Texas Tech travels to Texas for a meeting on Thanksgiving in the hopes of putting an end to a pair of four-game losing streaks. The Red Raiders head into Thursday riding a four-game losing streak, and they’ve also lost four straight in their series with the Longhorns.
How to watch Texas Tech vs. Texas: Preview, TV time, odds and more
It’s not a traditional Big 12 Thanksgiving rivalry game, but some portion of state pride is still on the line.
The Longhorns have had their share of problems on the defensive side in 2013 -- a particularly dreadful effort against BYU in September cost defensive coordinator Manny Diaz his job, for one thing. While the unit has been better over the last month, it showed some of the same old cracks against Oklahoma State on Nov. 16, and the Red Raiders will no doubt put this group to the test once again.
The numbers
Rankings and records: Texas Tech comes in at 7-4 (4-4), while the Longhorns are 7-3 (6-1). Neither team is ranked. The Longhorns hold a 47-15 edge in the all-time series.
Vegas: Texas opened as a six-point favorite, though that line quickly began to narrow.
Weather: It will be a chilly evening, with the high in Austin expected to reach the mid-50s during the day. There is no rain in the forecast.
Thanksgiving Day college football
Texas Tech at Texas, 7:30 ET, FS1 The Egg Bowl, 7:30 ET, ESPN Three names to know
Davis Webb/Baker Mayfield -- Kliff Kingsbury has had to do some quarterback shuffling throughout the season as his freshmen signal callers had their ups and downs. Kingsbury may opt to stick with one of them for the entire game, but it wouldn't be surprising to see both of them play.
Jace Amaro -- The junior tight end has been the primary beneficiary of Texas Tech's pass-heavy offense. He leads the Big 12 by a wide margin with 92 receptions, and his 1,157 receiving yards rank second in the league. He's averaging about eight catches per game.
Case McCoy -- McCoy is not playing his best right now; the senior is coming off a three-interception performance against Oklahoma State, and he's averaging just six yards per attempt over his last three games. The Longhorns have been able to win games despite some lackluster efforts from McCoy, but considering their defensive issues, they might need him to be significantly better to beat Texas Tech. With David Ash officially done for the season, it's McCoy's show the rest of the way.
Two things at stake
Texas’ conference title hopes aren’t completely toast just yet, though the Longhorns will need to win out and get some help in order to take the title. Considering they finish with Baylor, winning out is going to be a tough task. And at this point, it may well be necessary in order to save Mack Brown’s job.
Texas Tech would love to potentially improve its bowl position by beating an in-state rival, and a win over the Longhorns would also help the Red Raiders avoid a demoralizing end to the season after a 7-0 start.
Also, of course, the Chancellor’s Spurs trophy, held by the winner of this game every year:
Wikipedia Commons
How to witness
TV: Fox Sports 1, 7:30 p.m. ET
Online streaming: None.
Further reading
For complete coverage of this matchup, head over to Longhorns blogs Barking Carnival and Burnt Orange Nation as well as Red Raiders blog Viva The Matadors.
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