The Red Raiders travel to Washington to take on the Cougars on Saturday night. Washington State will look to defend home field as 1 point favorites when this one kicks off at 10:00 p.m. ET. How will this Texas Tech vs. Washington State matchup play out?
Game Matchup & Betting Odds
Texas Tech Red Raiders (+1) at Washington State Cougars (-1); o/u 66
10:00 p.m. ET, Saturday, September 7, 2024
Gesa Field at Martin Stadium, Pullman, WA
TV: FOX
Public Betting: Public Bettors Loving the Cougars
As of this writing, our CFB Public Betting page shows that 83% of bets are on Washington State. That said, this page is updated frequently so make sure that you click on the link provided so that you’re getting the most updated information.
Washington State Cougars
The Cougars have moved on from Cam Ward and John Mateer takes over as the starting quarterback in his third season with the team. He started off with a bang throwing for 352 yards and 5 touchdowns on 11 completions in their 70-30 win over FCS school Portland State. Kyle Williams was his leading receiver with 141 yards and 2 touchdowns. Kris Hutson had a big game as well with 101 yards and 1 touchdown. The run game combined for 3 touchdowns on 224 rushing yards. Wayshawn Parker led the way with 95 yards and a touchdown. A defense that allowed 28 points per game in 2023 allowed Portland State to score 30. They allowed quarterback Dante Chachere 2 touchdowns on the ground but did intercept one of his passes that was returned for a touchdown.
Texas Tech Red Raiders
The Red Raiders beat FCS program Abilene Christian 52-51 in overtime to open up their season. Behren Morton threw for 378 yards and 5 touchdowns. Washington State transfer Josh Kelly led all receivers with 10 receptions for 156 yards and a touchdown. All Conference running back Tahj Brooks ran for 158 yards and one touchdown. A Texas Tech defense that allowed 26 points per game last season allowed Abilene Christian to score 51 points on over 500 yards passing. They couldn’t record a sack or an interception but did force a fumble. For reference, ACU averaged 26 ppg last season on 186 passing yards per game with the same quarterback en route to a 5-6 season.
Texas Tech vs. Washington State Betting Trends
Texas Tech is 3-2 ATS in their last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Texas Tech’s last 13 games
Washington State is 13-5 ATS in their last 18 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Washington State’s last 12 games
Texas Tech vs. Washington State Prediction
This is a tough one with Texas Tech dealing with 6 players currently questionable. 5 of those are defensive players but star running back Tahj Brooks is also on the list for a shoulder injury. He did finish out the game against ACU, where he carried the ball 27 times. All other running backs carried the ball just twice. It sounds like defensive back Bralyn Lux (led team last season in pass breakups) is trending towards playing this Saturday after sitting out last week, but safety CJ Baskerville was added to the injury report after 9 tackles last week. They also have two starting D linemen questionable.
I will be on over 66 total points. I am assuming that Tahj Brooks will be a full go on Saturday night for the Red Raiders. Last season Washington State allowed 150 yards per game to opponents on the ground. Portland State ran for 215 yards last week. I expect Tahj Brooks to have a big game and really open up the rest of this offense. On the opposite side, Texas Tech is banged up on all levels of the defense. They just allowed a 500 yard air assault from ACU. John Mateer averaged 20.7 yards per pass and threw touchdown passes to 4 different Cougars receivers. This offense has some play makers.
Texas Tech vs. Washington State Prediction: Over 66