Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 11.21.09

Let's hope this happens.  I'd love to give credit to whoever did this, if you know, leave a comment.  Texas Tech alum Brian Crowell gets credit for the photoshop skills.  Thanks to Brian for the foreshadowing.

Senior Day:  LAJ's Don Williams writes that on previous senior days, the Red Raiders have made it count.  The first 2 paragraphs were pretty good:

Texas Tech tackle Marlon Winn started the week reminding teammates the added significance of today’s regular-season home finale against Oklahoma. It’ll be the last trip down the tunnel at Jones AT&T Stadium for 19 Red Raiders seniors.

"He said it (Sunday) night: ‘How would you want to be sent out when you’re a senior?’’’ Tech linebacker Bront Bird said. "’We have a lot of freshmen and sophomores playing right now. Think about whenever it’s your time, how you want your legacy to be left in the Jones.’ So I think the team’s going to rally around that.’’

Injuries Hurt Red Raiders and Sooners:  LAJ's Don Williams runs down the injury situation for both teams and reminds me that the only significant injuries that Texas Tech suffered that year was DT Rajon Henley for 3 games and G Louis Vasquez and CB L.A. Reed for 2 games.  I could spend quite a bit of time going over the injury situation this year, but it's certainly been significant.

Howard Has No Limits:  FWST's Dwain Price features DE Daniel Howard, who fellow teammate LB Bront Bird feels that Howard isn't as known and opposing linemen should know about him:

"Maybe he’s not as tall as the other guys, or as strong, or maybe not even as fast, but he makes up for that in effort, that’s for sure," Red Raiders linebacker Bront Bird said.

"I’m not sure what [opposing offensive linemen] think of him, but I know they better respect him. He causes havoc off the edge, I know that much."

Here's Howard on coming to Texas Tech:

"I got recruited by the rest of the schools around here to play linebacker, and Tech was the one that came in and told me, 'You’re going to play defensive end.’ I said, 'OK,’ because everybody else told me I was too small [to play defensive end], I wasn’t fast enough and I wasn’t tall enough, and I think as a defense we’re making statements because we’re all those guys."

Go read the whole thing, it's worth your time.

Oklahoma Sooner and Big 12 Links:  Crimson and Cream Machine with 5 keys to beating Texas Tech . . . NewsOK's David Ubben with the weekly blitz package . . . NewsOK's Jake Trotter writes that the Sooners might need some magic today . . . NewsOK's Berry Tramel writes that the Sooners have struggled on the road . . . the Tulsa World with 3 storylines for today's game . . . FWST's Mike Jones with a look at RB DeMarco Murray and WR Ryan Broyles are playmakers . . . LAJ's Adam Zuvanich wirtes that the OU defense is one of the best in the Stoops era . . .

Game Tonight:  Lamar Cardinals vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders
Time:  7:00 p.m. :: Location:  United Spirit Arena, Lubbock, Texas
Preview and Game Day Thread:  Scheduled for 6:00 p.m. post

Stressing Defense:  LAJ's Courtney Linehan writes that head coach Pat Knight is stressing defense:

Skeletons dance across the backs of the Texas Tech men’s basketball players. The frightful figures are printed on their T-shirts, but they carry a message coach Pat Knight hopes rattles his team this season: Play to the bone.

"It’s a fighting term: it means you have to fight to the end, until that final bell goes off," Knight said after the Raiders’ 94-75 win against Northwestern State on Thursday. "Look at boxing, how many guys lose it in the 12th round, get knocked out because they’re playing it safe or just think they have the fight won."

And Knight was not happy with the first the first half of the game against Northwestern St.:

"It was going back to the same old BS as last year: not guarding people, trying to out-gun the other team. You might be able to do that against some teams in the preseason, but you’re not going to be able to out-gun Texas and Kansas."