The Big 12 championship figures to have significant implications on the College Football Playoff, with Texas Tech and BYU vying for their place in the bracket. These teams met recently, with the Red Raiders picking up a 29–7 win over the Cougars in front of their home crowd in Lubbock last month.
This game will be played at AT&T Stadium, so it’s a neutral site affair to determine the outcome of the conference. Kickoff is slated for noon ET on Saturday, Dec. 6.
BYU enters play ranked No. 11 in the latest CFP rankings. Freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier has been sensational all year, and he’ll hope to continue that play with the campaign on the line. A dual-threat star, Bachmeier has thrown for 14 touchdowns and rushed for 11 while guiding BYU to its second straight 11-win season.
As for Texas Tech, they too have had excellent quarterback play this season, as senior gunslinger Behren Morton has thrown for 20 touchdowns and just four interceptions, while completing a career-best 67.8% of his passes.
With a Big 12 championship and a guaranteed spot in the College Football Playoff on the line, let’s make some bold predictions for Saturday’s game in Arlington, Texas.
Jacob Rodriguez will record two turnovers and 10-plus tackles
There’s hardly a better defensive player in the nation than Rodriguez, who has been a dominant force at the heart of the Red Raiders’ nation-leading defense. The Texas Tech linebacker has racked up 101 tackles, 1.0 sack, four interceptions (most among linebackers in Division I linebackers), and seven forced fumbles, which leads the nation.
In their previous meeting against BYU, Rodriguez was all over the field making plays. He led the game with 14 tackles, nine of which were solo stops, while also recording an interception and a fumble recovery. He was an absolute nightmare for the Cougars’ offense to handle, and I’m expecting that to be the case once again on Saturday, in what is the biggest game of his career.
I’m predicting Rodriguez will record not one, but two turnovers against BYU, while also pacing the game with double-digit tackles once again.
Behren Morton will throw for two-plus touchdowns without an interception
Morton will enter Saturday’s game without having thrown an interception in the last month. The last time he threw a pick was Nov. 1 against Kansas State. Since then, over his last three games he’s thrown for five touchdowns without a pick and has completed 66% of his passes.
When these teams met a few weeks ago, Morton didn’t have his best game. He completed just 53.1% of his passes for one touchdown and no interceptions, and was sacked four times. But with the stakes raised for Saturday’s game, I think the Texas Tech offense will have a big game, and Morton will be at the forefront of that.
BYU’s pass defense ranks in the middle of the Big 12, surrendering over 200 yards per game. Morton had 219 yards and one touchdown in their previous matchup, and I’m expecting him to improve upon that on Saturday. I’m predicting he’ll throw for two touchdown passes (including one to Caleb Douglas) and rack up 250-plus yards without an interception––a line he’s put together twice this season.
Texas Tech will win by double-digit points thanks to defense’s stifling performance
BYU has scored at least 24 points in all but one game this year. That game? The 29–7 loss to Texas Tech. The Red Raiders’ defense was fantastic in its previous meeting against the Cougars. It held the rushing attack to just 67 yards and limited Bachmeier to 188 passing yards on 38 attempts.
Texas Tech had three turnovers in the Nov. 8 game, and I think they’ll force as many, if not more, on Saturday. Across their last three games, they’ve allowed a total of 16 points, and they’re third in the nation in points allowed on the season, surrendering an average of just 11.3 points per game, bested only by Ohio State and Indiana.
I’m expecting the defense to put on another clinic against BYU and hold the Cougars under two touchdowns, while also enabling the offense to secure a win by at least 10 points.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as BYU vs. Texas Tech: Three Bold Predictions for Rematch in Big 12 Championship.
