Sat., Sep. 7 @ 10:00 pm ET
Texas Tech Red Raiders (1-0) vs Washington State Cougars (1-0)
FOX: Tim Brando, Devin Gardner and Josh Sims
TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS Rankings AP: NR | Coaches: RV
Last Game Def. Abilene Christian, 52-51 (OT)
Streak Won 2
Head Coach Joey McGuire
Career Record 16-11 (3rd Season)
Record at Texas Tech Same
Record vs. Washington State First Meeting
WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS Rankings AP: NR | Coaches: NR
Last Game Def. Portland State, 70-30
Streak Won 1
Head Coach Jake Dickert
Career Record 13-13 (3rd Season)
Record at Washington State Same
Record vs. Texas Tech First Meeting
RED RAIDERS HEAD TO PULLMAN
Texas Tech will make a rare trip to the state of Washington this Saturday when traveling to face Washington State at Gesa Field in Pullman. Despite the two programs facing each other just twice all-time (in the 1960’s), there are still numerous ties between the two programs, possibly none larger than the late Mike Leach, who will be inducted into the Washington State Hall of Fame this weekend. Leach, already a member of the Texas Tech Hall of Honor, combined to lead the Red Raiders and Cougars to 16 bowl appearances over his career.
ANOTHER 150-YARD OUTING FOR BROOKS
Tahj Brooks opened his final Texas Tech season much like he ended the year prior thanks to 27 carries for 153 yards and a touchdown in Texas Tech’s victory over Abilene Christian. It was the 13th time in his illustrious career Brooks has rushed for at least 100 yards in a game and the fourth time to reach the 150-yard mark. Brooks now has 3,205 rushing yards over his career, leaving him just 36 yards shy of tying Taurean Henderson for sixth place all-time on the Texas Tech career rushing chart.
KELLY SHINES IN TEXAS TECH DEBUT
Josh Kelly returns to Pullman this weekend after a stellar debut, hauling in a career-high 10 passes for 156 yards and a touchdown in the Red Raiders’ victory over Abilene Christian. It was the eighth career game with at least 100 receiving yards for Kelly, who recorded half of that total a year ago as Washington State’s leading receiver. Kelly was targeted 15 times by Behren Morton in the victory, finishing only three yards shy of his career high in the process. He returns to Pullman where he caught 61 passes for 923 yards and eight touchdowns in 2023.
SERIES NOTEBOOK
TECH, WSU SET FOR ONLY THIRD MEETING
This will be Texas Tech’s first trip all-time to Pullman and only its second to the state of Washington. The Red Raiders, who are 2-0 all-time against Washington State, last traveled to the Evergreen State in 1982 for the return of a home-and-home series with Washington. The top-ranked Huskies edged the Red Raiders, 10-3, in front of 57,500 fans off Lake Washington in a rare midseason non-conference game set for Oct. 24 that season.
Texas Tech topped Washington State in back-to-back seasons from 1963-64, delivering a 16-7 victory to start the series followed by a 28-10 win a year later. Both wins came under head coach JT King, who pushed the Red Raiders to a season-opening win over the Cougars in 1963. The victory in 1964 was Texas Tech’s sixth of the season, pushing the Red Raiders to an eventual appearance in the Sun Bowl versus Georgia. It marked the ninth bowl appearance of 41 now in history for the Red Raiders.
RED RAIDER NOTEBOOK
CLOSING OUT THE ACU WIN
Texas Tech improved to 69-28-3 all-time in what was its 100th season opener with its 52-51 victory over Abilene Christian. The victory helped Texas Tech avoid dropping consecutive season openers for the first time since the 1995- 97 campaigns when the Red Raiders fell at Penn State (1995), Kansas State (1996) and Tennessee (1997). Texas Tech has now won 21-consecutive season openers inside Jones AT&T Stadium.
Likewise, the Red Raiders improved to 78-19-3 all-time in-home openers as the ACU win marked the 24th time in the past 25 seasons Texas Tech has kicked off its home slate with a victory.
