Five Reasons Texas Tech Will Win :: Texas Longhorns Edition
by Seth C on Sep 17, 2009 12:00 PM CDT
in Texas Tech Football
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This weekly feature considers five reasons why Texas Tech will win and five reasons Texas Tech will lose to each opponent. Related: Five Reasons Texas Tech Will Lose :: Texas Longhorns Edition.
Reason #1 :: Spread Offense: Thus far, Taylor Potts has clearly exhibited what a spread offense means in that he has passed the ball around to 11 different receivers with at least 3 receptions. Yep, the running game is certainly struggling, but that doesn't seem to be something that concerns his head coach Mike Leach. The key for Leach is to have about 150 yards production from the running back position, and the way that Potts worked the underneath receivers last week I think Potts is certainly capable of continuing the trend where every position is a threat. And this is obviously the biggest difference between the Crabtree era where one player dominated the receptions where this year the defense cannot afford to focus on just one receiver. You have three players that have over 100 yards receiving, Lyle Leong (172), Detron Lewis (169) and Tramain Swindall (123), and three other receivers aren't too far behind, Alexander Torres (91), Edward Britton (75) and Austin Zouzalik (69).
Reason #2 :: Strength Up the Middle: We all know about the Texas Tech defense's issues at defensive end and the young secondary, but I shouldn't dismiss the fact the defense up the middle is the strength of the Texas Tech's defense. I don't know that DT Colby Whitlock can have 8 tackles, 2 TFL and a safety, but part of the problem last year was that the defense had trouble getting to McCoy in the second half. This year, there is depth and thus far, Ruffin McNeill is giving time to backup DT's like Victor Hunter and Chris Perry. Even Myles Wade has seen some action late (do not expect Wade to get any time on Saturday), but the Texas Tech defense has a legitimate second unit that can cause problems for the UT offensive line. And the linebacking corp deserves quite a bit of credit as well as Marlon Williams has turned into a versatile player who has managed to be an effective run-stopper, make plays behind the line of scrimmage and is much better against the pass than this time a year ago. Brian Duncan is as solid a middle linebacker in the conference and Bront Bird, despite having limitations in the passing game has grown to be as solid open field tackler and is excellent against the run.
Reason #3 :: Potts is Fearless: A little bit of a reach of a reason, but I think that this is something that Leach teaches his quarterbacks. I cannot know exactly how Taylor Potts is going to react when he throws an interception, cannot complete a tough pass, or doesn't correctly read the defensive coverage. I'd guess that Potts, as well as all Texas Tech quarterbacks are taught that one bad play can affect the outcome of the game as much as just one good play. There's a certain aspect that the quarterback position, must be fearless, and in this case Potts has got to be be somewhat fearless when it comes to completing passes to the sidelines, testing the corners, or completing passes under the middle, testing the linebackers and safeties. Everyone has talked about the fact that Potts is a different quarterback than your typical Texas Tech quarterback in that he can get the ball down the field. Let's see that arm in action and be unafraid to make a mistake.
Reason #4 :: Not So Perfect Texas Offense: Last year the Texas offense was almost near perfect. I cannot remember where I mentioned this, but Colt McCoy averaged an astounding 8.91 yards per attempt in 2008 and in 2009, McCoy is slightly down from last year at 8.6, but it seems improbable that the Longhorns and McCoy could reproduce those 2008 results. Rock M Nation's Bill C. is also noticing that the 2008 offense was too perfect:
Glad to see that my suspicions regarding disproportionate success on Passing Downs is thus far coming to fruition. Texas had a better S&P on Passing Downs than Standard Downs, and that just didn't seem very sustainable. UT has still been better than most in Passing Downs--a 0.730 S&P is nothing terrible, nor was their 0.977 from last week--but it does appear that their offense will suffer at least a bit this season simply because last season was a little too perfect.
I don't think the Greg Davis is counting on that offense to be as spectacular as it was in 2008, but there was certainly a relaince on that offense and perhaps that's been a part of the Longhorns ever so slight struggles in 2009.
Reason #5 :: Nothing to Lose: I always feel that this is another cop-out of a reason, but the truth of the matter is that all of the pressure is on Texas. They are the team that is expected to continue their march to a National Championship game with Florida. They are the #2 team in the nation and they are the team with the all of the pressure to make a statement in this game. A turnover here and a turnover there can change this game quickly. Just ask Daniel Charbonnet how an interception and a forced fumble changed the complexion of the 2008 game. Yes, that game doesn't happen without Crabtree and Harrell, but there were 8 tackles for a loss in 2008, 4 sacks and an interception that made that happen. Those are the small things that fans tend to forget than made that win even possible. Texas Tech needs to play like they've got nothing to lose, play with some swagger and let the chips fall where they may.
