Wow, isn’t it hard to believe that we’re already to game 7? Texas Tech has moved to 3-3 on the season after a convincing win on the road against Baylor, but the hunger doesn’t stop there. The Red Raiders have now won 2 straight conference games and are sitting at 2-1 in the Big 12 season. The truth is, all of Texas Tech’s preseason goals are still sitting right in front of them. Conference championship game appearance? Still possible. Regular season championship? Still possible. That can all change with a loss this week.

Kansas State is coming on off a bad loss to a mediocre Oklahoma State team. The reigning Big 12 champion has their only conference win against a floundering UCF team, and they don’t really have an impressive win on their resume. A close loss to Missouri on the road in non-conference play and an embarrassing loss to Oklahoma State has Wildcat fans questioning what to expect from their team. Both Texas Tech and Kansas State fans will have a better idea of where their teams stand after this weekend.

The Wildcats are led by senior QB Will Howard. Howard started a good chunk of games last year after Adrian Martinez got hurt, and he hasn’t looked back. Howard is a very smart QB and in the past has been very good about not turning the ball over, but has had issues with that in recent weeks. Howard can be a very good runner, as he has displayed in the past.

Howard has thrown for 1,224 yards and 9 TDs this season, but has also thrown 7 INTs this year. Howard had a rough outing last game out against Oklahoma State, completing only 15 of 34 pass attempts for 152 yards, 1 TD, and 3 INTs. Howard did however have a good game running the ball, having 10 carries for 104 yards and a TD, including a 70 yard run. The Red Raiders are going to have to be prepared for Howard to scramble if the pocket collapses. Tech has had issues with mobile QBs this season, so this could be something to watch for.

In the running game, Kansas State is led by sophomore RB DJ Giddens. Giddens has take 82 carries for 488 yards and 4 TDs this season. His best game by far was against UCF where he took 30 carries for 207 yards, and that game is also where he scored at 4 of his TDs this season.

Giddens was not given an easy role this season, as he’s had to fill in for departed RB Deuce Vaughn. I’d say Giddens is filling that role fairly well, given he’s averaging 6 yards per carry this season.

Giddens is also a very big threat in the passing game. He’s caught at least 3 passes in 3 out of 5 games this year. Against UCF, Giddens caught 8 passes for 86 yards. He’s the definition of a do-it-all back, and Tech needs to have an eye on him at all times.

Kansas State has multiple big contributors in the receiving game, but their lead pass-catcher is TE Ben Sinnott. Sinnott is a junior out of Waterloo, IA, and you can tell he’s an Iowa Tight End. He’s big, can make contested catches and is a threat anywhere on the field. Sinnott has caught 20 passes for 286 yards and 3 TDs this season, and had at least 4 catches in 4 out of 5 games. His best game came against Missouri where he caught 5 passes for 78 yards and 2 TDs.

5th year senior Phillip Brooks is Kansas State’s top WR. He’s caught 27 passes for 276 yards and 2 TDs this year, including 7 catches for 94 yards and 1 TD against Troy. He usually gets a carry or 2 in the run game as well, so look for the Wildcats to use him in some gadget plays, just to get him involved.

Kansas State has really been Texas Techs kryptonite as of late. The Wildcats have won 7 straight games against the Red Raiders, going all the way back to 2016. Techs last win against Kansas State came in 2015 in Lubbock, where Tech won 59-44.

What do I expect in this game? Quite honestly, I don’t know. Both teams have been very inconsistent when it comes to play calling and how they’ve called games. If Tech stays run-heavy, I see them winning this game. My prediction? Texas Tech 31- Kansas State 27