College Football Preview Week 10 Texas@Texas Tech

The Texas Longhorns must be exhausted after playing #1 Oklahoma, #11 Missouri, #6 Oklahoma State back-to back, but this week doesn’t get any easier for them when they face #7 Texas Tech. Texas and Texas Tech match up pretty evenly on paper. Great passing and scoring offenses, horrible pass defenses and great run defenses (thanks to the lack of running in the Big 12). They are both great teams on achieving first downs and on 3rd down conversions yet both struggle somewhat with penalties. And while neither team compares to the Big Ten in scoring defense (yes, the Big Ten, not the SEC, is the only conference in the nation with three top ten teams in scoring defense), Texas and Texas Tech have the top two scoring defenses in the Big 12, respectively. So why should Texas be worried? 1) Interceptions. Tech may have the 98th worst passing defense in the country but they are an opportunistic unit. They have 14 interceptions on the year (4 more than their total from 2007) and are ranked 3rd in the nation. Luckily for the Longhorns, they don't typically succumb to turnovers and have given up just four interceptions. This is the toughest team on INTs that Colt McCoy will face in the regular season and if he gets through this game unscathed it could mean the Heisman. 2) Passing Offense. For a unit that is ranked 2nd in the country in sacks, Texas expects to get pressure on the quarterback. But Graham Harrell's line has only allowed him to succumb to three sacks this season. They are the best passing offense in the nation and one must wonder how does the Longhorn's 110th passing defense stop them? Not to mention that Tech has an explosive offense that can change the momentum of the game, quickly erase any good your offense may have done and make completions when least expected. But the fact is that even a team like Oklahoma that seemed to have everything going for them still fell to Texas. And Texas has two things going for it that Oklahoma doesn’t: the top scoring defense and the top total defense in the Big 12. Finally, Texas is good at the small but important things such as their performance in the red zone (both offensively and defensively) and their lack of mistakes.

Colt McCoy may not have Harrell's numbers, he is 2nd in the country in passing efficiency with a tremendous 82% completion percentage. Tech is getting 4 points in this match-up but I'm going with Texas. Come on Mack, you did it for me twice before--how about another win?