IF IT WALKS LIKE A DUCK...............

I definitely do not disagree with your point on taking care of business. I was in Reno for game. Harrell + Leach + really bad officiating were the reasons to the close game. The Nevada offensive stats were crazy because of Harrell’s inability to get a rythym rest our Defense, Leach’s inability to set up passing plays across the middle as opposed to the fade routes which Harrell seemed lost, Leach’s inability to punt, Leach’s inability to use the running game when the passing game is off, and the officials allowing Nevada’s O-Line to tackle and hold on to the Tech defenders most plays. I didn’t see the same treatment for Tech other than reversing a few calls that were poor in the first place which did nothing but kill any momentum we should have been given in the first place. I’ll worry if the next two games aren’t complete blow outs, unable to find a solution to the field goal issues, and Reed/Vasquez don’t heal by big XII play. They need to accept that practice is over and to dominate both sides of the ball.

UT UTEP

FIRST DOWNS………………. 26 23
Rushing………………… 8 6
Passing………………… 13 15
Penalty………………… 5 2
NET YARDS RUSHING…………. 122 145
Rushing Attempts………… 31 31
Average Per Rush………… 3.9 4.7
Rushing Touchdowns………. 1 0
Yards Gained Rushing…….. 134 180
Yards Lost Rushing………. 12 35
NET YARDS PASSING…………. 282 267
Completions-Attempts-Int…. 20-29-1 25-46-0
Average Per Attempt……… 9.7 5.8
Average Per Completion…… 14.1 10.7
Passing Touchdowns………. 4 1
TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS……….. 404 412
Total offense plays……… 60 77
Average Gain Per Play……. 6.7 5.4

ENOUGH EXCUSES! I was at the game in Reno also, and the offense was awful. The defense allowed Nevada to drive the field at will and only came up with stops in the red zone. We are lucky that they missed the field goals. The big plays were poorly thrown balls, Crabtree saved Harrell by making adjustments. One of the worst games I have seen Harrell play. I like Leach but this was one of the worst attempts at coaching I have ever seen. He always blames the team for having inflated egos but I think maybe he is the one with the ego problem. Starting the game with a fourth down attempt on our own end of the field was completely embarrassing. Nevada was better than I expected but not even comparable with OU or Texas. Here we go 8 wins and a bowl game. With that said, we have the talent but talent doesn’t win games. Rice hung 60 on SMU if we can’t top that I say it’s just another year of the same. I hope they get it together this week.

I think that while your points are true, don’t forget that this team has the potential to be THE BEST TEAM IN THE NATION if they show up and give 100%. When everything is clicking, they can pile up 600+ yards of offense and the defense can dominate as well. Don’t put us in the Alamo Bowl/Insight Bowl, Cotton Bowl just yet.

Come on guys yall are better then this. Tech is going to come out next week against SMU and blow them out and Harrell will have 500+ yards and I will read a lot of the same people who wrote we are screwed say that booked their flight to the national championship. Can we please just wait till we actually lose a game to start throwing in the towel? Im not saying we played well on Saturday but this is the year where I dont care if Harrell throws for 200 yards a game as long as he leads Tech to victory. My advice to all the anxious Tech fans is to just keep looking at the W-L record and nothing else.

lordy, this is a meltdown that i didn’t expect from the group on this board after the nevada game.

I know we have not played well completely but we are still 2-0. This is the best chance we have had since 1977 to be great but until we lose Tech has a chance to be be good. I know that seems obvious but it is really only about being 9-0 for Texas and 11-0 for Oklahoma nothing else really matters. Because if we are undefeated and going to the Big 12 Championship game will get a BCS bowl!!!!!
Wreck’em TECH

This is the first season in a while that Tech has had such a huge target on its back going into the season. Every team they face, especially in non-BCS opponents, is out to prove they don’t belong. This is new territory Tech is treading on, so I’m anxious to see how they respond with the next few games. They need to start blowing teams out like the Big Boy Teams do or we are in for a world of pain and anguish once Big 12 play starts.

Implying that this team is the “same old Tech” says that they are as good as they are going to get and will not improve as we go further into the season. I haven’t seen any posts that imply that the performance to date is good enough to meet the hopes and expectations everyone had 3 weeks ago.

