Preview: Arizona Football and Texas Tech set to square off
We’ve got a huge test this week, as we will finally see what kind of team we have with Arizona Football (1-1) taking on Texas Tech (2-0).
There was a lot of good, as well as some bad in the Arizona Football win on Saturday evening, but some fans still aren’t happy, as we still saw quite a few defensive struggles. However, it’s a new week, and Texas Tech is now the focus.
This past week wasn’t the greatest barometer for this team, as the Wildcats won rather easily like they should have, but still had a few lapses against an inferior FCS opponent, especially on defense.
Arizona Wildcats
The good news is that it’s week three of the season, and in theory the Wildcats should be better now than they were in week one, but the potential bad news is that Arizona will now face the best team on their schedule thus far.
Coming in are the undefeated Red Raiders, and while that may frighten some, I do think they are beatable.
Nonetheless, Arizona will have to play much better this week in order to do so, and they certainly need to clean up quite a few things, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
Because of Arizona’s early defensive struggles, many are anticipating a high scoring affair, and one in which Arizona may have to score often and a lot if they’re going to put themselves in a position to win this one.
Texas Tech is a very formidable opponent, and they have quite a few offensive weapons that will surely challenge the Cats. With that said, here is our week three preview, where we breakdown the Wildcats’ latest opponent, the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
Know Thy Foe:
Team: Texas Tech Red Raiders (2-0)
Conference: Big 12 Conference
2018 Record: 5-7 (3-6); lost to Baylor 35-24 to end the season.
Head Coach: Matt Wells enters his first season with the Red Raiders, after previously coaching at Utah State, and this is his seventh season as a head coach. Overall, he is 46-34, having put together a couple great seasons together while at Utah State, and so far he’s 2-0 in Lubbock.
Well has a rather competitive group, and one that is going to be one hell of a challenge.
Key Returners/ Starters: Sophomore quarterback Alan Bowman will surely lead this potent offense, as the signal caller has had a tremendous start to 2019, completing 70-98 passes for 696 yards with five touchdowns to just one interception.
Texas Tech likes to pass the ball quite a bit, but that still have some very capable runners, namely using Armand Shyne, Ta’Zhawn Henry and SaRodorick Thompson. So far, the three-headed monster out of this backfield has totaled 328 yards rushing with five touchdowns on just 53 carries.
The Red Raiders’ receiving corp is rather impressive. They’re a pretty deep group, and they possesses plenty of size and speed on the outsides. Guys like Dalton Rigdon, T.J. Vasher and Xavier White tend to be the top targets early in the season, and Henry also gets a lot of action as a pass catcher out of the backfield as well.
Defensively, the Red Raiders look pretty good so far, but it’s hard to judge accurately, since they’ve only played Montana State and UTEP to begin the season, so it is early. Nonetheless, they have plenty of play makers that will surely challenge the Cats.
Look for Texas Tech to stack the box heavily and commit to stopping the run, and to do so, they will use guys like; Jordyn Brooks, the big man Broderick Washington, Riko Jeffers and Evan Rambo among.
They also have some good athletes in the secondary who will surely challenge the Cats vertically, so the receivers got to be aggressive here and get open!
Key Injuries:
Game Information:
When: Saturday, September 14th, 2019
Time: 7:30 PM MST
Watch: ESPN
Where: Arizona Stadium (Tucson, AZ)
Spread: -2.5 Texas Tech
Overall Series Record: 26-4-2 Texas Tech. The Wildcats have a fairly lengthy history with the Red Raiders, but unfortunately it hasn’t been a good one, as this match-up has typically been one-sided with the Red Raiders currently owning a one-game winning streak.
Last Meeting vs. Arizona: Texas Tech last met Arizona in 1989, earning the 24-14 win in Lubbock, TX when Spike Dykes (father of former Arizona offensive coordinator, Sonny Dykes) was head coach.
My Prediction: Texas Tech 56 Arizona 45. I do think this one becomes a shoot out, but ultimately the Red Raiders cover the spread in this one. They have too many weapons offensively, and with the struggles we’ve had on defense, I think Texas Tech takes advantage of that.
The lack of a consistent pass rush will prove too costly, as Bowman is able to put together a big day for the Raiders en route to the road win.
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At Zona Zealots, we’re hoping the Cats can come out strong, and ultimately come away victorious in this one! As always, Bear Down, Arizona and Beat the Red Raiders!