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No swagger
I say Tech needs to play with CONVICTION! DO NOT GIVE UP, EVER! Be committed to each and every play, taking none off for any reason. Stay alert at all times and watch the opponent as they line up to try and catch anything, tiny as it may be, that will give away where and what they are going to do. If the play goes away from you, pursue, but with caution—beware the reverse. Dog McCoy. Don’t let him tale a breath once the ball is snapped. Find the open spots in the defense and attack until another spot opens up. USE EVERYONE! KEEP FRESH! WIN!
TTpilk
You should be an offensive co-ordinator.
Or an ESPN analyst.
Actually you’d probably be perfect as the latter.
The swine flu takes a Will Muschamp shot every September.
by pleaseplaykindle on Sep 18, 2009 12:30 PM CDT up reply actions
Reason 1a
Eric Stephens. He isn’t the heart of this team… and probably doesn’t deserve an entire ‘reason’ just to himself, but he does deserve to have his name dropped in this article. The kid is explosive. His TD reception against Rice was impressive… but even more than that was the kickoff return that got called back. I can’t wait to see him in action for an entire game. I saw the highlight of his TD and have heard descriptions of the kickoff return juking would be tacklers and coming to a complete stop then having the speed to start again and still blaze past guys.
Yeah, but
all of that stuff is too realistic and analytical. Tech wins once every five years or so. That’s just how it rolls; the perfect example of the 80/20 rule, if you will.
You have another four years to go at least, so just relax, play some drinking games or whatever, hope for a reasonable showing, and start praying that UH doesn’t plant you at 2-2 next week.
If you like that ..
Go over to Burnt Orange nation.. bottom line the entire Raider team is basiclly getting a low B grade and will be on the recieving end of a 50 point walloping. Forgive me if I dont think so.
"do routine things routinely"
by centexraider on Sep 17, 2009 2:11 PM CDT up reply actions
Colorado has a 41.2% winning rate for best in the big 12 I believe (7-10). The Aggies are at 32.7%. Baylor 23.4%. OU 40.8%. SMU 31.9%. TCU 24.7%. Tech 25.9%.
So you have a ranking in terms of winner percentage against texas (with a long history of playing them) of OU, A&M, SMU, Tech, TCU, Baylor.
I’d say pretty much everyone has a hard time beating Texas. But I’d also say we win just over one in every four not five. So you have bad stats. And these are accurate. I took them off a chart on mackbrownfootball.com.
And I also think its safe to use the term “thats why they play the game” here. I sure hope UT just thinks we win once every few years because that attitude will grant them a second consecutive loss to us.
Oh and I heard Detron and Henley are likely not going to play….
Just Throw It
to Corndog. I want to hear the color commentary. I need to hear it. Anything but how Colt and Shipley are roommates, sweet mercy.
You want analytical and realistic?
How about the fact that you sound about as stuck up and full of yourself as humanly possible, which seems to be a common theme among UT fans…you said it best, “That’s just how it rolls.” Why don’t you just stay at your BON site and wallow in your awesomeness with all your other superior being friends instead of wasting your time talking to us? You know what I will be praying for?? That you will get a serious attitude adjustment.
Maybe a missing reason
Is that this is a Tech team that believes it can actually win against Texas. In the past we have not had very much success and it seemed like everyone on the team was intimidated by playing Texas. More than anything, I think that last year knocked the shine off of Texas and Tech now knows that they can play with these guys and win, not just compete and hope to not get blown out.
#1 and #5
we cant let what happened in Norman happen now. Even if we just play our hearts out, we can only hurt texas. We must make this a tough game, and that means everyone needs to step up more so than last year’s squad. Time of pocession is key, McCoy can only play one side of the ball, so more passes over the middle and more quick passes whould help. I really want to see what Stephens and Torres can do. Torres seems to catch almost everything thrown his way, and Stephens can beat a defense by plowing over them, and thats a good change of pace for Jeffers and Batch.
I may get rediculed for this, but dont go all out. I know we take one game at a time, but damn, Houston sure does look ready for us.
Either way, Im still callin’ it like I called it in June.
Brown is not ready for the Captain…and the Captain has a thing for surprising Texas, You know he has something up his sleeve. Wildcat??
35-28 Texas Tech
You might be in for a surprise finish folks...
