Tech, Oklahoma ready for another epic matchup
Texas Tech and Oklahoma will faceoff, determined to earn a well-fought victory to keep their Big 12 championship hopes alive.
The two meet at 7 p.m. Oct. 22 on Fox.
The Sooners (4-2, 3-0) will arrive in Lubbock without standout running back Samaje Perine. Coach Bob Stoops announced that Perine will miss at least two weeks with a pulled muscle.
That means the majority of carries will go to Joe Mixon, who has 79 carries for 476 yards and two touchdowns.
“He’s just an exceptional athlete, not just running the ball,” Stoops said. “He has great hands. Even in returns he has great hands in the backfield. He’s unusually slippery to go with the power. Something that caught my eyes, in the back of the end zone he caught it with one hand. He’s just different in all that he can do.”
Stoops said others could line up in the backfield including Dimitri Flowers, Mark Andrews and Carson Meier.
Expect to see quarterback Baker Mayfield run more with the ball. He has 42 rushes for 142 yards and three touchdowns and has completed 125 passes for 1,803 yards, 16 touchdowns and five interceptions.
Mayfield makes his return to Lubbock for the first time since he was the Big 12’s Offensive Freshman of the Year three seasons ago. Stoops said he wasn’t concerned about how Mayfield will handle the environment.
“He’s not a freshman,” he said. “Stick to what’s been positive and good for him. Hopefully he can handle that.”
As for Tech, head coach Kliff Kingsbury said the team’s top goal is to come out with more energy and avoid being flat, which wasn’t the case during last week’s loss to West Virginia 48-17.
“We have to be mentally tougher. When you get down and not respond, that’s not what you want to get labeled,” Kingsbury said. “We have to play tougher and try to ramp up practices and bring more energy and enthusiasm.”
Kingsbury said quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ lack of practice leading up to West Virginia caught up to him during the game. Mahomes threw for 305 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Still, Mahomes is the conference’s top passer, averaging 430 yards per game. The coach added the quarterback sounds like he feels better this week.
Kingsbury believes the Sooner defense will be as talented as ever.
“They’ve continued to get better,” he said. “They have good linebackers, athletic and physical. We’ll be challenged, it’ll be one of the better defenses we’ll play.”
