PLAYERS TO WATCH
–WR Antoine Wesley currently ranks third in the country and first in the Big 12 with 858 receiving yards on 50 catches. He has made plays for the Red Raiders when fellow WR T.J. Vasher was sidelined with an injury and now that Vasher is apparently back in action, it makes the duo a handful to cover.
–K Clayton Hatfield nailed kicks of 48 and 47 yards in the win over Kansas, raising his season numbers to 9-of-10. His bounce back from 2017, when he was injured and made just 6-of-10 attempts, has given Texas Tech its kicking game back again.
–LB Kolin Hill had an increased role against Kansas as position-mate Tony Jones was sidelined with a lower leg injury. Hill made the most of it, posting a pair of sacks among four tackles.
–CB Adrian Frye has become something the Red Raiders have lacked in the past — a clearly defined No. 1 corner to assign to an opponent’s best receiver. Frye, a midseason second-team All-American on the Associated Press squad, has 10 pass breakups, four interceptions and 12 tackles so far this season.
SERIES HISTORY: Texas Tech leads Iowa State, 11-5, but the Cyclones have dominated the Red Raiders the last two seasons, winning by 56 points in Ames, Iowa, in 2016 and 18 in Lubbock, Texas, last year.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “The similarity is that they take shots with those guys and give them chances to make plays on the football consistently.” — Kliff Kingsbury comparing Texas Tech’s and Iowa State’s tall wide receivers.