It's the Big 12 Conference's No. 1 offense against its No. 1 defense as the Texas Tech Red Raiders head east to face the in-state rival TCU Horned Frogs. It all starts at 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday from Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth. No team throws for more yards than Tech, but TCU hasn't allowed much success through the air. The Horned Frogs are seven-point favorites in the latest TCU vs. Texas Tech odds, down from an open of -8.5. The over-under for total points scored is 60, down almost a field goal from the opener of 62.5. Before you make any TCU vs. Texas Tech picks, you'll want to see what the SportsLine Projection Model has to say.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every FBS college football game 10,000 times, and those who have followed it have seen massive returns. Over the past three years, this proprietary computer model has generated a jaw-dropping $4,210 profit for $100 bettors on its top-rated point-spread picks.
The model made some huge calls in Week 6, including recommending Texas (+226) on the money line in its massive upset of No. 7 Oklahoma. It finished the week on an 8-2 run on all of its college football picks, and when it comes to top-rated picks, it is now an impressive 64-52 on the year. Anyone who has followed it is way up.
Now, the model has simulated Texas Tech vs. TCU 10,000 times to produce strong against-the-spread and over-under picks. We can tell you the under hits in two-thirds of simulations, but the model also has generated a point-spread selection that cashes nearly 60 percent of the time. This pick is available only at SportsLine.
The model knows no team racks up the yards like the Red Raiders, who are averaging 591 per game. They're No. 1 in the country, and No. 1 in the Big 12 by nearly 70 yards over West Virginia.
Texas Tech's offense was forced to turn to true freshman Alan Bowman at QB after starter McLane Carter (ankle) was injured in the season-opener against Ole Miss. Bowman has had no problem setting into the role. He passed for an unheard-of 605 yards in a 63-49 win over Houston and followed that up by leading the offense to 594 total yards in a 41-17 win at Oklahoma State.
However, Bowman suffered a collapsed lung against West Virginia and was hospitalized for four days. With a bye week to heal, his status is unknown for Thursday. If he can't go, Tech will turn to sophomore Jett Duffey, who passed for 173 yards and ran for 86 more while finishing up Saturday's 42-34 loss to the Mountaineers.
Regardless of who's throwing the ball, the passing game has averaged 407.6 yards, No. 2 in the country. Despite 243 pass attempts, Tech QBs have been sacked just five times, while TCU's defense has managed only two INTs all season.
Just because Texas Tech has been a juggernaut on offense doesn't mean it will keep it within the spread Thursday.
TCU starting quarterback Shawn Robinson was injured late in the Frogs' 17-14 win over Iowa State two weeks ago, but is expected to be back. Robinson has thrown for 1,023 yards and seven touchdowns, one of four quarterbacks to see action for TCU this season.
Even if Robinson isn't 100 percent or doesn't play at all, the offense is predicated by a run game that's averaging 187 yards with eight touchdowns. Darius Anderson, the team's leading rusher from last season, has 316 yards (6.0 average), bruising junior Sewo Olonilua has run for 262 more and Robinson adds an extra dimension with 188 yards from the QB spot.
So which side of the Texas Tech vs. TCU spread cashes in nearly 60 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of TCU vs. Texas Tech you need to be all over, all from the model that has returned over $4,000 in profit for $100 bettors.