K-State Wildcats vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders: Kickoff, TV, line, five things to know
The Kansas State Wildcats will face the Texas Tech Red Raiders in a Big 12 football game on Saturday.
K-State (6-4, 3-4 Big 12) is looking to end the regular season on a high note and improve its bowl stock coming off a pair of losses. Texas Tech (4-6, 2-5) is trying to keep its postseason hopes alive after a narrow loss to TCU.
Here is everything you need to know to prepare for Saturday’s game:
The details
Kickoff: 6 p.m. Saturday
Where: AT&T Jones Stadium, Lubbock, Texas
TV: FS1
Radio: KKGQ (92.3 FM) in Wichita, KCSP (610 AM) in Kansas City.
The line: K-State by 1
Five things to know
1. Bowl implications: This game will impact postseason destinations for both teams. If the Wildcats win, they will be in the running for some of the Big 12’s better bowls heading into their final game of the regular season against Iowa State. Meanwhile, Texas Tech needs to win its final two games to reach bowl eligibility under new coach Matt Wells.
2. First-year coaches: Chris Klieman will face a fellow first-year coach in the Big 12 when he goes head-to-head with Wells on Saturday. Texas Tech hired Wells after a successful stint at Utah State.
3. Hard to figure: The Red Raiders might be the hardest team to predict in the Big 12. They have played well enough to beat Oklahoma State and West Virginia by double digits. But they have also played poorly enough to lose to Kansas and Arizona. We saw a little bit of everything from Texas Tech last week. It fell behind TCU 24-3, rallied to take a 31-30 lead and then lost on a late field goal.
4. Up in the air: With defenses selling out against the run, K-State has put the ball in the air at an eye-popping rate the past two weeks. Skylar Thompson threw for 253 yards on 27 attempts against Texas and then 299 yards on 39 attempts against West Virginia last week. The last time K-State attempted more passes in a game: the 2014 Alamo Bowl when Jake Waters logged 48 passes. K-State would prefer to get back to a more run-oriented approach, as it lost both of those games.
5. Leading tackler: Texas Tech is trying to place a bigger emphasis on defense under Wells. The Red Raiders still have a ways to go in that department, as they are allowing a Big 12 worst 6.5 yards per play. But they are improving. Their best player is Jordyn Brown. The senior linebacker leads the Big 12 in tackles with 102.