Texas Tech at Kansas Odds

Written by Jack Jones

The Texas Tech Red Raiders and Kansas Jayhawks face each other Saturday in the Big 12 opener for both schools. Kick off is set for 1:00 EST at Memorial Stadium. The Red Raiders have won all four meetings dating back to 2004, including a 42-21 home victory in their most recent meeting in 2009. Odds makers are expecting Texas Tech to earn a fifth straight win in this series.

According to the Week 5 college football lines, the Red Raiders are 7-point road favorites.

Texas Tech

The Red Raiders (3-0, 0-0 Big 12) remained unbeaten with a thrilling 35-34 home victory over Nevada last week. Texas Tech had no problem in their first two games, dominating Texas State 50-10 and New Mexico 59-13. The Wolf Pack presented a much stiffer challenge, and the Red Raiders actually had to come from behind to win in the fourth quarter. They were handed a 28-14 deficit midway through the third quarter, but they didn’t panic. QB Seth Doege found Eric Ward on a 4-yard game-winning touchdown pass with just 36 seconds to play. The Red Raiders found a way to win despite getting outgained by Nevada 562-441.

Many believed that Texas Tech would lose some firepower once Mike Leach left as head coach. Tommy Tuberville still features an explosive offense in his second season on the job, though many of these recruits were Leach’s. The Red Raiders rank 7th in the country in scoring offense (48.0 points/game) and 9th in total offense (523.4 yards/game). Their defense has certainly been one of the bend-but-don’t-break variety. Despite ranking 91st in total defense (410.0 yards/game), they are 30th in scoring defense (19.0 points/game).

Doege has been nothing short of spectacular in his junior season, completing 77.4 percent of his passes for 949 yards and 11 touchdowns to no interceptions. Eric Stephens has led the way on the ground, rushing for 344 yards (5.6/carry) with five touchdowns. He also has 10 catches for 93 yards. Tuberville vowed to be more balanced offensively this season, and that has been the case with more of an emphasis on the running game. Texas Tech’s leading receivers are Darrin Moore (21 receptions, 339 yards, four TD), Eric Ward (16, 144, five TD) and Alex Torres (12, 136). Moore left their game against Nevada with a knee injury, and he’s expected to miss some time, which would be a huge blow to this offense.

Kansas

Kansas (2-1, 0-0 Big 12) is off to a surprising start to their 2011 campaign. After going just 3-9 a year ago, the Jayhawks opened with back-to-back victories. They beat McNeese State 42-24 and Northern Illinois 45-42 at home before falling at Georgia Tech 66-24. That game against the Yellow Jackets was just 24-17 at halftime, but Georgia Tech ran the Jayhawks into the ground in the second half. They outgained Kansas 768-362 for the game, racking up 604 rushing yards in the process. The Jayhawks will have two full weeks to prepare for Texas Tech, giving them a nice advantage.

The offense has shown some major improvements through the first three weeks. Kansas ranks 29th in the country in total offense (447.7 yards/game) and 27th in scoring offense (37.0 points/game). They defense has been gashed time and time again. The Jayhawks are 114th in total defense (548.0 yards/game) and 120th in scoring defense (44.0 yards/game). Obviously, those defensive numbers took a big hit in the Georgia Tech game.

Sophomore QB Jordan Webb has been a pleasant surprise in the early going, completing 66.1 percent of his passes for 575 yards and six touchdowns with no interceptions. James Sims (254 yards, 4.5/carry, three TD) and Darrian Miller (173 yards, 5.1/carry, three TD) have formed a solid 1-2 punch at running back. D.J. Beshears (12 receptions, 135 yards, two TD) has been Webb’s go-to receiver, while JaCorey Shepherd (five receptions, 136 yards, two TD) has been their big-play receiver (27.2/reception).

Betting Trends

The Red Raiders are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games as a road favorite of 3.5-10.0, but the Jayhawks are just 11-23 ATS in their last 34 games as a home underdog. Kansas is also 4-12 ATS in their last 16 conference games.

If you want college football wagering advice for Week 5, then sign up for a premium package from expert handicapper Jack Jones.

Comments

2 Responses to “Texas Tech at Kansas Odds”

chris on October 1st, 2011 9:49 AM

what is the acronym ATS mean
Jack Jones on October 5th, 2011 6:20 AM

Against the Spread

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