No. 7 Texas Tech focused on matchup at West Virginia and not what lies beyond

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A berth in the Big 12 championship game and a chance to win its first league title. A spot in the College Football Playoff. National title aspirations. All of those possibilities are still ahead for Texas Tech.

And those dreams could start going sideways if the Red Raiders aren’t focused on West Virginia.

Texas Tech (10-1, 7-1 Big 12, No. 5 CFP) can grab a spot in the Dec. 6 conference title game for the first time with a win Saturday in a chilly regular-season finale on the road against the Mountaineers (4-7, 2-6).

“Our guys know exactly what’s at stake,” Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire said. “We know that if we win, we’re in.”

Texas Tech would earn the berth anyway if Arizona State loses to Arizona on Friday night. Losses by Arizona State and Texas Tech would bring title-game tiebreakers into play and hurt the Red Raiders’ chances to host a CFP first-round game.

Morton’s health

Texas Tech quarterback Behren Morton is playing through a leg injury and wore a boot during the team’s bye week. He was replaced by Mitch Griffis late in the first half of a 48-9 win over UCF on Nov. 15.

Morton “feels great,” McGuire said. “He doesn’t want to be in that boot. He doesn’t think he needs it right now. We’ll keep him in it.”

Heisman hype

Jacob Rodriguez has at least one more chance to impress Heisman voters.

The Texas Tech linebacker leads the nation with seven forced fumbles.

“You talk about punching the ball out,” West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez said. “He’s the best I’ve ever seen at it.”

Jacob Rodriguez is tied for the Big 12 lead with four interceptions and is third with 9.1 tackles per game. He scored the first offensive touchdown of his career on a 2-yard run against UCF. He’s has been named Big 12 defensive player of the week four times this season.

Heisman finalists will be announced Dec. 8.

Planning ahead

Texas Tech President Lawrence Schovanec sent a memo to the campus community last week asking classroom instructors to keep the title game date in mind when scheduling final exams, which run from Dec. 5 to Dec. 10.

In the memo, Schovanec wrote that instructors should “plan appropriately to support our students’ academic success while also providing them the opportunity to be part of this special moment for Texas Tech.”

“Our goal is to ensure students have sufficient time to prepare for any adjustments to the exam schedule and to allow for safe travel to the game site (in Arlington, Texas),” he wrote.

Lucky charms

McGuire likes to load up his wrists and pockets on game days.

“I’ve got some superstitions on different things that I do,” he said.

At every game since 2003, he’s carried in his left pocket a coin given to him by a high school athletic director who hired him as an assistant coach. On game days this season he’s carried a U.S. flag that was stitched on the uniform of a now-retired Iraq War veteran and has worn a bracelet honoring the late mother of defensive back Luke Dillingham.

Among the four wrist bracelets he wore to his weekly news conference Monday, one was for team barber Ivan Ortiz’s wife who was critically injured in a car accident last month.

“I’m a bracelet guy. I don’t wear a watch, since we all have cell phones now,” McGuire said.

Underdog ‘Eers

In the final game of Rich Rodriguez’s first stint as coach in 2007, heavy favorite West Virginia lost to archrival Pitt, preventing the Mountaineers from playing for the BCS national championship.

Now Rodriguez, in the final game of his first season back in Morgantown, is on the other end of the spectrum and has the chance to pull off the unthinkable against Texas Tech, which is favored by more than three touchdowns, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.

“It’s our last home game. It’s our seniors’ last game,” Rodriguez said. “But also, it’s a great opportunity for our program to be on display on national TV against one of the best teams in the country.”