Texas Tech beats UCF 24-23 on Senior Day

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LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - Texas Tech (5-5, 4-3 Big 12) returns to Jones AT&T Stadium this weekend when Central Florida (5-5, 2-5 Big 12) visits Lubbock. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. on Saturday with the action being aired on FS2.

Both the Red Raiders and the Knights are coming off of upset wins last Saturday. Tech took down then-ranked No. 16 Kansas, 16-13, and UCF trampled then-ranked No. 15 Oklahoma State, 45-3.

A win for either team will make them bowl eligible. Tech is looking to go to its third-consecutive bowl game and the 41st in team history. Last week’s win over Kansas was the first victory against a ranked team on the road since 2018.

This will be the first meeting ever between Tech and UCF. According to Tech Athletics, this is the second first-time opponent for the Red Raiders this season with the first being against Tarleton State.

The Knights are led by head coach Gus Malzahn who, like McGuire, had a successful high school coaching career. Both were in the high school coaching ranks for 14 seasons and won three state titles apiece.

Former Tech defensive coordinator David Gibbs makes his return to Lubbock as well as he is currently the co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach at UCF.

On the field, the Red Raider defense is allowing 24.4 points per game, which is on pace to be the lowest single-season average since 2009, according to Tech Athletics.

Tahj Brooks continues to lead the Tech offense on the ground with 1,166 rushing yards and a Power-Five leading 72 missed tackles.

For UCF, the offense ranks 25th in scoring offense in the FBS. The Knights also rank 8th in the country in total offense with 494.5 yards per game with an average of 233.7 of those yards coming on the ground.

Defensively, the Knights are allowing on average 400.7 yards per game to their opponents. Their passing defense ranks second in the Big 12 Conference but they’re allowing 195.8 rushing yards per game, putting them at 96th nationally in total defense.

Tech will head to Austin next week to wrap up the regular season on Nov. 24. at 6:30 p.m. as the Red Raiders take on the Texas Longhorns.

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