Texas Tech moved to 10-8 all-time and 4-1 under Joey McGuire in overtime games following the victory over ACU. It marked the first time in program history the Red Raiders had opened back-to-back seasons by going into overtime. Texas Tech has now won four-consecutive overtime games at home dating back to McGuire’s debut season in 2022 where the Red Raiders needed extra time to defeat Texas, Houston and Oklahoma.
The Red Raiders moved to 28-1 all-time against FCS opponents with their victory over ACU. Texas Tech has now won each of its last 22-consecutive games against FCS foes as the close win helped the Red Raiders avoid their first loss since falling to North Texas in 1988.
Texas Tech continues to be dominant inside Jones AT&T Stadium under Joey McGuire as the Red Raiders are now 11-3 at home during his two-plus seasons. Texas Tech boasted a sellout crowd of 60,229 fans in attendance, its sixth sellout during McGuire’s tenure.
Texas Tech’s 52 points were its most since its 2022 opener against Murray State where the Red Raiders topped the Racers, 63-10, at home in the debut under Joey McGuire. It was the ninth time under McGuire the Red Raiders have scored 40 or more points as Texas Tech is now 9-0 in those contests.
RED RAIDERS IN LATE NIGHT KICKS
Texas Tech fans will have to stay up late for Saturday night’s kick, which is scheduled for 9 p.m. CT in Lubbock. It will be only the seventh time in program history that the Red Raiders have kicked off at 9 p.m. CT or later as Texas Tech is 3-3 all-time in those games.
RED RAIDERS AIM TO CURE ROAD WOES
One of Joey McGuire’s main goals heading into this season was to solve Texas Tech’s issues on the road where the Red Raiders are only 3-8 during his tenure. The Red Raiders will get their first shot at that this weekend at Washington State where Texas Tech will be looking for its first true road non-conference win since topping Houston in 2017. The Red Raiders also defeated the Cougars to kick off the 2021 season in Houston, but that contest was played at NRG Stadium, not TDECU Stadium on campus. Since then, the Red Raiders have dropped three-consecutive non-conference games in true road environments, falling at Arizona in 2019, at a ranked N.C. State in 2022 and at Wyoming a year ago.
ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE
Washington State opened 2024 scoring 10 touchdowns in a 70-30 victory over Portland State at Gesa Field. Redshirt-sophomore quarterback John Mateer threw for 352 yards and five touchdowns and ran for a 40-yard touchdown to set the WSU record for the most touchdowns responsible for (6) by a Cougar quarterback in his first career start. Wideouts Kyle Williams and Kris Hutson each recorded 100-yards receiving, running back Wayshawn Parker rushed for a touchdown and caught a touchdown pass while cornerback Stephen Hall had a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown in the win. Last season, Washington State went 5-7 including a 2-7 mark in Pac-12 Conference play while finishing third nationally in passing (336.8). Head coach Jake Dickert owns a 16-16 career record and is in his third full season.
SERIES HISTORY
The Cougars meet Texas Tech for the third time in program history and for the first time since 1964. The Red Raiders won both meetings, 16-7 in 1963 and 28-10 in 1964, with both games played in Lubbock. WSU will play in Lubbock in 2032. The Cougars are hosting a Big 12 team in Pullman are facing a Big 12 team for the first time since beating No. 24 Iowa State 28-26 at the 2018 Alamo Bowl.
Sat., Sep. 7 @ 10:30 pm E
Oregon State Beavers (1-0) vs San Diego State Aztecs (1-0)
CBSSN: Rich Waltz, Robert Turbin and Amanda Guerra
Oregon State ………………………… 1-0 NR (AP), NR (Coaches)
Head Coach Trent Bray 1-0 overall (1st season)
1-0 at Oregon State (1st season)
Game Notes
Oregon State makes its first road trip of the 2024 season Saturday when visiting San Diego State. Kickoff at Snapdragon Stadium is slated for 7:30 p.m. PT.
