possibility, but this should be over by half.

BEST GUESS

TECH      49

Unm      17

FUN WITH NUMBERS

9 – number of players the Lobos have in the NFL

52-17 – score of the game last year at New Mexico

43 – number of times these two non-conference teams have met.

GUNS UP!