The calm before the storm

Don’t look now but you’re Texas Tech Red Raiders are 3-1 in Big 12 play and about to enter the real tough stretch of their conference schedule.

The first step in that stretch is a tough road test against the Iowa State Cyclones who are 3-and-3 on the year but have lost to three excellent opponents such as Iowa and TCU on the road and Oklahoma at home.

Worse yet, the Cyclones are playing their best football of 2018 having just beat No. 6 West Virginia after beating Oklahoma State on the road.

A big part of their recent success has been new starting quarterback, Brock Purdy. The freshman QB has exploded onto the scene, leading ISU to those two wins by throwing for 572 yards, seven touchdowns, and only two interceptions.

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Tech will have their hands full against Purdy and the Iowa State offense that also features stud running back David Mongomery and mammoth receiver Hakeem Butler who’ll be a truly tough test for Dakota Allen and the Red Raiders ‘D’.

Winning in Ames could set Tech up to have lots of momentum going into the two biggest games of the season against Oklahoma and at Texas, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet.

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Kliff Kingsbury’s gang will have to play inspired on defense against all that firepower and keep pace with Iowa State’s newfound offense in what might be the toughest road test they’ve faced all year.

The Red Raiders lead the series against ISU 11-5 but the Cyclones have won the last two by an average margin of victory of 37 points.

The Cyclones are ranked higher defensively then TTU allowing 22 points per game, and though they’re behind in points for, as mentioned above, their offense can’t be underestimated now that they seem to have found their QB and have all the momentum going their way after a huge upset over the Mountaineers.

Before looking forward to the Longhorns and Sooners, the test in Ames will be huge for what is shaping up to be a surprising season in Lubbock.