Full House Expected As Texas Tech Hosts Baylor

Texas Tech thinks they have what it takes to have a magical night at Jones AT&T Stadium.

Tech hosts Baylor at 6:30pm on Saturday, and Red Raiders fans love night games. Tickets for the game sold out in 23 days, helped by the return of four-time Pro Bowl quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who was inducted into the Tech Football Ring of Honor and the Texas Tech Athletics Hall of Fame.

"I'm glad we're home, I'm glad it's an evening and I'm glad to see Patrick Mahomes back in the building," head coach Joey McGuire said. "I think it's going to get a lot of attention."

Both teams are 4-3 and 2-2 in the Big 12 this season.

Baylor wants to ruin almost everyone's night. The Bears won the Big 12 Championship and the Sugar Bowl 12/2 last season, but have lost three of their last six games. They snapped a two-game winning streak last week with a 35-23 home win over Kansas City.

"These are the Big 12 champions," McGuire said. “They are now the standard by which everyone is measured. No matter what anyone's accounts say, they are the ones with last year's trophy and that's fine. It's going to be a great game and we're looking forward to playing against these guys."

This is McGuire's first time coaching Baylor since he left the Bears' coaching staff last November after 4 1/2 seasons to become the Red Raiders' head coach starting at the end of the 2021 season. hired, he did not attend last year's game in Waco.

McGuire made several off-the-court hires at Baylor to promote Josh Bookbinder, the Red Raiders' inside linebackers coach, and Lance Barilla, their head strength and conditioning coach. He also staffed his football operations and recruiting departments with young former Baylor recruits.

"I have a lot of respect for Joey and a lot of the other staff," Bears coach Dave Aranda said. “I say this from the bottom of my heart: I want them to win. I want them to succeed, but not against us. I know what kind of people they are and what it means to each of them to have their own success, but not on this Saturday."

Aranda said during his preseason with the Red Raiders that he was impressed by two traits McGuire displayed: a high level of effort and a fast-paced offense. The Red Raiders are averaging 89 carries per game, the most in the FBS, despite Tyler Schaff replacing Donovan Smith and then Buren Morton at quarterback.

"They've had a few different quarterbacks in there," Aranda said, "but they've found ways to let the offense work on the unique qualities of the guy that's in there."

Aranda isn't the first opposing coach this season to be impressed by the variety of ways defensive coach Tim DeRuter forces opponents to think and react quickly.

"A lot of pressure, a lot of tricks, a lot of load," Aranda said. “Not many defenses look the same. You're going to have a lot of stuff thrown at you, so with some speed you need to be ready for a little chaos to handle it.

Baylor lost a lot of personnel on offense and many of its seven backs on defense from last year's starting team. The Bears' strengths come from an offensive line that produced four starters, including third-team All-American tackle Connor Galvin and second-team All-Big-12 center Jacob Gallo, and a defensive line grounded through All-Big-12 -First. - Team defense. compete with Siyaki Iko.

Blake Shape opened his career with a 27-24 win over Tech last year. The sophomore quarterback has thrown for 1,608 yards and 12 touchdowns this season, and is complemented by rookie running back Richard Reese (643 yards, nine touchdowns).

"I think we're dealing with the best offensive line in the Big 12. They do a pretty good job," McGuire said. "Chopin reminds me of Beren in many ways. They can dribble the ball from different angles. He has a fast serve. And then he has a rookie, rookie Richard Reese, having a phenomenal year."

McGuire has made no secret of his gratitude to former Bears coach Matt Rhule, who brought him to Baylor, and all he learned from Rhule and Aranda. He adopted many of his methods to run the program, especially in recruiting, as well as unconventional game strategies.

Tech and Baylor are tied for first and second in conversions, tied for fourth in the FBS this season, the Red Raiders with 20/32 attempts and the Bears with 16/23 attempts. McGuire says he began to advance even in his own field and watched Aranda do it, often with success.

american football

Who: Texas Tech vs. Baylor

When: Saturday 6:30 p.m

Where: AT&T Jones Stadium.

Records: Baylor 4-3, 2-2 in Big 12; Texas Tech 4-3, 2-2

Leaderboards (AP Poll/Coach): Baylor did not receive any leaderboards/votes; Neither is the Texas Institute of Technology.

Line: Texas Tech by 2 1/2. Plus-minus: 62 1/2 points

Television: ESPN2

Radio: FM 97.3, FM 100.7, FM 106.5, AM 950 in Lubbock. FM 95.7, AM 2:40 PM in Amarillo.

Satellite Radio: Sirius 106, XM 199

Follow Us: Follow @AJ_DonWilliams and @cmsilvajr on Twitter for real-time updates, including game scores and interviews at www.lubbockonline.com.

This article first appeared in the Lubbock Avalanche Journal: Full house expected for Texas Tech vs. Baylor football game

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