TTU vs FIU Pregame Preview Last Tune Up
After starting their season 2-0, checkout Campus Live’s TTU vs FIU pregame preview that will be in action this Saturday, September 18th, at 6 pm in Lubbock, Texas, at Jones AT&T Stadium. The Red Raiders are slated to take on the Florida International University (FIU) Panthers in the Ring of Honor Induction in their final non-conference game of the season.
FIU Season So Far
The FIU Panthers are currently 1-1 on the season. Although their past two games have been against two lower-tier teams, the Panthers have shown that they compete. In their season and home opener, the Panthers took on the Long Island University Sharks and would go on to win 48-10 en route to their first win of the season.
In their second game of the season, the Panthers returned home to FIU Stadium to take on the Texas State Bobcats in a much more competitive game. The game would be so competitive it would take all four quarters and then overtime. After a long-fought battle, the Panthers would fall and drop their first game of the season 17-23 in a close game.
Players to Keep an Eye On
FIU is in the NCAA Conference USA, and while they may not have strength in schedule, they do have a strength in their athletes.
D’Vonte Price
In the running game, keep an eye on D’Vonte Price as he leads the Panthers run game. In two games he’s tallied up 276 yards in just 28 attempts with three touchdowns to his name. His season and career-long was a 68-yard rush, and he is averaging an impressive 9.9 yards per carry. With phenomenal stats thus far, look for Price to be a problem Saturday.
Bryce Singleton/Tyrese Chambers
The Panthers also have proven to be effective from the air as well. The two leaders for FIU at the receiver position are Bryce Singleton and Tyrese Chambers, who have combined for 314 receiving yards on the season. Singleton has eight receptions for 168 with one touchdown. Chambers is right behind him with 146 yards from seven receptions with two touchdowns. Both receivers have proven to be incredibly efficient and could very well cause problems for the Red Raiders in this week’s matchup.
Max Bortenschalger
The leader of the TIU squad that all eyes should be on Saturday is quarterback Max Bortenschlager. Thus far, he has passed for 525 yards and has had 31 completions on 51 attempts. With a 54-yard-long pass and a 10.3 average per pass, Bortenschlager has proved that he can be a problem against defenses. With that, keep an eye on him as he and the rest of the FIU team will come into Jones AT&T Stadium looking to cause an upset.
Richard Dames/Jamal Gates
Defensively keep an eye on defensive back Richard Dames and linebacker Jamal Gates. Leading the Panthers is Dames. On the season, he has nine solo tackles and four assists, totaling 13 tackles on the season. Gates is not far behind with eight solo tackles with four assists to total 12 tackles on the season. With several players on the defensive side of the ball, look for the defense as a whole to step up to compete at a high level.
Keys to Winning
After the first two games, the Red Raiders have shown a few apparent weaknesses that need to be addressed. One of the significant issues that the Red Raiders will need to improve on is the first half. The team has had very slow starts to the first two games, and heading into the conference play this week; they will need to come out firing on both sides of the ball.
Offensively Texas Tech needs to limit its mistakes. Those mistakes are coming from penalties and turning the ball over. Tyler Shough will need to make smarter passes and decisions moving forward. As the quality of competition will only increase from here on.
Defensively the team will need to come out from the get-go and apply pressure. The defensive line will need to apply pressure constantly and get to the quarterback. In the first half of the contest against Houston, this was an issue. Throughout the SFA game, the quarterback was given a fair amount of time to get rid of the ball. In the secondary, the defense will need to tighten up moving forward. While the secondary has been able to limit big throws adding more pressure on the offense will be beneficial to stopping drives.
Perhaps the key issue that may not have shown in the first contest against Houston but was prevalent in last week’s matchup against SFA is stopping the run game. Again, this starts with the defensive line. The defensive ends holding the edge, and the linebacker core will need to be ready to stop runs more consistently.
Overall TTU vs FIU preview
Overall, the TTU vs FIU preview has potential heading into Jones AT&T Stadium that fans should look forward to. This will be the Red Raider’s last non-conference tune-up game before Big 12 Conference play starts against in-state rival Texas.
With the Panthers having several weapons in their arsenal, look for the Red Raiders to improve on all three phases of their game. You can watch the game on Big 12 Now or ESPN+ or still get your tickets at TexasTech.com.
Check out Campus Live’s recap over last week’s game versus SFA!
For Texas Tech Footballs’ entire schedule click here!
Story by Campus Live Employee Trinity Porter