What people have said is that the pieces are there that haven’t been there in years past. No one wants to stagnate where we are. But we aren’t calling for Leach & Co. to walk the plank yet, either (look where that got A&M when they fired R.C.). At this point there isn’t enough data to predict how the rest of the season will turn out. We’ve all talked ad nauseam about what needs to improve. I believe they can. Now we all wait and see what happens.

eddyc555 u just a PINK raider!!!!! Shame on u….throwin them thar poor Tech yung un’s unda da bus like dat, I’m a wonderin howse u ever even gots radidio ception whilst lookin fer lost golf balls out on that thar fancee golf course. And az I rekemember, Mr. Kent (telling John Denver he got no chance in the music bidness) Hance wuz always mo betta at gettin pointed than lected..even switchin politico partees didn’t seem to help him win no lections

no name calling, it’s the only rule I have – “Don’t Be Mean”. Not pointing fingers, we’re all on the same team here.

Thanks in advance.

It’s not a state secret that I am not a big Leach fan outside of the system he brought to Tech. I think he’s a really good offensive coordinator, but as I said last week, he doesn’t have the intangibles that make for a great head coach. His in-game adjustments are non-existent and I really think that’s his ego making that call. He’s CONVINCED that no matter what play he calls it will work, even when either his players or the opposing defense have clearly proven otherwise on that particular Saturday.

His penchant for going for it on 4th down inside our 40 yard line with almost nothing on the line (ie. last two minutes of a game and losing) is absurd and probably make him the butt of a few jokes at coaches conventions.

He also fails miserably at keeping this team focused and disciplined. Our lack of fire, the ridiculous volume of penalties, players who think they’re REALLY AWESOME and ARE NFL BOUND and the other guy will ROLL OVER WHEN I WALK OUT OF THE TUNNEL- when they’re just good to average in most cases – those are all things that start at the top and work their way onto the field.

He has the motivating instinct of a garden gnome and even Graham Harrell and Crabtree were quoted last year as saying they tune him out when he tries to get fired up or pulls a throw-the-players-under-the-bus-after-a-bad-game stunt. WTF??? His own players are calling him out on this.

Okay, enough complaining about ML. I’m on record, so I’ll leave that alone.

All that to say, however, that I see this team going 8-4, down from 9-3 in my pre-season estimation. The performances the first two games would have resulted in losses against OSU and KSU. We WILL lose a couple of winnable games, along with losses to a super stout OU and what looks to be a realy good UT this year due to Leach not adjusting (such as pulling the QB for a series when he clearly can’t hit water if he falls from a boat, or punting, or having a special teams capable of being special), our new supercharged defense imploding and breaking (which it will…our players just aren’t that good), and a kicker who thinks drilling a guy in the face is as good as clearing the line.

That’s not being fatalistic, that’s just seeing the writing on the wall about this team. Would love to see them go 11-1 or 10-2, but based on how they are playing (not on how good the offense TRADITIONALLY is; ask A&M how that tradition bit is working out these days) we will struggle. If they turn it around, great. But that’s the job of the head coach, and…

And I hate that I drank the Kool Aid this summer…

And for the other record, I would love to see us hire Art Briles away from Baylor in a few years. He’s every bit as creative, has proven he can get a lot out of a little, has a fire in his belly, and is someone the HS coaches can probably relate to a little better. I think he may have a few more football smarts, as well.

minus the heated comments directed at each other, but that is not important!

What I see here in this situation is an opporutunity for our Raiders to go in one of two directions. It appears to me that they are at the crossroads of becoming a competitor in the big 12, regardless of how they played in games 1 and 2, I am speaking in an overall view. The Raiders of the past and the Raider fans of the past have always settled and been content with bowl eligible. I often heard in my time in Lubbock, “Well at least we are bowl eligible”. Now what I believe to be occuring is that the fans, the coach, and hopefully even the players are starting to expect a little more out of this team, that we have in the past support ed in its mediocrity!

This is the crossroad. Call it perseason hype or whatever you like. On paper and through what we have seen in the last few seasons we know that this team has talent and others around the country have picked up on that as well. So to me this entire thing is mental, it is the crossroad that asks do you want to stick with the old mentality or do you want to search for a new way of thinking, working, and producing to step into the next level of competition. It falls on our players, our coaches and in my mind most importantly the fans. If we as fans are content with bowel eligible then so will the team, if we create a stink after any loss, the coaches and team should feel that and learn to respond and respect the fans that support them and the level of effort and excution required. Look at the coaching changes every year in the SEC, they expect to win and every loss is an upset. I am not suggesting a coaching change I simply attmepting to point out the level of play the fans expect and require in elite programs. I say all that to say, I am glad some of you are pissed that The Raiders have not played well. It is a mentality amongst Raider fans that i have been searching for in the past several years. Get pissed! Be upset! Continue to question effort and expect more from our Raiders. If we as fans dont let the team know what we expect ,Raider Nation may choose the wrong path at the crossroad, and who knows when we will be at this crossroad again!

What I do know is if we choose the wrong path “bowl eligible” will be our greatest accomplishment year after year!

Thanks again Eddy for creating a great discussion!