One of the best things a football team can do for a bye week is take care of business beforehand. Texas Tech did that Saturday with a 42-21 victory over Kansas, and now the Red Raiders can rest on their first open weekend since the season started.

Eager to wash away the taste of a 52-30 home loss to Texas A&M, Tech played some of its best football in beating Kansas. The Raiders sacked Jayhawks quarterback Todd Reesing six times and forced four turnovers inside Kansas’ 35-yard line, converting them all into touchdowns.

“It’s just a great one to leave off on,’’ defensive end Brandon Sharpe said. “Keeps us positive and working hard for the game that’s coming up after this bye. For this bye (week), we’ll get the fundamentals down and, at practice, keep working hard.’’

Tech coach Mike Leach will spend today at ESPN studios in Bristol, Conn., where the cable network’s talent will run him through the “ESPN Car Wash.’’ He’s expected to appear on various ESPN radio and television shows throughout the day.

The Texas Tech defense held the Kansas Jayhawks to only 258 total yards after letting the Aggies go for more than 300 just on the ground a week ago. (John A. Bowersmith/Avalanche-Journal)

Tech's offense started slow behind new starter Seth Doege, but turned it on when they needed to, scoring 28 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. (John A. Bowersmith/Avalanche-Journal)

At least Leach left town with the team on a high note. The Raiders got dominant performances from defense and special teams and outscored Kansas 28-0 in the fourth quarter as the running game cranked up.

“I thought our defense played really excited the whole game,’’ Leach said. “I thought special teams had one of their most inspired efforts, and I think offensively we came together the second half.’’

Next up for Tech (6-3, 3-2 in the Big 12 Conference) is a Nov. 14 game against No. 18 Oklahoma State (6-2, 3-1) in Stillwater, Okla. The kickoff time for the game will be announced today if the Big 12 TV partners adhere to their usual schedule, although ABC has an option to choose games on six-day advance notice three times during the season.

Quarterback Steven Sheffield (broken left foot) is not expected back for the Oklahoma State game, so Leach figures to have the same choice he had last week: Taylor Potts, who’s started six games, or Seth Doege, who made his first career start Saturday. Doege played only the first half, when Kansas had five sacks and turned two Doege fumbles deep in Tech territory into touchdowns.

Leach changed quarterbacks at halftime, and Potts defused the Kansas rush by frequently checking into running plays. Baron Batch, who had nine carries for 17 yards through three quarters, carried eight times for 106 yards in the fourth period, when he scored three of his career-high four touchdowns. He was untouched on two.

“The quarterbacks just made great run checks,’’ center Shawn Byrnes said. “When he came up to the line and checked into those plays, I thought that was the best plays we could have run. I just called the fronts and got us into a scheme that I thought was best, and it worked out great.’’

The rest of the team didn’t need as much time to get going. Facing an opponent that was averaging 475 yards and 35 points, the Tech defense yielded 258 yards and two touchdowns. One of those came after a fumble return to the Tech 2-yard line. Defensive linemen Daniel Howard and Richard Jones set up a first-half touchdown, Howard by causing a Reesing fumble and Jones with the recovery.

Cornerback LaRon Moore was responsible for two of Tech’s fourth-quarter TDs. He caused Kansas receiver Kerry Meier to fumble at the KU 23 and later picked up a fumble and ran it in from 31 yards.

Special teams player Gerry Acevedo recovered a muffed punt at the KU 19, setting up the last score by Batch.

Asked whether he was more proud of the defense or the special teams, for which he was captain last week, safety Julius Howard declined to pick.

“I’m proud of all three sides of the ball,’’ he said. “Special teams stepped up another week and played. Defense, we brought it this week. And offense, they struggled the first half, but the second half as defensive people, we just told them to ‘keep going, keep going; we’ve got y’all.’ They started rolling, and we were good after that.’’

Tech’s special teams were so solid that Kansas started inside its 20 after five of seven punts and inside its 25 after all seven Tech kickoffs.

The pass rush recovered after getting only one sack last week. Tech has 30 sacks for the season, more than all but two teams in the country. Sharpe’s 21/2 Saturday boosted him to  101/2, which is tied for second in the nation individually.

Sharpe said he was battling a sickness during the A&M game that sapped his effectiveness.

“I was feeling it a little bit, but I just had to fight it off in this game,’’ he said. “Can’t just curl up when you’re not feeling good. You have to go out there and play and work hard for your teammates.’’

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