VTM Staff Predictions: Texas Tech vs #16 Oklahoma

The Red Raiders find themselves at a make-or-break point in the season. The team is 3-3 (1-2) and coming off of two straight conference losses. They don't catch a break here as a strong Oklahoma team comes to town. Can Patrick Mahomes and company pull off a big upset or will the Baker Mayfield led Sooners leave Lubbock with a win?

Drew Parker

Oklahoma in Lubbock, this is where the rubber meets the road, and we find out how legit we really are. My heart tells me that we will find a way to pull off the huge win at home, but thinking realistically, I don't think we are quite playing on the level that Oklahoma has been. Prime time in Raiderland should bring a lot of hype and energy to The Jones. However, I do think we fall short in this one, but we will put up one heck of a fight. I'm calling a 38-35 loss.

Texas Tech 35, Oklahoma 38

Ryan Smith

Baker Mayfield and Lincoln Riley returning to Lubbock for the first time since they left, has everyone buzzing. Though OU has righted the ship in recent years in Lubbock, time finally catches up with them. Mayfield is knocked out of the game early in the 2nd quarter, and their offense never really finds their rhythm as Tech looks dominant for three quarters. It's not until half-way through the 4th that OU starts their comeback and though they put a scare into Tech, it's too little too late as Tech shocks the Big 12 and dismisses Oklahoma from Big 12 title talk... at least for the moment.

Texas Tech 45, Oklahoma 38

Eric Linthicum

After a rocky non-conference schedule the Sooners have gotten back on track. While Tech will score some points in this one I just don’t see us being able to stop the run. Coach Stoops knows that running the ball against Tech is the best game plan. No doubt the Jones will be as rowdy as it has been in years with Baker Mayfield coming to town. You can bet he will be charged up at kick off and will be trying to make plays all on his own. Night games in Lubbock do deserve respect and Tech could pull off the upset, but I’ve got OU in this one.

Texas Tech 28, Oklahoma 55

Jon Althaus

I really really want to believe that we come out and play the best game of Coach Kingsbury's career, but I'm not sure we can improve from last week's performance enough to overcome a good Oklahoma squad. The defense will have to step up in a big way, pressuring their QB into bad decision making, making sure tackles, and turning their mistakes into turnovers. On offense we need to play consistent and not have too many 3 and outs. Any shortened field we need to capitalize on and limit our mistakes to almost zero. In the end it will be a close game, and we may just be able to pull it out in the end.

Texas Tech 45, Oklahoma 42

Kyle Jacobson

I really want to believe Texas Tech will come out inspired and fired up after the embarrassment that was last weekend. But simply put, we have not seen this team respond well to adversity yet. I want to believe the fans will show up and be loud, becoming a real factor in the game, but the fan base has been fickle at best so far this season. I want to believe Pat Mahomes’ shoulder is healed, but it has appeared to bother him the last two weeks. This Texas Tech team is done receiving the benefit of the doubt from me. It’s time to prove something. I don’t see a Red Raiders victory no matter what, but how they lose will be very telling. Can they get up off the mat, or will they tap out?

Texas Tech 31, Oklahoma 49

Austin Jordan

The quarterbacks will get most of the attention in this one, but the rest of the teams will go much further in determining the outcome. Unfortunately, OU has a better roster and will need to win this game to keep their conference title hopes alive. It could get out of hand late.

Texas Tech 27, Oklahoma 41

Drew Borsellino

The Texas Tech homer in me really wants us to win this one, but let me take off my Red Raider homer-hat for this one and look at it as a college football fan. Although Samaje Perine is out for this game, but Oklahoma will have Joe Mixon. Mixon is OU's leading rusher with 476 yards while Perine has 475. Many NFL scouts actually prefer Mixon's talent as well. I believe Mixon will have 175+ rushing yards against us, and Dede Westbrook will have 100+ receiving. Oklahoma's offense and stout defense will just be too much for this Red Raiders squad.

Texas Tech 38, Oklahoma 59

Average Final Score: Texas Tech 36, Oklahoma 46

As a staff we have the Red Raiders losing by an average score of 36 to 46. Keep in mind, the line for this favors Oklahoma by 14. VTM readers, what do y'all think? Can the Red Raiders pull off the upset?