Texas Tech Red Raiders Football Preview 2021: Season Win Total Picks, Odds and Predictions

Tyler Shough and the Texas Tech Red Raiders will be looking to shock oddsmakers this season as they come back with an experienced group in 2021. This team has been counted out before and they will take the field with a lot to prove this season.

When talking about scoring points, the Texas Tech Red Raiders averaged 29.1 points per outing. As a team they had an average of 163.4 yards in the run game, ranking them 63rd in Division 1. The Red Raiders earned 4,295 total yards for last year. Texas Tech earned 18 touchdowns through the air and 17 touchdowns on the ground.

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The Red Raiders were ranked 120th in the country in terms of team defense, giving up 36.7 PPG. They allowed teams to run for an average of 4.4 yards per rushing attempt and 186.4 yards on the ground per contest last season. For the year, they allowed 1,864 yards via the running game in 10 games. When it comes to yards via the pass, the Red Raiders allowed 2,585 yds which had them sitting in 107th in D-1. They surrendered 17 touchdowns through the air in addition to 24 rushing touchdowns. They allowed 444.9 yards per outing which put them 111th in Division 1.

Tyler Shough has connected on 118 of his attempted career 182 throws for a completion percentage of 64.8%. He is throwing for 154.8 yds per game. For his career, Shough has thrown for a total of 1,703 yards with 16 TD's and 6 picks. He has a QB rating of 165.9 with a touchdown rate of 8.8% and an interception percentage of 3.3%. Over the course of his collegiate career, he has taken off and run 68 times for a total of 282 yds.

For the most part, the over/under opened at 4.5 wins for 2021. There was a bit of juice on the over and the juice has climbed to as much as +150 in some spots. That said, I still think there is plenty of value on Texas Tech.

When looking at my six sets of power ratings, not even one of them has the Red Raiders winning less than 5 games so we like that out of the gate. We like this because we think Texas Tech will win 7 or 8 games this year when all is said and done. Furthermore, if I was in charge of making Texas Tech lines for the 2021 season, I would have them favored in 7 of their 12 games.

The Red Raiders have 8 starters back on offense and even more than that who have seen starting action for them. On defense, they are also bringing back 8 starters, but they have 13 or 14 guys that have seen starting time. So, when you look at this team, you see a team with a great deal of starting experience in head coach Matt Wells system. It’s going to be his third year with the Red Raiders and he will be back with an experienced group.

I’m a big fan of the offensive backfield and I think it’s a top 20 group in the nation. I love the deep rotation at quarterback as well. They have three guys that could start for most teams at their level of play. They have Tyler Shough, the transfer from Oregon, and he is a big boy sitting at 6’5, 230 lbs. He’s got a great arm and averaged over 220 yards per game (7 games) last season. Being as big as he is, Shough can move. He’s able to get out of trouble and throw on the run making him a problem for most defenses in the BIG 12. When looking at the defense, they are going to be really dangerous against many teams that will need to put a lot of points to keep up with Texas Tech.

This team could very well be looking at a 4-1 record after their first five games. Worst case scenario to me would be 3-2 after their first five. I’ve got them picking up their fifth win of the season in their eighth game of the season.

Scott's Pick: Take Over 4.5 Wins for Texas Tech

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