In this week's edition of the Roundtable, the RRS staff gathers to discuss and debate this question:
TCU and Baylor. Will the Red Raiders lose both games, win one of the two, or win both? Why?
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Level: I felt like this team would win one of these games during that tough three game stretch before the season. Through one game that task has been achieved and now I really feel like this is going to be a 2-1 stretch as long as they'll continue to take care of the football, get solid play from Pat and stay away from too many penalties. So far, so good. And it is worth mentioning that the fun part is that they won't have to play perfect to win either of these two upcoming games. If you win either, a HUGE if, but if you do this team can challenge for a league title this season and there is no pressure on them right now to do that which makes it fun.
Dickens:Texas Tech will go 1-1 over its next two games. I expect the Red Raiders to beat TCU on Saturday and drop one to Baylor the following week. I think, three weeks in, that the Bears are a more complete team than the Frogs and will make for a big challenge.
McKay: I think Tech is going to go 1-1 against the Frogs and Bears. It's the hardest pair of games back to back for the Red Raiders this fall, and it's just so tough to beat two teams that are that good in a row, for any team. But, I do still think Tech gets one of the two, as they're going into this weekend's contest against TCU with all the cards in their favor. Biggest home game in years, coming off the best win in over a year, mostly healthy, while the Frogs' defense is leaky and injured. The Bears will be a different beast, however. They're healthy and rolling so far, and they still have one of the best defensive lines in college football.
Clare: My answer is one. Expectations will always change week to week, but even going into the Arkansas game there was a renewed optimism because of the play at QB from Mahomes. For this weekend I'm taking the team playing at home, with a 3:45 kickoff, who will play in front of a sellout crowd with plenty of time to pre-game in the parking lot. Add all of those factors together, plus the Mahomes factor and that equals a win for Tech this weekend in my opinion.
A big win? No, not necessarily, but a win is a win.
The issue is next weekend at Cowboys Stadium against Baylor. Even my expectations could change by this time next week, but Baylor does not have the injury and depth concerns that TCU has at the moment. It's also easy to argue that the Baylor offense is more of a threat than the TCU offense. Any other week it would be much easier for me to pick Tech against Baylor for a number of reasons, but back to back games against TCU and Baylor is a tall order.
I'm taking the home win against the No. 3 team in the nation, then a closely contested loss next weekend in Dallas against Baylor.
Wright: I'm predicting Texas Tech to pull out the upset this weekend, so that eliminates the "lose both" option right off the bat. A sold out crowd, coming off a big-time, dominant, road upset, with a chip on their shoulder and nothing to lose, looking for pay back from last year, led by No. 5... Texas Tech wins this weekend and they will probably even field the better defense.
Plus, I think TCU is a bit overrated. Are they good? Absolutely, but I'm not convinced they're No. 3 good, probably Top 15 or Top 20.
Baylor's probably a bit better than TCU, in my book, mainly because the Bears currently have more healthy playmakers on defense. However, a much worse Texas Tech team almost beat them last season. The '15 Red Raiders are already much better than '14 and have plenty of room to grow much more through the next nine games. Also, I'm not convinced the '15 Bears are better than the '14 Bears at this point.
Is it unlikely Texas Tech wins both? Yes. Is it crazy to pick Tech to win both? Yes, but why not?
Tech wins both.
Kohnle: Tech has as good of chance as any to win both of their upcoming games against two top-five opponents. Tech has shown signs of improvement in every game this year, and I think the upward trajectory will continue. The offensive fireworks will be abundant for both teams this Saturday, and I think it will be a good test to see how the Red Raiders respond coming off a big win against Arkansas. If Tech upsets TCU, they will have the confidence and momentum going into their bout with the Baylor Bears. Last year, Tech was a homeless man living in a cardboard box with nothing to lose according to Art Briles and almost upset a top-ranked Baylor squad. A TCU win will be a big confidence booster to this team, but I think everybody in that locker room has much loftier goals and will not be intimidated by any team they face this year—Baylor included. I predicted TCU and Baylor wins at the start of the year (and an Arkansas loss) and now with the season underway, this Tech team –along with Baylor and TCU—have given me no reason to believe that that still isn’t possible.
Koch: Heading into the next two weeks, Texas Tech really has a chance to make a statement, playing No. 3 TCU and No. 5 Baylor. These are the two teams everyone expected to be atop the Big 12 when everything was said and done.
Will the Red Raiders win both? I don't think so, but I do believe they split. TCU has struggled when it has traveled to Lubbock, not winning there since the mid-90s. Last time there it was a 20-10 loss for the Horned Frogs. With the way Pat Mahomes and the defense are playing, I think Tech gets TCU.
I don't believe the Red Raiders get Baylor, just because that is a team that has a lot of weapons that can fly. The Red Raiders have struggled in recent years against the Art Briles' coached team, not beating the Bears since 2010.
Despite only losing by two last year, I don't see Texas Tech walking away with a pair of wins like that. I think the Red Raiders split the difference and beat TCU.
Martin: Everything that's transpired with the team up to now leads me to believe that Texas Tech will be victorious when the clock strikes zero this Saturday evening and in Dallas against Baylor next Saturday. However, I'm sticking with my original prediction that Texas Tech will drop both games. The defense has shown vast improvement, but I don't think that they'll be able to slow down Trevone Boykin and his blazing fast offense. Baylor has shown their dominance through two games, and I believe that a game at Jerry World is almost another home game for them because of proximity.
