Kansas football vs. Texas Tech Preview: Jayhawks seek homecoming win

Kansas football is coming off one of their best games of the season, where they put up 48 points on the road against #15 Texas. The Jayhawks will face Texas Tech this week at home for homecoming. Here’s the breakdown:

LAST WEEK

Kansas football took Texas to the wire in Austin and really should have pulled off the upset. Still, the Jayhawks showed a massive offensive improvement in the 48-50 loss thanks to new offensive coordinator Brent Dearmon.

Kansas exploded on offense racking up 569 total yards and picking up 27 first downs against the Longhorns. Quarterback Carter Stanley played great, throwing for 310 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions. Running back Pooka Williams also looked good rushing for 190 yards and two touchdowns on the day.

It was a statement game for Kansas football that put the rest of the Big 12 on notice: the Jayhawks are no longer a pushover.

Texas Tech got beat last week at home by Iowa State 34-24. The loss knocked the Red Raiders down to 1-3 in conference play and 3-4 overall as Texas Tech travels to Lawrence for a showdown with Kansas. Quarterback Alan Bowman will still be watching from the sidelines, as he’s still expected to be out with an injury.

Junior Quarterback Jett Duffey has been taking the snaps for the Red Raiders in Bowman’s absence. Last week against the Cyclones, Duffey went 40-52, throwing for 239 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions. Duffey also had nine rushes for 24 yards. On the ground, SaRodorick Thompson led the Texas Tech rushing attack with 10 carries for 57 yards and two touchdowns.

THIS WEEK

The betting line for this game has been moving all over the place since Texas Tech opened as a 7.5 favorite over Kansas. The current consensus according to The Action Network has the Jayhawks at only a three-point home underdog now. The massive shift in odds in such a short time is an indication of just how much an impact the Texas game had on the public belief in Kansas football.

Both teams are coming into this week riding losing skids, the question is which team will find a way to win? As of now, I have no problem thinking Kansas wins this game. Still, Texas Tech has played some solid teams in their past few games including Iowa State, Baylor, and Oklahoma State, but the Jayhawks seem to have finally turned the corner.

NOTABLE INJURIES/SUSPENSIONS

Once again, linebacker Dru Prox will be questionable for this Saturday’s game and likely won’t play. On whether or not Prox would return this season, Coach Les Miles said “I’m not sure on that. It will be a late call.”

As mentioned the Red Raiders will be without quarterback Alan Bowman for the fourth straight week.

PREDICTION

If Kansas can continue putting up 40 point offensive performances, they’ll have a chance to win every game on their schedule from here on out. That’s a pretty big if, and it will all depend on Brent Dearmon being able to keep the offense running at peak efficiency.

There’s no reason to believe that Dearmon cant roll his success with the offense from last week into this week. Texas Tech has given up an average of 39 points a game to Big 12 opponents this season, so I fully expect Kansas to score close to that number.

On the other side of the ball, the Texas Tech offense has averaged 29 points per game against Big 12 opponents this season. The Kansas defense didn’t play great last weekend against the Longhorns, but Jett Duffey is no Sam Ehlinger. As long as the Kansas secondary comes to play, then the Jayhawks should be able to keep the pass-happy Texas Tech offense under control.

The game is scheduled for 6:00 PM this Saturday at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium and will be broadcast on FS1. It’ll be homecoming weekend for Kansas football, so the crowd size should be substantial as the Jayhawks look to pick up their first Big 12 win of the season.

Final Prediction: 43-31 Kansas