Reason #1 :: Spread Offense: There is a saying be careful what you ask for you might get it. It’s an early test for them as well. It’s going to be rhythm vs hype. Read NC Pressure. Hands and coordination vs. hats on number in the open field. The horns might not think this a rivalry but our folks do. I like these guys but we are just as good. Passes from Potts will come out fast (hard – ouch) and on time. O line gets couple of chips on the d line and the ball is gone. Put that in your orange colored bong and smoke it PB. It’s a rivalry and we Techsans embrace it. 9 or 10 Raiders will touch the ball. RB will outgain most of the receivers on this one. Why? Mostly because our RB’s are faster than their LB’s. Enough said.
Reason #2 :: Strength Up the Middle: Whitlock and the "ball of hate" are more than likely to have good games. Of all the guys who don’t seem to have any nerves at all among this year’s starters it is these 2 x players . They will have fun and Tanner ,Hall and Ultoskio (purposely misspelled for sarcastic effect) will be the recipients of wind sprint administered by the position coach mostly for missed blocks. I don’t expect the tech interior D linemen to get hammered on like 07. IMO it’s not even here we are better. Does anyone know what the 70 man travel roster will look like? Just looking to see what D linemen are travelling to the capital.
Reason #3 :: Potts is Fearless: Fearless yet circumspect. I’d rather see 3 or 4 passes thrown into sections 43A and B than an interception. That being said watch out for the bullet in traffic. It is coming. I don’t know how any of us can expect anything different. The other thing is Potts is not concrete feet like G Harrell. Yeah I know he’s coached to stand in there and find the number 3 read in his progression, but if somebody on the ut d line doesn’t play technique .. he can flat move up field. Just like K. Kingsberry. 7 yards a pop by the QB is way cool with me. Seth I don’t think you are reaching at all. And the play of Sheffield vs. Rice just adds confidence to this train of thought. I.e. the backup QB is ready.
Reason #4 :: Not So Perfect Texas Offense: I will be blunt the def line can get these guys back on their heels. Just have to stay aware of the deception scheme. Trick plays i.e. reverses, flea flicker and the odd Shipley / Tre’ direct snap or hand off. Makes me a little queasy thinking about it. I’ll go further look for Ship to get the pass in the flat and toss back to Chiles coming around. Look fellow fans there is reason they have been under cover all week practicing and it’s not solely from the aspect that they can. Understand they can afford to be ungreen in the AC’d dome practice facility and BTW contribute to green house gasses.. (I waited all year to say that) They want secrecy. Seth you are right the pressure to get the NC game under their belts is huge. Just think of the ut assistant coaches bonus checks for gosh’s sake.
Reason #5 :: Nothing to Lose: Not only nothing to lose Raiders but a world of respect to gain. Win and you’re at 17 or higher in the polls. Just kick in the door Baby!
"do routine things routinely"
An additional thought
that I read today from Coach Ruff.
He has started talking that there is actually four sides of the ball, offense, defense, special teams, and side line.
My mind went immediately to the thought that has been plaguing me for a while, like why do we not play well after bye weeks, why did we look flat vs Baylor, why do we have difficulting winning on the road against teams that are not that good….and now I read these thoughts from Coach Ruff. I doubt that they are his alone. Maybe they have been doing it for a while but the coaches are actually practicing the team to support from the side line. I have not heard about this before today, so I am thinking it may be something the staff came up with since last season.
Weekly TV show from Lubbock on FSN...
.. it had a piece about Leach "saying after 10 years he finally decided on reducing the number of Tech benches from 6 t o 2 so in effect no one can sit down". Problem solved might as well cheer your teammates from the sidelines. Funny stuff.
"do routine things routinely"
by centexraider on Sep 17, 2009 2:03 PM CDT up reply actions
I’ve been listening to the Austin sports talk radio station. Everyone said UT would beat us down. They are actually running commercials talking about the OU game. Even the sports talk guys constantly talked about OU. I sense we aren’t being taken serious. I also sense UT looking past Tech….but they wont admit it. I say we have a shot. Wreck EM!!!!!
Thank You, Centex,
I remember now I wanted to mention that as well….the benches allowed are marked “Starters Only” !!!
And it is part of the sideline ‘side’ of the ball….
And it is funny !!!
Tech needs
To go into the game and litterally bust Texas in the Mouth! They did that last year and it took Texas 2.5 quarters to clear their head of that chin music!
Tech has to play 4 quarters. This has always been a problem for Tech. They get up big early and let down thinking its in the bag because of how dominating they were.
Its time for Tech to look at putting up no less than 70 points a game. Think on that for a moment and let it roll of the tongue. 70. If you play with that thought that you can not even hope to get any respect from coaches and fans and not have to run sprints if you do not get the 70 makes a big impression.
I played on a team that only saw in my whole life 3 losses. The coaches all taught the 70 principle. If you put up 70 points against all teams, then you go to Championships.
