Kansas State Wildcats Vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders Odds, Betting Preview, And Prediction

It’s nearly Halloween, and this will be only the second true road game for K-State. Ah, nothing like padding the schedule. The Wildcats’ lone-away tilt, at Oklahoma State, ignited their current three-game slide.

It becomes four in Lubbock. Plus, certain patterns and figures convince us to take the Over. We like the latter as insurance against the former, but have confidence that both will cash.

Kansas State Wildcats (3-3)

From 3-0 to 3-3. The 31-20 defeat at Oklahoma State turned into home losses to Oklahoma (37-31) and Iowa State (33-20), but not due to the effort from 6-foot-2, 223-pound quarterback Skylar Thompson.

The fifth-year senior from Missouri sustained a knee injury against Southern Illinois in Week 2, and there was concern about his season. He returned, and against the Sooners and Cyclones, he went 44-for-64, for 526 yards, five touchdowns, and a lone interception.

The K-State defense, however, is simply atrocious, 11th-worst in the nation at allowing foes to convert 48.5% of their third-down attempts and 100% of their fourth-down efforts—worst in the country, tied with Arizona, Kansas, Miami, and Wyoming.

The Cats allow opponents to complete 74.7% of their pass attempts, and the only passing defense worse belongs to Kansas, at 75.4%. Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy completed 88% of his attempts last Saturday.

K-State does possess some efficiency in scoring, though, and his name is Deuce Vaughn, a 5-5, 171-pound sophomore out of Round Rock, Texas. The full name and he deserves the recognition, is Christopher Matthew Vaughn II.

It’s Deuce perhaps because he’s a dual-threat. He’s gained 531 yards on 108 rushes, scoring five times. He has also nabbed 23 passes, for a 10.2-yard average and two scores.

Kansas State at Texas Tech Full Sportsbook Odds

Texas Tech Red Raiders (5-2)

The Wildcats average 0.451 points per play, which is 31st in the country. The problem with Texas Tech is that its defense owns a bottom-20 average per-play yield of 0.501 points.

If there are some prop options out there on Deuce Vaughn to chew up some yardage in Lubbock, heed them.

K-State has weak elements on its defense, as do the Raiders. Their 37-point scoring average ranks 15th in the country, but their average allowance of 33 is in the bottom quarter of college football.

They give up 4.9 yards per run, 184 rushing yards per game, and let opposing quarterbacks complete 65.6% of their attempts, all, again, in the bottom quarter of the country.

Henry Colombi, the senior who relieved starter Tyler Shough when he sustained a broken collarbone against Texas, has gone 78-for-119 (65.6%), for 1,066 yards, four TDS, and three picks.

K-State’s sieve-like pass defense will allow Colombi to flourish. Tech has an almost perfectly balanced run-pass ratio of 50-50, but look for it to opt for more the pass against this Swiss cheese defense. K-Swiss?

Kaylon Geiger (15-yard average on 30 receptions) and Erik Ezukanma (16.3 on 31 catches) will have a busy afternoon. Five other Red Raiders have triple figures in reception yardage.

On the ground, SaRodorick Thompson (5-yard average on 63 carries, 6 TDs), Tahj Brooks (8.4-35, 4 TDs) and Xavier White (5.2-44, 2 TDs) will try to keep the K-State line and backers somewhat honest.

Sports Betting Recommendation

Texas Tech will punish K-State through the air, but lax elements of the Red Raiders’ defense should provide the foundation for a very entertaining and high-scoring game.

The past five in Lubbock have seen 57, 77, 103, 75, and 75 points. One of our models has Tech winning by a point, the other two by 16 and 17, respectively.