Week 6 of the college football season is here. Texas Tech plays Arizona, and Heartland College Sports has your game prediction, preview, and betting odds ahead of the matchup.
GAME INFO
Saturday, October 5; Time (CT); Arizona Stadium; Tucson, Arizona
TV: FOX
Records: Texas Tech 4-1 (Big 12: 2-0); Arizona 3-1 (Big 12: 1-0)
Last Week: Texas Tech 44, Cincinnati 41; Arizona 23, Utah 10
Series History: Texas Tech leads, 26-5-2
Last Meeting: Arizona 28, Texas Tech 14
Fun Fact: Texas Tech has dominated this series from the beginning, winning 18 of the first 20 meetings and 25 of the first 29. However, Arizona has won the only recent meeting, with a 28-14 victory in 2019, their first matchup since 1989.
Texas Tech vs. Arizona Betting Lines and Odds
Opening Line: Arizona (-6)
Over/Under: 63.5
Key Players
Texas Tech Red Raiders
RB Tahj Brooks
The key to victory for Texas Tech has been very simple: get Tahj Brooks the ball and good things will happen. The Red Raiders are 4-0 when Brooks is available and he’s gone for over 100 yards on the ground in all four of his games this season. Last week against Cincinnati, Brooks had a season-high 172 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
LB Ben Roberts
Last week against Cincinnati, linebacker Ben Roberts had a season-high 12 tackles and two tackles for loss for a Red Raiders defense that had to hold on for dear life in a shootout with the Bearcats. Roberts leads the Big 12 with three forced fumbles on the year and also leads Texas Tech with 40 total tackles in five games.
Arizona Wildcats
QB Noah Fifita
Noah Fifita is coming off a stellar performance against a Utah defense that has been hard to figure out all season long, throwing for 197 yards and two touchdowns in a 23-10 upset of the Utes. Fifita was smart with the football and led his team to a keystone victory.
CB Tacario Davis
After getting embarrassed by Kansas State a couple of weeks ago, the Arizona defense showed up with something to prove against Utah. AMong several standout performances, All-American caliber cornerback Tacario Davis was fantastic, with five passes defended and seven tackles on the night. Against a Texas Tech team that will want to air it out, Davis will be a key factor in the game.
KEY STORYLINES
Texas Tech Red Raiders
Can Tahj Brooks control the pace? Kansas State was able to do whatever it wanted against Arizona in Week 3, but the Wildcats’ defense was much more stout against Utah, holding them to just 84 yards on the ground. Brooks has been borderline unstoppable this season. Can he keep it up on the road?
Arizona Wildcats
Which Arizona defense shows up? In Week 5, Arizona’s defense absolutely stunned Utah in Salt Lake City with seven tackles for loss, three sacks, two interceptions, eight pass breakups, and unmatchable effort. If that same group shows up this week against Texas Tech, it’s hard to see the Red Raiders being able to match the Wildcats point for point.
PREDICTION: Arizona 37, Texas Tech 31
This one was tough, but in the end, I had to look at both teams as a whole and once I did that, there was confidence in one side over the other.
The Arizona defense is the difference in this game, as the Wildcats are able to make just enough stops to keep Noah Fifita and the offense one step ahead of Texas Tech throughout the game.
Give me Arizona in front of a home crowd that is excited for its first home Big 12 game in school history.