The game will air live on the CBS Sports Network. Rich Waltz (play-byplay), Robert Turbin (analyst) and Amanda Guerra (sideline) will call the action.
The game will air live on the Beaver Sports Radio Network. For a list of affiliates, turn to page two of these notes.
Every game this season can be heard live on the Varsity Network, a free application available via computer browsers, smartphones and tablets. After downloading the application, search for Oregon State.
Oregon State is making its first trip to San Diego since 2013.
Oregon State By The Numbers
1 – First win for Trent Bray as a head coach in the 38-15 victory over Idaho State.
4 – Consecutive wins by Oregon State over San Diego State dating back to 2000.
9 – Beavers who made their first collegiate starts in the win over Idaho State. Twelve players made their first starts in a Beaver uniform.
12.25 – Points allowed by the Beavers, on average, over those last four games against the Aztecs.
19 – Oregon State wins in the last 25 games.
24 – First downs by rushing in the win over Idaho State.
45 – Consecutive starts for Joshua Gray after getting the nod at left guard in the opener. He’s now six starts shy of the OSU career record.
58 – Oregon State’s rush attempts against Idaho State in the season opener, the most by a Beaver offense since 1996 when going for 64 against Northern Illinois.
315 – Rushing yards combined by Jam Griffin and Anthony Hankerson in the opener against Idaho State. Both surpassed the 100-yard mark for the first time in their respective careers.
362 – Total rush yards vs. Idaho State, the fourth time over 350 since 1996.
Against San Diego State
Oregon State is playing San Diego State for the seventh time and holds a 4-2 advantage in the series.
The Beavers have won four consecutive games, all since 2000, with three of the victories coming in Corvallis. The lone win in San Diego was a 34-30 victory in 2013. Sean Mannion passed for 367 yards in that win, the No. 27 mark overall in OSU’s record books.
Brandin Cooks caught 14 of Mannion’s pass attempts in that game, tying Mike Hass (2004 vs. Arizona State) for the OSU single-game record. Isaiah Hodgins later tied Cooks and Hass with 14 against Nevada in 2018.
David Lose, SDSU’s defensive line coach, spent three seasons as a quality control assistant with the Beavers, and went to the Los Angeles Bowl with OSU in 2021.
San Diego State ……………………. 1-0 NR (AP), NR (Coaches)
Head Coach Sean Lewis 25-31 overall (6th season)
- at San Diego State (1st season)
SAN DIEGO STATE WELCOMES OREGON STATE ON SATURDAY NIGHT
Fresh off a 42-point second half, a 223-yard rushing game by the FBS active rushing leader and a first career start for a true freshman quarterback, San Diego State plays host to Oregon State Saturday night at Snapdragon Stadium in the second game of the Sean Lewis era.
The Aztecs overcame a slow start and a 6-3 deficit at halftime to Texas A&M-Commerce last Saturday night, before scoring six touchdowns in the second half to down the Lions, 45-14.
Senior transfer running back Marquez Cooper proved to be as good as advertised as he ran for 223 yards and two touchdowns. The 223 yards were the second most in a SDSU season opener in its Division I history (since 1969) as he became the first Aztec with a 200-yard rushing game since Rashaad Penny in the 2017 Armed Forces Bowl. It was the 18th career 100-yard rushing game for the Gaithersburg, Md., native, who entered 2024 with three consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons with the most rushing yards among all active FBS players.
Danny O’Neil, meanwhile, showed poise in the pocket as he became the first SDSU true freshman quarterback to start a season opener in its DI era. O’Neil was 11-for-12 for 130 yards and two touchdowns in the second half. For the game, the Indianapolis native threw for 214 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
The San Diego State defense forced three TAMUC turnovers with two of those returned for a touchdown. Trey White forced a fumble that was recovered by Tano Letuli in the end zone for the first score while later in the game JD Coffey III returned a 45-yard interception for a touchdown. It was the first time since Nov. 5, 2016 vs. Hawai’i that the Aztecs had two defensive touchdowns in the same game.
