Texas Tech Run Defense Ready for Another Challenge at Cincinnati

LUBBOCK -- Texas Tech and Cincinnati were entangled in an offseason-long spectacle due to Brendan Sorsby's transfer and gambling allegations leading up to this season.

And while the quarterback is now focusing his attention on the next NFL Draft rather than college football, the No. 8 Red Raiders have still found success in a second straight 6-0 start to a season.

Texas Tech's latest Big 12 test comes against the Bearcats at Nippert Stadium on Saturday, and Cincy's offense is likely to be the story of this matchup.

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The Bearcats own the third-best rushing offense in the conference and are one of only two teams to have 20 or more touchdowns on the ground (West Virginia).

Conversely, the Red Raiders are atop the league with 82.0 rushing yards allowed per game. It may not be the 68 yards per game Tech allowed in 2025, but coach Joey McGuire has frequently mentioned his defense being on pace with statistically with the historic squad from last year.

"What they've done - I mean, they're rushing for 231 yards per game on average," McGuire said of Cincinnati, which has won eight of its last 10 home games. "When you can rush the football in a game I think for 150 yards plus, you got a great advantage of winning that game. You can control the clock; you can shorten the game...

"It's gonna be a great test. We've got our work cut out for us."

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A similar challenge presented itself ahead of Tech's homecoming game last weekend in Lubbock. Arizona State entered the contest after putting up over 400 yards of total offense - rushing for more than half of that - in their final nonconference game of the year.

The Red Raiders came out of the bye week to display their most complete game of football. The offense was clicking from the first quarter onward, and the Sun Devils were held to just 35 total rushing yards.

Tech's defensive line also recorded six sacks, bringing them closer to the standard set in 2025 by NFL'ers David Bailey and Romello Height.

"The big focus this week is everyone playing their responsibility," edge rusher Adam Trick, an Ohio native, said this week. "Defensive line, especially, setting hard edges, forcing the cutback to our help, and really just playing as one, taking practice really serious, our preparation this week really serious in order to stop this running attack on Saturday."

"We just gotta continue practicing the way we've been practicing," said defensive lineman Julian Laventure. "We focus on being 1-0 every week and being the best people we can be on and off the field, and especially between the white lines."