Red Raider Gridiron | Gearing Up for the Lobos

Game Concessions:  It's good to see that the vendors and Texas Tech will remedy the fact that it took half an hour to buy a $5 bottle of luke-warm water or charge $5 for a cup of ice:

"We saw record numbers at the SMU game with extreme heat conditions," she said. "We have reviewed the game with our client, Texas Tech, and we will be adding more points of sale and increasing the number of vendors roaming the concourse to further enhance the game experience for our customers. We anticipate a great event when the University of Texas visits here on Sept. 18th."

Post Practice Report:  My non-transcript from yesterday's post-practice press conference:

Tommy Tuberville:  Got started with the game-plan, Tuesday is a physical day and must get better stopping the run.  Worked hard on it today.  IR Austin Zouzalik is out there today, OT Mickey Okafor is back tomorrow.  WR Alexander Torres is still a little sore, not going to hurry that.  Attitude is good and they understand that came close to losing because they didn't execute.  Still erratic on field goals.  Not going to shed any light on any starters, doesn't want to show anything.  Will start putting in a little more next week.  Need to be a little more complex.  CB D.J. Johnson and CB Will Ford each played over 60 plays this past week, which he thinks is their limit.

RG Deveric Gallington:  Very comfortable going into the game, made some physical mistakes.  We be going through a lot of zones in practice, getting your hands on the defender and finishing the play.  New Mexico is a 4 down front, they work with their hands and are quick off the edge.  The Raider Walk was a great feeling, really enjoyed it.  Not going to overlook any team, not take any plays off.  Going to go in there and play their game. 

ILB Bront Bird:  Short week, all that you miss is a Sunday practice, not going to affect the team very much.  Hesitated quite a  lot, will improve, and talking with coach.  The team is hesitating too much and really just need to dig just one gap out rather than trying to play two gaps, which causes hesitation.  The New Mexico vs. Oregon game was bad because of the turnovers and not pay much attention to that score.  Knows that New Mexico will be in front of their home crowd and need to make sure that every practice the team practices as hard as they can.  They did get beat up pretty bad and will be bringing their "A" game.  They do run the ball well.  For the older players, playing on the road is not that big of a deal and the veterans will need to keep everyone focused.

I did notice that the official site had the depth chart for this week's game and it appeared to be exactly the same as the depth chart for SMU.  LAJ's Don Williams asked Tuberville if he was going to make any changes to the starting lineups and he's keeping his cards close to his vest.  I guess we'll have to wait and see until game-time.

The official site also has a fancy preview page for the New Mexico game.

Passing the Test:  LAJ's Don Williams writes that the young defensive backs passed the first test.  CB Jarvis Phillips talked about adjusting to the game:

"You definitely have to be more physical," Phillips said, "because you’re in there close to the linemen and you’re part of the run game. The biggest adjustment is being more physical. I’m adapting pretty well."

And CB Tre' Porter:

"We are young, as he said, but I think we reacted well," freshman cornerback Tre Porter said Tuesday. "We’ve still got to do a lot more learning, got to get more experience under our belts, but we’re coming along."

Good stuff, go read the whole thing.

Notes, Notes and More Notes:  LAJ's Don Williams has quite a bit from the non-transcript from above, but also includes some thoughts on IR Cornelius Douglas:

"The thing about Cornelius, he likes to play," Tuberville said Tuesday. "He likes to play offense, we looked at him last spring some on defense and then we played him on almost all special teams. He wants to play as much as he can, and he wants to make something happen. He did Sunday."

Batch Likes Raider Walk:  RB Baron Batch continues his diary throughout the season and this week he writes that the Raider Walk was a great experience, that you should watch out for long-boarders on campus and that as a player, especially as a senior, you've got to seize the moment:

So after the SMU game I realized I had just played my last, first college football game. After sitting down as a team and watching the game film, and carefully judging my own performance, I realized there were certain plays in the game that I wish I could have back or do over, but that’s not how football works. There are no do-overs after the game. Regret is a terrible feeling. Thankfully you can always learn from the past to improve the future. For example, I can watch my mistakes on film and not make them next game.

Here is my food for thought this week: Seize the moment and give it your all. Tomorrow isn’t promised. In the event that you have regrets, this is what you can do. Admit to them, learn from them, improve on them, and try your best to not let it happen again. Have a great week! Wreck em’ and God bless.

Ubben, Whitlock and Power Rankings:  ESPN's David Ubben interviewed DT Colby Whitlock after Sunday's game and also had his power rankings for the week where Texas Tech moved up a spot.

  New Mexico Lobos Links:  DT's Mike Graham writes that Texas Tech is wary of the Lobos:

"I’ve told these guys they can’t get into comparing scores," Baron Batch said. "We’ve watched the film where they played Oregon and the score doesn’t reflect the way the game was played. Oregon had a lot of big plays and a lot of big plays on special teams which will kill you.

"When you watch the film you won’t just say, ‘Man they just played horrible.’ But there were about five critical plays Oregon made and it turned into a blowout. We can’t do that, last year we looked at scores."

. . . ABQjournal's Rick Wright writes that the Lobos simply got whipped:

Tuesday, in discussing last Saturday's 72-0 immolation at Oregon, Locksley focused on turnovers and blown assignments that helped the Ducks score five touchdowns in just over 12 minutes during the first half.

"We can correct fumbles and interceptions," he said at UNM's weekly fall media luncheon. "Had we just got blown off the football, had we just been overmatched personnel-wise, then there would be reason for concern for me."

. . . ABQjournal's Greg Archuleta writes about how coaching transitions can be tricky . . .