Patterson isn't expecting another ridiculous romp over Texas Tech

TCU put up 82 points on Texas Tech a year ago in a season in which these two old Southwest Conference rivals headed in drastically different directions.

The Horned Frogs catapulted into national playoff contention while the Red Raiders became a national joke for their sieve-like defense. But now Texas Tech has regained at least some of its swagger with a 3-0 record that included last week's 35-24 win at Arkansas.

TCU coach Gary Patterson knows taking his No. 2 Horned Frogs into Lubbock on Saturday isn't going to be a picnic. Tech has had this mathcup circled all offseason, and now it's Patterson hitting the road with a shaky defense that's been rocked by injuries to key starters.

Patterson called Tech "a completely different team," Monday during the Big 12 conference call.

“Our kids see that,” Patterson said. “We understand, us watching the film, that Tech’s a better football team than they were a year ago. They’re completely different.”

Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury hired former Houston coach David Gibbs this offseason to fix the leaky defense. While it hasn't been completely smooth sailing, the Raiders had their best game last week against the Razorbacks.

Combined with an offense led by poised quarterback Patrick Mahomes and a set of talented receivers and a returning 1,000-yard rusher, Tech will look to exploit TCU's injury-ravaged defense on the fast artificial turf at Jones AT&T Stadium.

(h/t Star-Telegram)