The Texas Tech Red Raiders will battle the Arkansas Razorbacks in the 2024 Liberty Bowl at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis, TN, on Friday. The Red Raiders come into this game with an overall record of 8-4, including 6-3 in the Big 12 this season. The Razorbacks are 6-6 this season, including 3-5 in the SEC. The opening kick is scheduled for 7:00 pm EST.
Texas Tech hopes to finish strong
The Texas Tech Red Raiders head into the Liberty Bowl riding a two-game winning streak and looking to pick up their 9th win of the season. The Red Raiders will look to pick up a huge win over an SEC school in their final game of the season and grab some momentum for next year’s team.
Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire is ready to go as his team sets for this bowl against the team he grew up rooting for, the Arkansas Razorbacks, “I couldn’t be more fired about playing Arkansas in the Liberty Bowl”
The Red Raiders will come into this game led by running back Tahj Brooks. Brooks ran for 1,505 yards this season with a team-leading 17 touchdowns. He is part of a Red Raiders’ offense that is fifth in the nation in scoring offense this season. The Red Raiders are 62nd in the country in rushing.
Quarterback Behren Morton had a huge season as well. Morton completed 295-of-466 passes for 3,335 yards and 27 touchdowns to just eight interceptions. Unfortunately, he was lost to the season due to injury so the QB duties will fall to Will Hammond, making just his second start. The top target for the Red Raiders is wide receiver Josh Kelly. Kelly finished the season with 89 catches for over 1000 yards and five touchdowns. The Red Raiders’ passing attack finished 10th in the nation this season. They were third in the red zone and 64th in sacks allowed.
Defensively, the Red Raiders finished the season just 111th in scoring defense. They were 84th against the run and a dismal 131st against the pass. The Red Raiders were 85th in sacks per game this season. Linebackers Jacob Rodriguez was the star of the Red Raiders’ defense with 118 tackles and five sacks. He also had four pass defenses and one interception on the season. Cornerback CJ Baskerville led the team with four interceptions. Kicker Gino Garcia was spot on this season, making 18-of-19 field goals including a long of 53 yards. The Red Raiders were just 114th in the nation in penalties per game and finished 58th in turnover margin.
Key Injuries: QB Behren Morton, RB Cam’Ron Valdez, LB Joseph Adedire, and TE Charles Robinson are out. RB Cameron Dickey, DL Quincy Ledet Jr., LB Harvey Dyson III, WR Drae McCray, WR Micah Hudson, and K Reese Burkhardt are all questionable.
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