Texas Tech's last game looked like a team that knows it's good. The Red Raiders scored on their last 7 drives of the first half against Arizona State, 4 touchdowns and 3 field goals, and went to the locker room up 43-10. That was a matchup of the past 2 Big 12 champions, and only one of them looked like a champion.
Western Carolina62-10Look at both schedules and the profiles split clearly. Tech's defense held Colorado to 7, and Ben Roberts took an interception back 24 yards for a touchdown against Arizona State. The one scare was a 28-26 escape against Houston. Cincinnati's 4-2 is built on 3 home wins in September, 2 of them by 5 points or fewer, and the Bearcats have dropped both conference road trips since: 34-7 at Arizona, then the shootout loss in Morgantown. Coming home to Nippert helps. Through 6 games, though, this defense hasn't shown it can hold up against a real offense.
Tech's backfield is the thing to watch on the injury front. Running back C. Dickey is out with a sprained ankle and no timetable, but J'Koby Williams has made that easier to absorb. He fumbled early against Arizona State, then ran for a career-high 165 yards and 2 long touchdowns. Receiver D. Lee Jr. is also listed out with an undisclosed injury, so Hammond is short a target. Cincinnati's report is clean right now, which means any fix for that defense has to come from the scheme, not from players coming back.
The forecast says 68 degrees, clear skies and a 4 mph wind for the noon kickoff window, so weather gives neither offense an excuse. Cincinnati needs French to repeat the West Virginia game and the defense to find stops it couldn't find a week earlier. Texas Tech only needs to play like it has all season.