Texas Tech at Iowa State

The Texas Tech offense was derailed by Texas last week. The 144 total yards was their lowest output in a decade. Texas head coach Mack Brown's comment of this being his best defense ever at Texas may be true. You can bet Tech won't have an offensive stinker like that two games in a row. They won't encounter the same problems vs. the Iowa State defense which is ranked No. 63 of 120 teams. You have to be concerned by the fact that even though they crushed Northern Iowa 27-0 last week, the Cyclones were outgained by over 100 yards, and that was with five extra possessions as they have a 5-to-0 turnover margin! The two meaningful games on their schedule vs. Kansas State and Iowa show the Cyclones beaten at the line of scrimmage, having lost the yardage battle by a combined 350 yards. The last three times these clubs have met, the Cyclones have had no answers for the Tech offense which scored 42, 42 and 52 points, on their way to an average win of 24 points per game. I don't see anything telling me that the gap has closed. The Red Raiders are always tough after a loss at 41-16-1 ATS in their last 58 following a loss. That includes an incredible 18-2 ATS mark following a home loss! The favorite has covered the last six in this series. I like Texas Tech to win and cover.