The Saturday slate gets going with a critical Big 12 showdown when the Texas Tech Red Raiders host the Arizona Wildcats. Both teams come in at 6-1, and both are 3-1 in a crowded and top-heavy Big 12. Arizona’s lone conference loss came in September on the road at BYU, and probably counts as a “good loss”, whatever that means. Tech lost ironically last week when they got smoked at Cincinnati (ironic because Tech poached Cincy’s quarterback, who never played a down for Tech amid a gambling scandal). The Red Raiders are slight home favorites here, but I think the smart play is to take the points with the Wildcats, who might actually just be better altogether. Give me Arizona +3.5.
Texas Tech is not what they were last year. Last year’s team featured a ferocious defense and a good-enough offense. This year, the defense has not been dominant, and they especially struggle against the pass, ranking 126 (out of 138) in passing yards allowed per game. That’s a problem with veteran QB Noah Fifita coming to town. I think we have a spot here where Texas Tech has been expected to be good all season, but they have survived on a favorable schedule. Their only tough matchup was against Houston, and that was at home. Arizona, on the other hand, has turned out to be better than expected, beating three straight conference opponents by 20+ points. We should pay attention to that. Give me the Wildcats.
Arizona vs Texas Tech prediction: Arizona Wildcats +3.5 (-110) available at the time of publishing. Playable to PK.
