Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
A look at how each Big 12 stadium stacks up in capacity heading into the 2023 season.
The 2023 college football season is nearly upon us. Week zero opens next Saturday. Schools in the Big 12 will begin their season in two weeks.
The league is welcoming four new teams, and four new venues into the Big 12 footprint for the season. BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF join the league adding new venues.
Here’s a look at how the 14 Big 12 stadiums rank in capacity heading into 2023.
The Texas Tech Red Raiders are completing a turf renovation should will be ready for their early-season matchup with the Oregon Ducks.
The Oregon Ducks will be helping the Texas Tech Red Raiders break in some new turf at Jones AT&T Stadium on September 9 when the two top-25 teams face off in Lubbock for a Saturday night showdown.
According to the Lubbock Avalance Journal, Texas Tech is nearing completion of a field renovation that saw new turf put into place. The project is expected to be completed sometime next week.
The turf replacement started earlier this summer, and should be done in time for the Red Raiders to have their final few fall camp practices on the surface, according to the report.
Going into the Week 2 matchup between Oregon and Texas Tech, both teams have high expectations for the season, with returning quarterbacks Bo Nix and Tyler Shough, a former Oregon QB, leading the way.
The winner of the matchup will be set up for a potentially successful run into the season with a high spot in the polls.
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When the Texas Longhorns open the Big 12 Conference schedule they will be traveling to Lubbock. Texas Tech announced 25% capacity for fans.
When the Big 12 Conference announced the new schedules for the upcoming 2020 college football season, the order of opponents changed. Instead of playing Kansas State in the conference opener, the Longhorns will instead head to Lubbock, Texas on September 26th to play the Red Raiders.
The Longhorns finished the 2019 season in a game against Texas Tech. After falling behind 14-0 early on in the contest, Sam Ehlinger and the team rallied to defeat Tech 49-24. Thanks in large part to a 22-point outburst in the second quarter.
Texas has defeated Tech five consecutive times in Lubbock. We won’t mention the last time Texas failed to defeat the Red Raiders. The Longhorns hold a commanding 52-17 edge in the series all-time in 69 games. If fans plan on making the trip to Lubbock for this year’s game, there will only be a handful of fans allowed at the game.
Texas Tech says its football stadium capacity for the fall season will be approximately 25 percent.
— Nicole Auerbach 😷 (@NicoleAuerbach) August 13, 2020
Nicole Auerbach of the Athletic is reporting that only 25 percent of the stadium capacity will be in attendance. Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock holds around 60,000 seats. Essentially only 15,000 fans will be able to attend.
While the Texas Governor Greg Abbott has stated that venues in the state can have upwards of 50 percent capacity, most universities are willing to take the risk of inviting more fans into the stadium.
Recently it was reported that the Texas Longhorns were currently discussing if they would have 50 or 25 percent capacity in their stadium. They were leaning towards the latter Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium will likely only have 25,000 fans for home games this fall.
Previewing Saturday’s TCU at Texas Tech college football matchup, with college football betting odds, picks and best bets
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The Texas Christian Horned Frogs (4-5, 2-4 Big 12) and Texas Tech Red Raiders (4-5, 2-4) do battle at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas, at noon ET Saturday in an elimination game of sorts.
We analyze the TCU-Texas Tech odds and betting lines, while providing college football betting tips and advice on this matchup.
1. With a game at Oklahoma still on the schedule, TCU can ill-afford a sixth loss in this one if its wants to attain bowl eligibility. The Horned Frogs are coming off a demoralizing 29-23 loss in triple-overtime last week at home to unbeaten Baylor.
2. Texas Tech is in the same boat, as the Red Raiders cannot afford a loss in this one with Kansas State and Texas remaining on the schedule. If they want to go bowling, a win Saturday is imperative.
3. TCU is 2-5 against the spread in the past seven meetings, while going 1-4 ATS in the past five trips to Lubbock.
Get some action on this game or others by placing a bet at BetMGM!
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday at 2:30 p.m. ET.
TCU 34, Texas Tech 29
TCU (-159) nearly dealt Baylor the Bears’ first loss last week, but Baylor forced overtime with a long field in the final minute of regulation. The Horned Frogs then blew it defensively and are in a tough spot heading into this one. Despite some terrible luck against the number against Texas Tech (+130), look to the Horned Frogs to win this one outright.
New to sports betting? A $10 wager on Iowa State to win would return a profit of $6.30.
TCU (-2.5, -134) hits the road looking to turn things around against the number in this series. The Horned Frogs are also just 2-6 ATS in the past eight road games, and 1-4 ATS in the past five inside the Big 12. While Texas Tech is 3-1-1 ATS in the past five, and 3-0-1 ATS in the past four at home, Texas Tech’s awful defense will be the difference here. The Red Raiders rank 121st in total yards allowed (470.3) and 127th in passing yards given up (308.6).
The OVER (56.5, -110) is the worth a look. TCU struggled offensively last week, at least in regulation, before a bad-beat over connected. The Horned Frogs should find a lot more room to operate in Lubbock. The over is 6-1 in the past seven for TCU, and 6-1 in the school’s past seven conference games, too. The over is 4-1-1 in Texas Tech’s past six overall, too.
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