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Texas Tech Red Raiders 2015 NCAA Football Gambling Odds & Predictions

2015-16 Football Previews – (Big 12) – Red Raiders

It’s been two years since former school record-breaking QB Kliff Kingsbury took over the reins as head coach at Texas Tech, while the offense has been as prolific as expected (especially the passing game – ranked fifth nationally last season) it hasn’t made the gains hoped in the win column.

NCAA Football Gambling Lines

Big 12 Football

Texas Tech
Head Coach: Kliff Kingsbury
2014 Record: 4-8
Texas Tech Odds to win 2015 BCS: +20000
Odds to win the Big 12: +2500

The Raiders only won four games in 2014, and with a dearth of playmakers it could again be tough sledding in the Big 12 this time around. Tech returns lots of offensive line and defenders in the secondary, but apart from those two spots, it’ll be loads of new faces as well.

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Tech always seems to sling the ball around the field, but in a scoring-happy conference, it will take more than just that to find success in the Big 12.

It was also perhaps frustrating for fans that although the metrics of the offense looked good, they were inconsistent last year. They didn’t seem to truly find their footing until the last three games of the campaign, when they dropped 110 combined points on Oklahoma, Iowa State and Baylor.

Keeping that in mind, let’s look at the strengths and weaknesses of the 2015 Texas Tech Red Raiders.

Team Strengths:

Texas Tech will roll out a big, veteran offensive line. Senior OT Le’Raven Clark is the standout, but three other upperclassmen will join him to road-grade and protect whoever starts at QB for the Raiders.

In a conference full of strong, athletic defensive lineman, having steady ability in this position group is an asset.

When the Raiders aren’t whipping passes around to multiple receivers (especially senior Jakeem Grant, 2014’s team leader in receptions), they’ll lean on senior RB DeAndre Washington. Last year, Washington impressively ran for over 1,100 yards. He needs to be more dynamic, though, as he found paydirt only twice.

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The Raiders have a player on defense in DE Pete Robertson, who led the team in tackles (81) and sacks (12) a year ago. He teams up with a veteran secondary that will be led by safeties Keenon Ward and J.J. Gaines.

Team Weaknesses

Tech turned the ball over a ton last year, so reliable QB play is intrinsic to the Raiders having a positive season in 2015. Whether it ends up being junior Davis Webb or sophomore Patrick Mahomes, who took over for an injured Webb in Week 8 and played well enough to acquit himself as a potential long-term starter.

The boys from Lubbock can also focus on creating more turnovers. Gaines led the team in interceptions last year, with just two. The LB unit is unproven with the exception of senior Micah Awe. With lots of seniors but so few returning starters on the field, it’s clear that a lot of backups from last year are inheriting spots.

Indeed, apart from WR Grant, the entire playmaking ability of this team can be called into question. Opposing Big 12 teams score too many points for a team of the Red Raiders’ talent level to miss their opportunities.

2015-16 Texas Tech Red Raiders Prediction: 6-6

Playmaking DE Robertson notwithstanding, Texas Tech has to be better overall on defense. The Raiders also have a major question about the reliability of either Mahomes or Webb under center.

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As such – especially when you factor road games at Oklahoma and Texas in the mix – Kingsbury’s men will likely scrap for bowl eligibility, and little more.

2015 Red Raiders Schedule

  • 9/5/15 3:30 PM WAKE
  • 9/12/15 3:00 PM UTEP
  • 9/19/15 7:00 PM @ARK
  • 9/26/15 7:00 PM TCU
  • 10/3/15 TBD BAYLOR (in Arlington, TX)
  • 10/10/15 TBD IA. ST.
  • 10/17/15 TBD @KANS
  • 10/24/15 TBD @OU
  • 10/31/15 TBD OK. ST.
  • 11/7/15 TBD @WVU
  • 11/14/15 TBD KSU
  • 11/26/15 TBD @TEXAS

Check out our Updated College Football Odds.

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By James Hayes

James has been naming every player on the EA Sports video game rosters for half a decade now, he’s finally putting his knowledge to better use writing for us here at CappersPicks.com. Your comments are welcome below…Give Us Your Take!