Texas Tech @ Texas A&M preview
Kyle Field
Last Meeting ( Oct 24, 2009 ) Texas A&M 52, Texas Tech 30
Texas A&M and Texas Tech may not be in the running for a Big 12 Conference championship, but there’s still a lot riding on Saturday’s game.
Both teams are looking to earn a bowl bid when the Aggies host Tech at Kyle Field. It is the 69th meeting in the series between the intrastate rivals.
Texas A&M (4-3, 1-2 Big 12) snapped a three-game losing streak with an impressive 45-10 victory at Kansas last week.
Senior quarterback Jerrod Johnson, who broke the school record for total offense, led the Aggies. Johnson finished the game with 139 passing yards and 28 rushing yards, raising his career total to 8,888 yards and surpassing Reggie McNeal’s previous mark of 8,876.
Johnson rushed for a touchdown in the first half before yielding to backup quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who threw three touchdowns in the second half.
A&M running back Cyrus Gray led the ground game with 117 yards on 13 carries, including a 9-yard scoring run to start the game. Jeff Fuller had five catches for 121 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensively, A&M shut out Kansas in the second half and came away with two interceptions. For the game, the Jayhawks managed only 331 yards of total offense.
Texas Tech (4-3, 2-3), meanwhile, is trying to win back-to-back games for just the second time this season. Tech is coming off a dramatic 27-24 comeback victory over Colorado last week. It was the first time the Red Raiders won a game in Boulder, Colo.
Tech trailed the entire game before rallying from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter. Kicker Matt Williams made two field goals and quarterback Taylor Potts hit Lyle Leong on a 7-yard touchdown pass to lead the comeback.
Potts finished the game 24 of 38 or 286 yards and two touchdowns and Alex Torres had six catches for 133 yards. Detron Lewis added six receptions for 84 yards.
Defensively, the Red Raiders have been led all year by senior linebacker Bront Bird, who moved to middle linebacker this season. He leads the team with 63 tackles, including 4 ½ tackles for loss.
Finally, it’s worth noting that the series began back in 1927, with the Aggies winning the inaugural game 47-6 in Lubbock. A&M leads the all-time series 35-31-1, but Tech has won 11 of the past 15 meetings.