Texas Tech vs. Oklahoma 2017 live stream: Time, TV channel, and how to watch online

After falling to the Iowa State Cyclones three weeks ago, the No. 10 Oklahoma Sooners (6-1) have gotten back on track with two straight wins away from Norman. They now head back home to face the Texas Tech Red Raiders (4-3) at 8 p.m. ET on ABC or ESPN2 (check coverage map for channel info; live stream at WatchESPN).

It’s important for the Sooners to avoid any slipups with their two most important games of the season coming up. Next week marks the annual Bedlam encounter with Oklahoma State, and Oklahoma plays TCU the week after. Both games will ultimately decide who plays in the Big 12 Championship and could have major ramifications for the College Football Playoff race.

Oklahoma still has that early-season win over Ohio State as a huge resume boost with the Cowboys and Horned Frogs looming as potential quality wins, but the Sooners sure didn’t make things easy for themselves last week, letting Kansas Sate take an early 21-7 lead before Baker Mayfield led a comeback, ultimately prevailing with a 42-35 win. Oklahoma also had a close call in the Red River rivalry, squeaking by Texas in a 29-24 thriller. The Sooners are far from invincible, but under Lincoln Riley they’re resilient, and that goes a long way in college football.

Texas Tech has been far less successful in conference play, with its only Big 12 win coming against a hopeless Kansas team. Otherwise, the Red Raiders dropped games to Oklahoma State, West Virginia, and Iowa State, putting their bowl hopes on thin ice at 4-3. Kliff Kingsbury has earned a lot of goodwill as a former quarterback in Lubbock, but he hasn’t quite delivered as a head coach.

The Red Raiders have just two winning seasons in Kingsbury’s first four years and never won more than eight games. Hovering around the .500 mark once again could put his job under more scrutiny as Texas Tech has fallen into also-ran status under his watch.

Oklahoma will be hosting plenty of its current commitments as well as a number of 2019 prospects, so this equates to being one of the biggest recruiting weekends in recent memory in terms of both quality and quantity. The crowd at Saturday night’s game against Texas Tech is going to be a big part of the pitch, so OU fans definitely need to bring their A-game. Those of you in attendance will have plenty of time to fit in all sorts fun before the 7 p.m. game, so there’s no excuse (for the most part) to not do your part in creating an environment that the coaches, players and fans can be proud of.

When Kelly is locked in, he provides a significant boost to both the run defense and the pass defense. He’s good against the run because he has the strength to get off blocks and make plays on the inside while also having the speed to set the edge on the outside. This is what we saw in the second half against K-State and in the Sugar Bowl against Auburn last year. Kelly moving all over the field and chasing after running backs and opposing quarterbacks is a boon for the Oklahoma defense. When offensive lineman have to account for Kelly shedding his first blocker, that opens up lanes for the linebackers and defensive lineman to plug gaps against the run.

Based on the team’s performance this season compared to last, I’d say that Kliff Kingsbury should have at least another year. I may be forced to eat my words if there is a late season collapse but, as we stand this week, I think a coaching change may do more harm than good especially when it comes to the defense which is just starting to find it’s stride. Kliff Kingsbury is also one of the best offensive minds in the country and to replace him would mean that our offense will take a hit as well.

What if our offensive brand is what has been keeping us down this whole time? No, seriously. Just because something is working out amazingly at the beginning doesn’t mean it’s supposed to last eternal. Point in fact, the mediocrity plateau we’ve hit. One of Kingsbury’s focal points in recent years has been to rebuild and reengage the defense into Texas Tech’s identity. That’s been exciting to see mature, right? Yet one of the sub-narratives to that development has been an increasing reliance on the run game.

The Red Raiders are built for shootouts, but they simply don’t have the horses to keep up with Mayfield and Co. At best, they might catch the Sooners looking ahead to Bedlam, but I don’t see that happening. Oklahoma keeps its eye on the prize and wins by double digits.