Its that kind of effort and drive. So if Tech is playing Rice, Houston, ND, Kansas State, Texas or Oklahoma as it does not matter. The score has to be better than 70! Imagine the mental effect it has.
Thus coaches, football is an 80/20 principle. 80 percent mental and 20 percent performace. Its true and imagine the results of such an idea!
Way to go Pablo M..
Same experience here. Get on top and go thru the second string enroute to a complete domination. Look for the Raiders in San Antonio in December. We should all meet in the “Buckhorn” saloon right down the street from the Alamo. Neat thought.
"do routine things routinely"
by centexraider on Sep 17, 2009 7:29 PM CDT up reply actions
OU and UT
I learned last year around Nov. 22nd that you don’t want to piss off OU. I’m pretty sure that the same goes for UT. Stoops called out the fans before the game, maybe he was scared, but it was a really good move, that place was rockin(would have loved to seen UT or the Dallas Cowboys play there that night). Anyways the point I was trying to make is that on the road in front of a pissed off crowd you have to be able to go to the line of scrimmage and RUN the ball, whether its for 1 yard or 2, you have to be able to get positive yards. There is just no calling plays at the line of scrimmage in front of an angry crowd. I know that is not how the Red Raiders function, but that is the way things are. Hopefully Potts remembers the yellow stain on Grahams pants after the OU game. Third down and 10+ on the road leads to scores like 65-21, third down and less than 10 gives you a better chance. If UT plays like OU did last year there is no chance for TTU, sorry. I’m afraid of the crowd more than the players, players feed off the crowd. If TTU can keep the crowd out of it we’ve got a chance, if the crowd gets into it and never stops forget it.
Until Saturday, Wreck Em’, I’m ready to see the secondary lay some licks on the UT receivers.
by Clint_Eastwood on Sep 17, 2009 11:38 PM CDT reply actions
Nothing like a quick punch in the gut
to take the steam out of a crowd.
Just a side note: All I’ve seen out of UT players and fans is that this game is no big deal. They will easily crush us and look forward to the real competition coming up. Why is it then that they are expecting the largest crowd to ever see a college game in the State of Texas?
We added new seats
Two weeks ago, against Louisiana Monroe, we set the record for attendance simply because we added seats. We’ll obviously have more than that for Tech. In the future, we’ll undoubtedly break that too, although it may not happen this year since our home slate is not very daunting. Perhaps against Kansas. In any case, it has nothing to do with Tech per se. I don’t mean that as an offense, but it’s just a product of adding seats, nothing more.
by TheElusiveShadow on Sep 18, 2009 1:34 AM CDT up reply actions
LOL
Oh, now I see. People are paying outrageous prices to sit in nosebleed endzone seats but it’s not because they’re interested in the game, it’s just because there’s absolutely nothing else to do in Austin, Texas on a Saturday night. They’ll only be interested to see the game when your arch-rival and perennial powerhouse Kansas comes to town.
You might sell that load of B.S. under the guise of innocence to a bunch of aggies, but remember this is the school that actually graduates people.
Really trying to fish, aren't we?
It’s like you’re desperate to pretend that Texas Tech is the greatest game in UT history or something. I explained to you rather simply why this is going to be the highest attended game ever. Last year, we could hold roughly 98,000. Now we can hold over 100,000. For a popular team like Texas, people are going to buy tickets when they are available. I’m not lying about Louisiana Monroe. Go look it up. Does that mean ULM was a bigger game than Ohio State in 2006? Obviously not; we just have a greater capacity now. It’s not a hard concept.
They’ll only be interested to see the game when your arch-rival and perennial powerhouse Kansas comes to town.
When did I say this? I was merely saying that in all likelihood, only the Kansas game has a chance of surpassing the Tech attendance for this season, being a rather unimpressive home slate. Again, fishing. Your desperation is sad.
You might sell that load of B.S. under the guise of innocence to a bunch of aggies, but remember this is the school that actually graduates people.
Could have fooled me with that response.
by TheElusiveShadow on Sep 18, 2009 11:13 AM CDT up reply actions
Tech held the record from 2007-2008. It was beaten for the A&M game last year, Tech will hold the next record until probably the A&M game next year again. There is a chance that the Kansas game hosts more people, but that would only happen if UT is 10-0 going into that game and then it will be close.
speaking of la. monroe they scored 20 real points on texas
they were not scrub points. i think texas tech can do a little better. texas was only up on wyoming 13-10 at halftime. spread offenses are tricky for defenses. that is why many teams are using it. texas won’t cover the 17 1/2 point vegas spread. i think tt will play well. i hope they win outright. i love college football. peace out. ramble on!
by wolfmanshowlforever on Sep 19, 2009 12:32 AM CDT up reply actions
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