Kliff Kingsbury answered in the affirmative Sunday when asked whether he thinks he’s coaching for his job over the next month. Not that he considers it breaking news.

Kingsbury says he felt that way over the past four years, not just the next four games.

"I always feel like that," he said, "so nothing’s really changed. I think every coach in America feels like that this time of year."

However, Tech’s dropped to 4-4 and 1-4 in the Big 12 Conference with losses the last three Saturdays to West Virginia, Iowa State and Oklahoma — the latter a 49-27 setback Saturday in Norman.

Last year, speculation swirled about Kingsbury’s job security when Tech lost six of its last eight and finished 5-7. Now the pressure’s mounting again with the Red Raiders not only on a three-game losing streak, but having scored only seven points in the second half of each loss.

That’s not what anyone was hoping for in year five under Kingsbury’s leadership.

Asked how it’s affecting him and how he’s handling it, he said, "I’m good. We’re 4-and-4. I like this team. I like where we’re at. We need to play better down the stretch. We understand that, but nothing’s changed when it comes to me."

The Red Raiders appeared to be in a good place a little more than two weeks ago. They stood 4-1, had a 35-17 third-quarter lead at West Virginia and had given a solid effort every time out. Then they crumbled late at West Virginia, gave a bad all-around performance against Iowa State and couldn’t go toe to toe with Oklahoma after being in a 21-20 game only 17 minutes in.

That kind of stretch can pierce a team’s confidence and enthusiasm.

"I think it’s still high," Kingsbury said. "They understand what we can be. We just haven’t done it. We’ve done it in spurts and not complete games, and we’ve got to find a way to do that. But I think they understand how good they can be. I haven’t seen anybody show anything other than that."

Wide receiver Derrick Willies, defensive tackle Nick McCann and cornerback D.J. Polite-Bray didn’t make the trip to Oklahoma for what Kingsbury termed a "coaches’ decision." Though none is indispensable, each is in the depth chart.

Asked if those players’ situations and others in recent weeks who’ve been held out signify a problem in the locker room, Kingsbury said, "I don’t think so. I think our locker room’s great. It’s more just case by case. Every year, you have some issues you’ve got to handle and just handle it internally."

Tech’s November schedule consists of a home game Saturday against Kansas State, the annual Arlington game against Baylor, the home finale against TCU and the regular-season finale at Texas.

"No one’s happy," defensive back Justus Parker said. "Everyone understands that losing’s not acceptable. We did some things that we just can’t have and we can’t allow to be done, and we’ve got to bounce back and have a really good practice, two practices this week, and just attack this week, knowing we have four games and we need to finish out strong."

At OU, Tech started strong with touchdowns on its first three series, but the Sooners matched it and then asserted themselves. After the three scoring drives, Tech managed only 211 yards the rest of the way. Edge rusher Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, who made several midseason all-America teams, was a disruptive force.

And the Sooners, with former Tech quarterback Baker Mayfield playing his last game against his old team, went off for 617 yards. That’s the most the Red Raiders have allowed this season. Mayfield threw four touchdown passes, and OU rushed for 336 yards, 201 yards more than Tech’s average yield going into the night.

"They have a great offensive line," Kingsbury said, "one of the best I’ve ever seen when you’re talking about just sheer talent, and when they get up, it’s hard to stop those guys. They do a good job schematically in the run game of scheming you up and then they have good backs.

"It’s pick your poison, because if you want to go single-high (safety in coverage), you’ve got your one-on-one outside. That was a great group, and they had a good plan and executed it well."

College football

Who: Kansas State at Texas Tech

When: 11 a.m. Saturday

Where: Jones AT&T Stadium

Records: Kansas State 4-4, 2-3 in the Big 12; Texas Tech 4-4, 1-4

Last game: Kansas State 30, Kansas 20; Oklahoma 49, Texas Tech 27

Last meeting: Kansas State 44, Texas Tech 38 last year in Manhattan, Kansas

TV: Fox Sports 1

Line: Texas Tech by 3