The Texas Tech Red Raiders and Iowa State Cyclones face off on Saturday in a college football showdown at Jack Trice Stadium. When these two teams faced off last year it was Texas Tech that secured the 41-38 victory.
Texas Tech comes into this game with a 5-5 record and they have gone 5-5 against the spread. In the last game against Kansas, the Red Raiders scored 43 points and that was enough to win by 15 points. The defense at times has been an issue for Texas Tech, and they need that to be a strength here. Against the Jayhawks, quarterback Tyler Shough completed 20 of his 33 passes for 246 yards and a touchdown. The Red Raiders are averaging 33.8 points while their defense is giving up 29.6 points per game.
On the other side of this matchup is Iowa State who sits with a 4-6 record and they have gone 4-5-1 against the spread. It has been a very disappointing season for the Cyclones and they are coming off another loss in the last game. Iowa State could only manage 14 points against Oklahoma State and that led to the six-point defeat. Quarterback Hunter Dekkers really struggled against the Cowboys. He completed 28 of his 42 passes for 274 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions. The running game for Iowa State also couldn’t really going. Iowa State is averaging 21.8 points while their defense is giving up 16.7 points per game.
Texas Tech is 1-5 against the spread in their last six games on grass. Iowa State is 3-1-1 against the spread in their last five games following an against the spread loss. The under is 5-1 in Texas Tech’s last six games. The under is 6-0 in Iowa State’s last six conference games.
I don’t trust this Iowa state team to beat many teams by a field goal. The Cyclones have struggled to move the ball all season averaging only 21.8 points per game. Dekkers isn’t the answer under center for the Cyclones, and Texas Tech might just pull the upset here. Back the Red Raiders against the spread.
AUTHOR: Shane Mickle
Mitch's Take...
