The Texas Tech Red Raiders are coming into Week 8 matchup against the TCU Horned Frogs with a lot of optimism following their 34-21 win over Kansas after a four-game losing streak. Meanwhile, the Horned Frogs enjoy an eight-game win streak against the Red Raiders, though are winless against ranked squads this season. Despite the record, the football betting spread on this game is massive, and has TCU as 23-point favorite to beat the Red Raiders.
While Texas Tech is 2-5 ATS and SU in its last 7 games on the road, TCU is 5-0 ATS and 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home, setting the stage for an interesting meet this weekend. The two rival teams are expected to give their best in Saturday’s contest in order to better their standings in the league.
Date/Time: 3:30 PM ET, October 25, 2014, Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, TX
Coverage: FOX
Match Preview and Betting Analysis
Following a narrow road loss of 61-58 to Baylor in Week 7, the Horned Frogs bounced back in last week’s game by convincingly smashing No. 15 Oklahoma State 42-9. In the win over Oklahoma, TCU’s offensive play was amazingly improved and the team easily covered the points spread as home favorites.
The Horned Frogs’ junior QB Trevone Boykin has been very impressive in the recent games and his confidence is up the roof. For the second time in three years, Boykin is enjoys a stellar league performance—a ninth league-best aerial attack ranking with 1,873 passing yards, 14 TDs and just 3 interceptions. He is also an established player in gaining solid yards, rushing for 346 yards with 3 scores on 4.4 yards per touch. Expect “Boy-King” to be the royal man for his team this week.
B.J Catalon, the TCU senior QB, has accounted for 370 yards with eight TDs this season—another remarkable record for a player of his caliber. If you add Catalon and Boykin to the Horned Frogs’ receiving game combination of Josh Doctson and Kolby Listenbee, the Red Raiders’ defense will be put to a lengthy duel this coming Saturday.
Conversely, Texas Tech has one of the best passing attacks in the league. QB Davis Webb recorded 2,239 passing yards with 22 TDs plus 12 interceptions for the 10th best passing attack in the previous season. This season, his numbers are not comparably high, but he has still put in some decent performances. An improvement from him would be highly welcomed by the Red Raiders’ attack that has been largely struggling over the recent times.
Better play is also required from the Red Raiders’ receiving combination of junior wide out Jakeem Grant and senior Bradley Marquez who, on a good day, can terrorize any defense. Plus, TCU defense is good, but not that exceptional, so Webb, Grant and Marquez can cause some havoc if they up their passing and running game to create more scoring opportunities.
Unfortunately, Texas Tech has similarly struggled this season in defensive play and rank poorly in the league in terms of point allowed per game. Changing their defense between now and Saturday may not be possible. Therefore, as a way of making up for the weak defense, they should strive to slow down the Horned Frogs’ game by breaking their fluid passing and constantly harassing Boykin and company. This way, the ferocity of TCU’s lethal passing game will be tamed, even if mildly.
The verdict
TCU are coming into this weekend’s contest as the strong football betting favorites against the Red Raiders. When playing at home, the Horned Frogs are most likely to tear down the visitors who have a poor record in their recent games on the road.