Kansas vs. Texas Tech Tale of the Tape

Conf	National	Actual	Category	Actual	National	Conf
Rank	Rank				Rank	Rank
11	84	125.43	Rushing Offense	138.57	68	8
4	6	335.43	Passing Offense	418.43	1	1
6	14	460.86	Total Offense	557.00	2	1
7	24	33.86	Scoring Offense	45.86	T-5	4
3	29	109.71	Rushing Defense	92.43	12	2
3	34	112.43	Pass Effic. Defense	118.89	53	5
5	65	360.14	Total Defense	351.0	58	4
4	47	21.86	Scoring Defense	21.14	43	4
7	75	34.21	Net Punting	31.46	104	11
2	14	15.27	Punt Returns	11.38	37	5
12	118	15.45	Kickoff Return	23.78	23	6
8	54	.14	Turnover Margin	.71	T-27	3
9	99	250.43	Pass Defense	258.57	103	10
7	14	156.19	Passing Efficiency	159.16	10	5
5	37	2.14	Sacks	2.57	25	3
4	35	6.29	Tackles for a Loss	4.57	100	11
9	73	2.0	Sacks Allowed	.14	1	1

First and foremost I really think Texas Tech should strongly consider changing the official mascot to this picture of Bobby Knight.

Moving on to the tale of the tape and things that stand out...Kansas took a big hit in several defensive categories following the OU game but still kept the offensive output high and even improved on special teams.  I also find it interesting that despite Sam Bradford lighting up the Jayhawks, Kansas still has a better passing defense than Tech. 

Offensively it's hard to argue with what the Red Raiders have put up and the sacks allowed stat is pretty darn impressive, even with deeper than normal QB drop.  Defensively Tech has a formidable run defense but as an overall unit they are pedestrian against the pass.   

Similar to last week Kansas is slightly less effective in most categories than its opponent and no one can measure up to the Tech offense.  The difference here is in the level of competition.  I'm not here to argue about weak schedules, as Kansas fans we know as well as anyone how the chips can fall to make that happen.  What I am saying is that whether their fault or not Tech's numbers are possibly a bit inflated due to who they have faced to date. 

Regardless I am not big on playing a game on paper and I believe there are a multitude of other factors that will play into this game.  Take it for what it’s worth numbers are numbers and do tell part of the story when previewing a game and based on the numbers this is going to be a good one.