West Virginia and Texas Tech are programs in search of a meaningful end to the regular season.
The Mountaineers (6-5, 5-3 Big 12) are trying to win their fourth conference road games in as many outings on Saturday afternoon when they visit the Red Raiders in Lubbock, Texas.
Texas Tech (7-4, 5-3) will attempt to reach six conference victories in a season for only the fifth time in program history.
The Red Raiders also will try to win an eighth game in the regular season for the first time since 2009.
“We have to take advantage of our opportunities,” Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire said. “At the end of the day, we’re going to take care of business on Saturday, and we’re going to go into a bowl game.
“Our expectations would be 8-4 with an opportunity to get to that ninth win.”
Texas Tech leads the Big 12 in points per game (37.4) and is second in yards per game (450.0). They are one of three Big 12 teams averaging more than 290 passing yards per game.
The Red Raiders run a fast-tempo offense which results in a lot of plays behind quarterback Behren Morton.
He completed 37 of 53 pass attempts for 401 yards with four touchdowns and an interception in last week’s 56-48 win at Oklahoma State.
Tahj Brooks is at 1,317 yards on 263 carries with 14 touchdowns.
“We’ve got to get aligned to their tempo,” West Virginia coach Neal Brown said. “That’s where they really feast, is they can get their tempo going. That usually happens after a made first (down) or a really positive play on first down. So, we’ve got to do a nice job of getting lined up.”
West Virgina’s offense will try to take advantage of a Texas Tech defense that ranks last in the Big 12 in scoring defense (36.3 points a game) and is second-to-last in yards allowed per game (456.2).
The Mountaineers rushed for 200 yards in last week’s 31-21 win against UCF. CJ Donaldson Jr. had 96 yards on 19 carries with two touchdowns.