Oklahoma @ Texas Tech preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 28, 2017 ) Texas Tech 27, Oklahoma 49

Thanks to an upset at the top of the Big 12 standings last week, Oklahoma finds itself back in control of its own destiny in regards to making it to the conference championship game. Riding a defense that is starting to match its prolific offense, the seventh-ranked Sooners eye their 19th consecutive true road victory Saturday when they visit Texas Tech.

Oklahoma has been dominant since a 48-45 loss to Texas on Oct. 6 led to the firing of defensive coordinator Mike Stoops and subsequent promotion of Ruffin McNeill, whose charges have given up an average of 265 yards and 20.5 points in two games (421 and 27.3, respectively, prior to Stoops' dismissal). The Sooners enjoyed a 702-245 advantage in total offense in last weekend's 51-14 rout of Kansas State, scoring at least 45 points for the fourth consecutive contest. "For them to have some success after some of the changes - to have that success makes a difference, and it continues to breed confidence. … Ruffin's done a great job. It's not an easy role to step into," Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley said. The Red Raiders rank seventh in FBS in total offense (528.3 yards) and 10th in scoring offense (42.3), but they could muster only 363 yards and committed 10 penalties in last weekend's 40-31 setback at Iowa State.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, ABC. LINE: Oklahoma -13.

ABOUT OKLAHOMA (7-1, 4-1 Big 12): Kyler Murray continued to strengthen his case for Heisman Trophy consideration against the Wildcats, throwing for at least three touchdowns for the seventh straight game while passing for 352 yards in about 2 1/2 quarters of action. Freshman running back Kennedy Brooks is averaging 11.9 yards on his 38 carries this season, rushing for at least 94 yards in three of his last four contests despite seeing more than nine carries in a game only once over that span. Sophomore CeeDee Lamb has caught at least one TD pass in seven straight outings; his 16 career receiving scores through 22 games is one shy of the school-record pace set by Ryan Broyles over the same length of time.

ABOUT TEXAS TECH (5-3, 3-2): Junior Antoine Wesley ranks third in the nation with a conference-high 977 receiving yards; he is on pace to finish the regular season with 1,465 - a mark that would rank second in program history behind Michael Crabtree's 1,962 in 2007. Alan Bowman boasts a Big 12-best 2,411 passing yards despite missing one game and most of another, and he needs only 307 yards and five TDs over the remainder of the season to match Davis Webb's school records for a true freshman (2,718, 20). Freshman defensive back Adrian Frye ranks fourth in the country with 15 passes defended - the latter of which is nine shy of the single-season school record of 24 (Joselio Hanson, 2002).

EXTRA POINTS

1. Oklahoma WR Marquise Brown's 12 receptions of at least 50 yards since the beginning of last season is the most by any FBS receiver over that span.

2. Texas Tech is tied for 10th in FBS with 23 rushing touchdowns, already the second-highest total in six seasons under coach Kliff Kingsbury (34 in 2015).

3. The Sooners, who have won their last six against the Red Raiders, have scored at least 30 points in all seven of their road wins in this series and fewer than 30 in all four of their losses in Lubbock.

PREDICTION: Oklahoma 48, Texas Tech 38