LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas nearly pulled off a huge upset last week against a ranked team and looks to match that offensive performance Saturday night when it hosts Texas Tech for a Big 12 contest on Homecoming Day. The Jayhawks scored their most points in a conference game since 2010 and put up 569 yards of offense before giving up a field goal on the final play of the game to lose at 15th-ranked Texas 50-48 last week.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1. LINE: Texas Tech -4
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"I'm proud to be associated with those men," Kansas coach Les Miles told reporters of his team, which has dropped four in a row - the last two against ranked teams. "I thought that they did everything that we asked them to do and succeeded." The Jayhawks still have a chance to make their first bowl game since 2008, but must snap a 12-game losing streak against Texas Tech and beat the Red Raiders for the first time in their 11th attempt at Lawrence, Kan. Texas Tech has dropped four of its last five contests, but lost in double overtime to 14th-ranked Baylor on Oct. 12 and fell against 5-2 Iowa State 34-24 last week as junior quarterback Jett Duffey threw his sixth TD pass in his last three contests. "I think we need to understand that you follow the plan to win and you do things right during the week," Red Raiders coach Matt Wells told reporters. "It's not something magic. It's not the movie you go to or it's not how you come into the stadium or the music in the locker room."
ABOUT TEXAS TECH (3-4, 1-3 Big 12)
Duffey, who took over for Alan Bowman (shoulder) after the first three games, has thrown for 1,025 yards in his last three outings and completed 75.5 percent of his attempts over the past two. Duffey has three solid targets led by junior T.J. Vasher (35 catches, 440 yards, five touchdowns), while senior R.J. Turner had 11 of his 27 catches last week and freshman Erik Ezukanma boasts 22 receptions. Senior linebacker Jordyn Brooks leads the Big 12 and is sixth in the nation with 11.1 tackles per game and senior defensive back Douglas Coleman III owns an FBS-best six interceptions through the first seven contests.
ABOUT KANSAS (2-5, 0-4)
Offensive coordinator Brent Dearmon made quite an impression in his first game calling plays last week and Miles told reporters: "He has just a good view of the 100-yard field and knows where it's at. He made some very significant calls on Saturday and put us in a position to score." Senior quarterback Carter Stanley threw for 310 yards and four scores against Texas and is completing 63.2 percent of his passes overall. Sophomore Pooka Williams Jr. leads the team with 635 rushing yards, including 190 against Texas last week, while juniors Andrew Parchment (35 receptions, 505 yards, five TDs) and Stephon Robinson Jr. (24, 336, four) are the top pass catchers.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Stanley is 144 yards from being the eighth Kansas QB to throw for 4,000, and needs one TD pass to tie Frank Seuer (30) for third on the school's all-time list.
2. Texas Tech freshman RB SaRodorick Thompson leads the team with 469 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.
3. The Red Raiders have won 19 of the 20 meetings and outscored the Jayhawks 168-54 in the last three.
PREDICTION: Kansas 38, Texas Tech 35