Call it the Mike Leach Bowl.
Texas Tech and Washington State, two of the programs once led by the late offensive mastermind, are scheduled to meet Saturday in Pullman, Wash., on a day Leach will be inducted into the host Cougars’ Hall of Fame.
And there should be points aplenty.
“Man, I’m excited to go to Washington State and honor Mike Leach,” Texas Tech coach Joey Maguire said. “What better way to do that than have us there.”
Leach is the winningest coach in Texas Tech history and is third on Washington State’s list.
The visiting Red Raiders (1-0) are coming off a 52-51 overtime victory against Abilene Christian last Saturday, while the Cougars (1-0) routed Portland State that day 70-30. Texas Tech gained 539 yards and Washington State amassed 637.
“I think it’s the exact same,” Cougars coach Jake Dickert said of the two offenses. “I think they call things the same. They signal things the same … it’s gonna be about execution. I think we’re very familiar with it, but at the same time, what makes (Tech’s) offense hard is every week is different. You see something one week and you can practice it, and it’s completely different in a new formation.”
The Red Raiders’ Behren Morton completed 30 of 42 passes for 378 yards — one shy of his career best — and a career-high five touchdowns, and Tahj Brooks rushed for 153 yards and a TD. Josh Kelly, who played last season at Washington State, had 10 receptions for 156 yards and one touchdown.
Texas Tech, which was a 31 1/2-point favorite in its opener, will have to improve on defense.
“Holy moly … we have a lot of things we have to fix to get better, and we’ve got to do ’em in a hurry,” Maguire said.
The Cougars’ John Mateer was 11-of-17 passing for 352 yards and five TDs in their opener, with Kyle Williams making four catches for 141 yards and two scores and Kris Hutson adding four grabs for 101 yards and a TD. Wayshawn Parker added 96 yards and a TD on just eight carries for Washington State, which scored 49 points in the first half.
Texas Tech and Washington State will be meeting for the third time overall and the first time since 1964, when the Red Raiders beat the Cougars for a second straight year.
