The vibes surrounding the Texas Tech football team heading into its Week 2 road trip to Washington State are anything but demure.

The Red Raiders eked out a one-point win over Abilene Christian to open the 2024 season, needing a stop on a two-point conversion to escape in overtime. Few are questioning the lethality of the Texas Tech offense (more on that later). The wonder around Lubbock is whether the defense has reverted back several notches after incremental improvements over Joey McGuire's first two years as head coach.

There's not a ton of time to figure that out as a trip to Pullman awaits. The story surrounding the game — the late Mike Leach, coach for both programs, will be inducted into the Washington State athletics hall of fame ahead of the contest — is about as intriguing as what fans could expect to see in this encounter.

Let's see who has the advantage in this contest, which is set to begin at 9 p.m. Saturday on FOX.

When Texas Tech football runs

As expected, the Red Raiders made a point of getting the ball to running back Tahj Brooks early and often against Abilene Christian. The first three plays from scrimmage were runs to Brooks, who capped the first drive of the season with a touchdown. He finished with his fourth-career game of 150 yards or more, though needed to escape several clogged holes to get there. Portland State utilized several running options to pick up 215 yards on the ground against Washington State, averaging 4.5 yards per attempt. Tech averaged five yards per carry against ACU.

Advantage: Texas Tech

When Washington State football runs

The list of needed replacements for Washington State this season was long, losing its top quarterback, running back and two receivers from 2023. For a game, it seems the Cougars are OK in that department. Wazzu picked up around eight yards per carry in the opener with Parker Wayshawn (96 yards) and Leo Plalasi (54) getting eight totes apiece. Tech didn't surrender a ton of yards per carry against ACU, though the Wildcats did find the end zone four times on the ground.

Advantage: Washington State

When Texas Tech football passes

If there was one area Texas Tech fans weren't concerned about before the season, it was the offense. At most, the questions were how would the Red Raiders operate, and how would Behren Morton's shoulder look in his first game? Morton looked at the top of his game, utilizing the entire field to the tune of 378 yards and a career-high five touchdowns, completing 30 of his 42 pass attempts. He missed a few guys wide open when he was looking elsewhere, but that's bound to happen. Former Washington State receiver Josh Kelly returns to Pullman after a terrific Tech debut (career-high 10 catches, 156 yards, 1 TD). Five different Red Raiders caught at least three passes and four had touchdowns (including two from Coy Eakin). Portland State had solid success against the Cougars in this department, generating 234 yards through the air, though Stephen Hall did pick up an interception.

Advantage: Texas Tech

When Washington State football passes

All we have to go on for both teams is one game of evidence, but the jury doesn't need any time to figure this one out. John Mateer took over as Wazzu's starting quarterback (last year's QB1, Cameron Ward, is already generating some Heisman buzz at Miami) and lit up the Vikings, going 11-for-17 for 352 yards and five touchdowns, plus another 55 yards and a score on the ground. Texas Tech, meanwhile, had to rely on a secondary with a combined 23 starts against Abilene Christian and the result was a field day for former Red Raider Maverick McIvor (36-of-51, 506 yards, 3 TDs). Getting the ball out quick was an easy formula for ACU to follow, and Wazzu will likely use a similar method to dice up the young defensive backfield.

Advantage: Washington State

Texas Tech vs. Washington State: The specialists

Drae McCray was the unsung hero in Texas Tech's opener, his 55 yards per kickoff return being the spark the Red Raiders needed in times of strife. Reese Burkhardt and Gino Garcia are still trying to sort out which of them will take over field-goal kicking duties and Jack Burgess had a 45-yard punt on his lone attempt against ACU. Washington State didn't need its kickers too often against Portland State. Dean Janikowski averaged 45 yards on his three punt attempts and the Cougars scored so many touchdowns that field goals weren't really needed.

Advantage: Inconclusive

Score prediction: Washington State 42, Texas Tech 41

Bottom line: Wouldn't expect a lot of defense to be played in this game. While Wazzu had better results against Portland State than Texas Tech had against Abilene Christian, both units struggled against their FCS foes. The Cougars simply had more fire power on offense than the Vikings could contend with. Look for a late-night shootout in Pullman.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech football vs. Washington State: scouting report, predictions