SDSU outgained Texas A&M-Commerce, 468-180, including an eye-popping 321-58 advantage in the second half, where San Diego State outscored the Lions, 42-8.
One of the most innovative minds in college football over the past decade, Lewis was named the 19th head coach in the history of the San Diego State football program, as announced on Nov. 29, 2023. Lewis, 38, brings an extensive résumé to The Mesa, serving as head coach at Kent State from 2018-22 before spending the 2023 campaign as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Colorado under head coach Deion Sanders. He has also witnessed great success as a coordinator/ assistant coach in stops at Syracuse (2016-17), Bowling Green (2014-15) and Eastern Illinois (2012-13).
Last season at Colorado, the Buffaloes were ranked sixth in the country in passing yards per game (330.0) and 39th in scoring (32.1) with Lewis calling the plays. When Lewis stopped calling plays, Colorado dropped to 59th in passing (224.0) and 100th in scoring (20.3).
In 2021, Kent State set program records in plays (1,052), yards (6,907), first downs (364), rushing yards (3,482) and passing yards (3,425). Additionally, the Golden Flashes ranked third in the country that year in rushing (248.6) and first downs (364), fourth in total offense (495.2) and 30th in scoring (33.0).
In the COVID-shortened 2020 season, Kent State led the country in scoring (49.8) and total offense (606.5), ranked second in in pass efficiency rating (191.2) and third down conversion percentage (56.1), third in rushing (283.0) and fourth down conversion percentage (87.5), and 10th in passing (323.5).
While at Syracuse, his 2016 offense set or tied 40 program records, including passing yards (3,855), while the 5,290 yards were the second most in school history.
Lewis also had the fourth-ranked offense (546.8) at Bowling Green in 2015 and the sixth-ranked scoring offense (42.2).
The Aztecs have posted a .500 or better overall record and a winning record in Mountain West action in 13 of the past 14 seasons, only failing to do so last year (4-8 overall, 2-6 in MW).
San Diego State once again plays one of the toughest schedules in the country with seven of its 11 FBS games against teams that made a bowl game in 2023 and three against former Pac-12 teams (hosting Oregon State on Sept. 7, at California on Sept. 14 and hosting Washington State on Oct. 26).
PROGRAM-AT-A-GLANCE
SDSU’s 72.9 combined winning percentage in football and men’s basketball since the fall of 2010 ranks first in the country. Rounding out the top five are Ohio State (.726), Oregon (.712), Duke (.705) and Alabama (.693).
Since the start of the 2015 campaign, San Diego State ranks in a tie for 19th in the country with a 67.0 winning percentage (77-38)
SDSU had five double-digit victory seasons from 2015-21. Only eight schools in the nation can say that – San Diego State, Alabama, Appalachian State, Clemson, Georgia, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Oklahoma.
San Diego State posted 13 consecutive seasons with at least a .500 record until last year. That was tied for the sixth-longest streak nationally and was the longest streak among Pacific Time Zone teams.
The Aztecs have played in 12 bowl games since 2010, tied for the 13th most in the country. The only teams with more bowl appearances since 2010 other than SDSU are Alabama, Boise State, Clemson, Georgia, LSU, Mississippi State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon and Wisconsin.
Since the start of the 2019 campaign, San Diego State is 28-13 in games decided by seven or more points.
The Aztecs are 26-14 in their last 40 games decided by one score.
San Diego State is 49-23 (.681) in its last 72 regular-season games against Mountain West opponents.
SDSU’s defensive rankings since 2014: T-1st in interceptions (156), T-3rd in turnovers forced (227), 7th in total defense (320.4) and 9th in scoring (19.6)
Since the start of the 2015 season, San Diego State has 14 kickoff returns for touchdowns, the most in the country over that span.
The Aztecs also have five 100-yard kickoff return touchdowns since 2015, tied for the second most in the nation over that span.
