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How much will Texas Tech football beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff by in Week 1? Our prediction
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- How much will Texas Tech football beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff by in Week 1? Our prediction
Here goes nothing.
The 24th-ranked Texas Tech football team will finally take the field to show what the transfer portal and a whole bunch of money can provide on the gridiron. Head coach Joey McGuire would like to not have a heart attack in this year's season opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff .
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The real question isn't whether the Red Raiders will win, but by how much. To find that out, here's the full scouting report for Texas Tech 's first game of the 2025 season, and a score prediction.
When Texas Tech football runs the ball
Cody Campbell promised to get Texas Tech a better offensive line. Whether its better or not is up in the air, but not sure the Red Raiders could have a bigger collection of fellas up front with 6-foot-8 Howard Sampson , 6-7 Will Jados, 6-5 Sheridan Wilson, 6-0 Davion Carterand 6-8 Jacob Pontonmanning the line of scrimmage. They'll be blocking for running backs J'Koby Williamsand Cameron Dickey, who need to stay healthy now with Quinten Joyner out for the year.
Advantage: Texas Tech
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When Arkansas-Pine Bluff runs the ball
While the Golden Lions have a lot of questions around their lineup, running back is not one of them. They return their top two rushers from last season in BJ Curry(509 yards, 4 TDs) and Za'Marrion Webber(334 yards). The pair will have to deal with the interior defensive line of Lee Hunter, Skyler Gill-Howardand A.J. Holmes, who promise to make life miserable for opposing linemen.
Advantage: Texas Tech
When Texas Tech football passes the ball
Behren Morton feels better than ever and players and coaches say he's never looked better. We'll see what Morton can do with new offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich, who promises to push the tempo and stretch the field vertically. Coy Eakin, Caleb Douglas and Reggie Virgilwill get the first cracks at receiver with Terrance Carterand Johncarlos Miller IIsplitting time to start, but look for plenty of faces to get on the field in this one.
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Advantage: Texas Tech
When Arkansas-Pine Bluff passes the ball
The Golden Lions have five quarterbacks on the roster and head coach Alonzo Hamptonis making McGuire plan for each of them. Grad transfer Christian Peters has the most recent success on the field, passing for 1,942 yards and totaling 24 touchdowns combined through the air and on the ground last season at Division II Shaw University. Whoever's taking the snaps will face a Texas Tech secondary that, quite frankly, can't be any worse than last season. And the pass rush, highlighted by Romello Heightand David Bailey , should make statements early and often in this one.
Advantage: Texas Tech
Jul 8, 2025; Frisco, TX, USA; Texas Tech defensive lineman Lee Hunter answers questions from the media during 2025 Big 12 Football Media Days at The Star. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images
Texas Tech football vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff: The specialists
The Red Raiders will let Upton Bellenfantand Stone Harringtoncontinue their battle at kicker for the first few weeks of the year. Jack Burgessreturns as the punter with Ian Hersheyable to handle either kicking job. Micah Hudson and J'Koby Williamswill start as the kickoff return men with Roy Alexanderleading the punt return team.
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Advantage: Texas Tech
Score prediction for Texas Tech football vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Texas Tech 52, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 10:In a normal situation, anything other than a down-to-the-wire overtime win against an FCS team would be an improvement from last year, but this is not a normal situation for Texas Tech. Anything short of annihilation will begin the questions of how real the Red Raiders actually are.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Can Texas Tech football's defense shut out Arkansas-Pine Bluff in Week 1?
