Red Raiders Set to Take On Mean Green in Potential Air Battle

The Texas Tech Red Raiders and coach Joey McGuire are still reeling from an embarrassing showing in the Pacific Northwest Saturday night. A 37-16 drubbing at the hands of the Washington State Cougars featured four Tech (1-1) turnovers and exposed holes in its defense to the tune of 301 yards rushing allowed to the Cougs.

Those are two areas McGuire and his staff would like to clean up before they host the North Texas Mean Green on Saturday.

That loss came a week after a narrow 52-51 overtime win over Abilene Christian, another game that exposed holes in the Red Raiders' defense. And McGuire knows there is work to do.

"One of the biggest things we have to do is play better defense," McGuire said. "It has to start with that side of the ball."

The Red Raiders rank last or near last in the Big 12 in every major category, including allowing 515.5 yards and 44 points per game.

Meanwhile, the Mean Green sit at 2-0 and are off to their best start since 2018. In their two wins this season, they have totaled 1,054 yards while quarterback Chandler Morris has thrown for 737 yards and seven touchdowns.

Related: Red Raiders Host North Texas Mean Green, Begin 3-Game Homestand

Former Red Raiders offensive coordinator Eric Morris is the head coach at North Texas and is the architect of their high-flying unit. Texas Tech also boasts a Mike Leach-style offense under Zach Kittley and Red Raiders quarterback Behren Morton has passed for 701 yards and six touchdowns with just a pair of interceptions.

It could be a battle of high-scoring offenses on Saturday, and unless the Red Raiders can figure out the defense, it could be a long day at Jones AT&T Stadium.

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