Raiders On The Horizon
Art Briles called off the dogs when many starters returned for the second half last week without even wearing pads. Baylor still won 66-7. Texas Tech, in need of style points and competing for many of the same recruits as Kansas, will likely show no such mercy. Tech blasted Iowa State last week and nearly got TCU two weeks ago... if not for this remarkable touchdown catch.
Ryan Willis returns to work as the Jayhawk QB, with Montell Cozart and Deondre Ford still injured. Kansas, already depleted, continues to see the injuries form into huge piles. Defensive tackle Jacky Dezir is added to the list this week. Ke'Aun Kinner and Brandon Stewart, both of whom played sparingly last week, hope to return. But it seems unlikely. Tech isn't quite as good as Baylor, but a lot of the same principles will apply. Tech will score early and often. Kansas will probably employ a bend-don't-break defensive approach. I would not be surprised if Tech got the majority of its scores on the ground, considering Kansas can hardly keep anything under eight yards.
In that spirit, the Tech game will be the halfway point of the season. So far Kansas is losing by an average of 45 to 19. Kansas is on pace to surrender an astonishing 6,679 yards of offense. That's about 556 yards per game.
Prediction: Texas Tech 72, Kansas 13