By Jeff Raasch

Daily Staff Writer

It’s inevitable to hear Texas Tech and Kliff Kingsbury mentioned in the same breath these days.

The senior quarterback is the Big 12 Conference’s top passer statistically, averaging 355 yards per game, but Iowa State’s Ellis Hobbs knows it’s not a one-man show for the Red Raiders.

“Kingsbury is a great quarterback, but without great wide receivers, he couldn’t be a great quarterback,” said Hobbs, a cornerback for the 11th-ranked Cyclones.

The Red Raiders feature two receivers taller than 6-foot-3, including senior Anton Paige, who averages over 72 yards per game and has six touchdowns this season.

Hobbs, who’s listed at 5-foot-7, said he’ll likely be faced with the challenge to shut down Paige on Saturday.

He said he’s not afraid of any of the Texas Tech receivers, because the defensive backs have faced similar talent, such as Florida State’s Anquan Boldin.

At the same time, Hobbs said he has respect for each of the Red Raider receivers.

“I’ve seen [Paige] go up for some balls and he’ll just take it out of the sky,” Hobbs said. “At the same time, we have enough confidence … to where we feel like we can match up with these receivers.”

Hobbs said he and his teammates realize with the primarily passing offense Texas Tech has, receivers will get their share of catches, but it’s their responsibility to limit their possibilities.

“You just try to defend them as best you can,” Hobbs said. “They can’t catch the ball if you’re defending them.”

ISU head coach Dan McCarney said the height mismatch is a concern, especially because the Texas Tech receivers also have great leaping ability.

He said he’s confident his defensive backs will be in good position, but on most plays, it will come down to who can make a better play on the ball.

“[Kingsbury] has got a great group of receivers — the best group of receivers we’ve seen so far this year on any one team,” McCarney said. “They’re very, very productive and we’ve got our hands full.”

Wes Welker, Mickey Peters and Carlos Francis make up the rest of the Red Raider receiving corps. Paige and Welker combined for 230 receiving yards on 18 catches in Texas Tech’s 48-47 win over Texas A&M.

Welker leads the Big 12 Conference and ranks fifth nationally with over 175 all-purpose yards per game.

With the receivers complimenting Kingsbury — who McCarney calls one of the best quarterbacks he’s ever seen — the Red Raider offense can score many points in a hurry, McCarney said.

“They don’t need lots of time, that’s the scary thing,” he said. “Texas A&M’s defense held them to 17 points early in the fourth quarter and they ended up with 48.”

Texas Tech (4-2, 1-0) has averaged over 48 points per game and 544 yards of total offense in the last three games. The Red Raiders are also very efficient inside the 20-yard line. They have scored 81 percent of the time when they make it to the red zone. McCarney said Texas Tech’s receivers thrive in that situation

“No one’s been more productive offensively, especially in recent weeks,” McCarney said.

“You don’t stop Texas Tech. I haven’t seen anybody do that. We’ve got to find a way to slow them down, and when it’s all said and done, have one more point than they have.”