TCU and Baylor. Will the Red Raiders lose both games, win one of the two, or win both? Why?
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Level: I felt like this team would win one of these games during that tough three game stretch before the season. Through one game that task has been achieved and now I really feel like this is going to be a 2-1 stretch as long as they'll continue to take care of the football, get solid play from Pat and stay away from too many penalties. So far, so good. And it is worth mentioning that the fun part is that they won't have to play perfect to win either of these two upcoming games. If you win either, a HUGE if, but if you do this team can challenge for a league title this season and there is no pressure on them right now to do that which makes it fun.
Dickens:Texas Tech will go 1-1 over its next two games. I expect the Red Raiders to beat TCU on Saturday and drop one to Baylor the following week. I think, three weeks in, that the Bears are a more complete team than the Frogs and will make for a big challenge.
McKay: I think Tech is going to go 1-1 against the Frogs and Bears. It's the hardest pair of games back to back for the Red Raiders this fall, and it's just so tough to beat two teams that are that good in a row, for any team. But, I do still think Tech gets one of the two, as they're going into this weekend's contest against TCU with all the cards in their favor. Biggest home game in years, coming off the best win in over a year, mostly healthy, while the Frogs' defense is leaky and injured. The Bears will be a different beast, however. They're healthy and rolling so far, and they still have one of the best defensive lines in college football.
Clare: My answer is one. Expectations will always change week to week, but even going into the Arkansas game there was a renewed optimism because of the play at QB from Mahomes. For this weekend I'm taking the team playing at home, with a 3:45 kickoff, who will play in front of a sellout crowd with plenty of time to pre-game in the parking lot. Add all of those factors together, plus the Mahomes factor and that equals a win for Tech this weekend in my opinion.
A big win? No, not necessarily, but a win is a win.
The issue is next weekend at Cowboys Stadium against Baylor. Even my expectations could change by this time next week, but Baylor does not have the injury and depth concerns that TCU has at the moment. It's also easy to argue that the Baylor offense is more of a threat than the TCU offense. Any other week it would be much easier for me to pick Tech against Baylor for a number of reasons, but back to back games against TCU and Baylor is a tall order.
I'm taking the home win against the No. 3 team in the nation, then a closely contested loss next weekend in Dallas against Baylor.
Wright: I'm predicting Texas Tech to pull out the upset this weekend, so that eliminates the "lose both" option right off the bat. A sold out crowd, coming off a big-time, dominant, road upset, with a chip on their shoulder and nothing to lose, looking for pay back from last year, led by No. 5... Texas Tech wins this weekend and they will probably even field the better defense.
Plus, I think TCU is a bit overrated. Are they good? Absolutely, but I'm not convinced they're No. 3 good, probably Top 15 or Top 20.
Baylor's probably a bit better than TCU, in my book, mainly because the Bears currently have more healthy playmakers on defense. However, a much worse Texas Tech team almost beat them last season. The '15 Red Raiders are already much better than '14 and have plenty of room to grow much more through the next nine games. Also, I'm not convinced the '15 Bears are better than the '14 Bears at this point.
Is it unlikely Texas Tech wins both? Yes. Is it crazy to pick Tech to win both? Yes, but why not?
Tech wins both.
Kohnle: Tech has as good of chance as any to win both of their upcoming games against two top-five opponents. Tech has shown signs of improvement in every game this year, and I think the upward trajectory will continue. The offensive fireworks will be abundant for both teams this Saturday, and I think it will be a good test to see how the Red Raiders respond coming off a big win against Arkansas. If Tech upsets TCU, they will have the confidence and momentum going into their bout with the Baylor Bears. Last year, Tech was a homeless man living in a cardboard box with nothing to lose according to Art Briles and almost upset a top-ranked Baylor squad. A TCU win will be a big confidence booster to this team, but I think everybody in that locker room has much loftier goals and will not be intimidated by any team they face this year—Baylor included. I predicted TCU and Baylor wins at the start of the year (and an Arkansas loss) and now with the season underway, this Tech team –along with Baylor and TCU—have given me no reason to believe that that still isn’t possible.
Koch: Heading into the next two weeks, Texas Tech really has a chance to make a statement, playing No. 3 TCU and No. 5 Baylor. These are the two teams everyone expected to be atop the Big 12 when everything was said and done.
Will the Red Raiders win both? I don't think so, but I do believe they split. TCU has struggled when it has traveled to Lubbock, not winning there since the mid-90s. Last time there it was a 20-10 loss for the Horned Frogs. With the way Pat Mahomes and the defense are playing, I think Tech gets TCU.
I don't believe the Red Raiders get Baylor, just because that is a team that has a lot of weapons that can fly. The Red Raiders have struggled in recent years against the Art Briles' coached team, not beating the Bears since 2010.
Despite only losing by two last year, I don't see Texas Tech walking away with a pair of wins like that. I think the Red Raiders split the difference and beat TCU.
Martin: Everything that's transpired with the team up to now leads me to believe that Texas Tech will be victorious when the clock strikes zero this Saturday evening and in Dallas against Baylor next Saturday. However, I'm sticking with my original prediction that Texas Tech will drop both games. The defense has shown vast improvement, but I don't think that they'll be able to slow down Trevone Boykin and his blazing fast offense. Baylor has shown their dominance through two games, and I believe that a game at Jerry World is almost another home game for them because of proximity.
