Texas Tech opens its 2015 football season in a month and a half and most prognosticators seem to have the Red Raiders pegged as a 6-6 team. Given the team's schedule and how poorly it played a times last season, that prediction seems very reasonable. You might even call it a safe bet.
I'm not a fan of safe.
And so, for the third year in a row, I present to you my bold predictions for the upcoming season.
BOLD PREDICTION 1: Purple will be out this year in the Big 12. Kansas State will finish below .500 for the first time since Bill Snyder returned to the sideline and TCU will lose at least two games.
BOLD PREDICTION 2: Texas will cover the 12.5-point spread in its opener against Notre Dame.
BOLD PREDICTION 3: Oklahoma State's quarterback situation in 2015 will be very reminiscent of Texas Tech's in 2014, with Mason Rudolph and J.W. Walsh playing the orange-tinted roles of Davis Webb and Pat Mahomes.
BOLD PREDICTION 4: The Nov. 27 Baylor-TCU matchup will not be the Big 12's Game of the Year.
BOLD PREDICTION 5: Pat Mahomes will win Texas Tech's No. 1 quarterback job. He'll finish the season with 4,250 passing yards -- the first Red Raider signal caller top 4,000 yards since Seth Doege in 2012 -- and post 36 total touchdowns and 10 interceptions. There will be arguments on this message board in December over whether Mahomes' sophomore season was more impressive than Graham Harrell's in 2006.
BOLD PREDICTION 6: The Red Raiders will still rank in the bottom half of the Big 12 in turnover margin, but will significantly improve their turnovers lost numbers from 28 in 2014 to 18.
BOLD PREDICTION 7: DeAndre Washington will come close, but he won't quite top his rushing total from last season. His red zone numbers, in particular his touchdown total, will be notably better. Washington's dip in production will largely be due to Justin Stockton, as he will rush for nearly 600 yards on the year. Overall, the Red Raiders' running game will be more efficient and productive in 2015.
BOLD PREDICTION 8: Texas Tech's scoring defense average will improve by 10 points in 2015 -- from 41 to 31 points per game -- which will be good for seventh in the Big 12 and a 30-spot jump in the national rankings. The team's run defense will be much improved from last season -- although, that's kind of a low bar -- and give up just 185 rushing yards per game in 2015.
BOLD PREDICTION 9: For the first time in nearly a decade, the Red Raiders will not have any staff attrition this offseason.
BOLD PREDICTION 10: Texas Tech will slightly beat expectations and finish the regular season with a 7-5 record. It won't be easy, and a three-game losing streak against Arkansas, TCU and Baylor will cast a dark cloud over the first half of the season. Yet the Red Raiders will rebound and do something that they haven't done in several years: finish the season strong. The team will win four of its last six games, including home wins against Oklahoma State and Kansas State, and return to the postseason after a one-year hiatus.
I'm not a fan of safe.
And so, for the third year in a row, I present to you my bold predictions for the upcoming season.
BOLD PREDICTION 1: Purple will be out this year in the Big 12. Kansas State will finish below .500 for the first time since Bill Snyder returned to the sideline and TCU will lose at least two games.
BOLD PREDICTION 2: Texas will cover the 12.5-point spread in its opener against Notre Dame.
BOLD PREDICTION 3: Oklahoma State's quarterback situation in 2015 will be very reminiscent of Texas Tech's in 2014, with Mason Rudolph and J.W. Walsh playing the orange-tinted roles of Davis Webb and Pat Mahomes.
BOLD PREDICTION 4: The Nov. 27 Baylor-TCU matchup will not be the Big 12's Game of the Year.
BOLD PREDICTION 5: Pat Mahomes will win Texas Tech's No. 1 quarterback job. He'll finish the season with 4,250 passing yards -- the first Red Raider signal caller top 4,000 yards since Seth Doege in 2012 -- and post 36 total touchdowns and 10 interceptions. There will be arguments on this message board in December over whether Mahomes' sophomore season was more impressive than Graham Harrell's in 2006.
BOLD PREDICTION 6: The Red Raiders will still rank in the bottom half of the Big 12 in turnover margin, but will significantly improve their turnovers lost numbers from 28 in 2014 to 18.
BOLD PREDICTION 7: DeAndre Washington will come close, but he won't quite top his rushing total from last season. His red zone numbers, in particular his touchdown total, will be notably better. Washington's dip in production will largely be due to Justin Stockton, as he will rush for nearly 600 yards on the year. Overall, the Red Raiders' running game will be more efficient and productive in 2015.
BOLD PREDICTION 8: Texas Tech's scoring defense average will improve by 10 points in 2015 -- from 41 to 31 points per game -- which will be good for seventh in the Big 12 and a 30-spot jump in the national rankings. The team's run defense will be much improved from last season -- although, that's kind of a low bar -- and give up just 185 rushing yards per game in 2015.
BOLD PREDICTION 9: For the first time in nearly a decade, the Red Raiders will not have any staff attrition this offseason.
BOLD PREDICTION 10: Texas Tech will slightly beat expectations and finish the regular season with a 7-5 record. It won't be easy, and a three-game losing streak against Arkansas, TCU and Baylor will cast a dark cloud over the first half of the season. Yet the Red Raiders will rebound and do something that they haven't done in several years: finish the season strong. The team will win four of its last six games, including home wins against Oklahoma State and Kansas State, and return to the postseason after a one-year hiatus.
