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Chris has clearly been doing the Colombian Bam Bam again. Can’t wait for the Red Raiders to “bless the mood”. Austin takeover part 2, promo code TEXAS23.

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Some high praise from a Bama blog

Damn you 2022…Gangsta’s Paradise was amazing.

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Had never heard the player commentary on the hit before.

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Need three

Reading the in-game takes here doesn't even qualify as hilarious, they are just downright rancid.

Dude has all the potential in the world, but to unlock that potential he has to go through the trials and gain the experience. He did that today, and luckily got the experience and we came out on the right side of it.

In his short career he's already delivered 3 of the most memorable wins around here over the last decade. Not since Doege has one QB put together the roster of noteworthy wins he has (that includes Mahomes).

He's a sophomore. He's growing. But dude has a seriously high ceiling. HSMFC!

Wasn't he a kid we really tried to recruit a few years ago?

The game will be on ESPN U at 12:30 for anyone who is interested.

Per DMN, men’s hoops B12 schedule has been released.
Kansas and McCullar come to Lubbock Tuesday Jan 3.

We visit Austin Saturday Jan 14 at 7:00pm on the worldwide leader.

We host Texas big Monday Feb 13.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

shout out to @Casey Cowan for coining a great nickname.

Tech basketball

T. Beadles said:

Winning would require things to happen that have not happened yet (running the ball, Donavan being decisive, receivers consistently winning matchups), those certainoly could happen, but I don't think its wise to count on it.

Home field advantage, texas crapping the bed, the defense finally forcing some turnovers, and Donovan being Iowa State Donovan could throw a wrench into the order of things, and I'll be there hoping that happens, but

38-17 texas

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That’s what I wrote before the game last week, admittedly, and obviously, I was pretty pessimistic. I don’t think that pessimism was unfair, regardless of where we all think this program is heading, it seemed pretty far from that, in several key areas, against both NCState and Houston. I don’t know if Saturday was a corner turned or just a peak of what’s to come, and I don’t care, Texas Tech played much better in several key areas and beat the Texas Longhorns. That’s all that matters.

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I was pretty nervous that my prediction was right on in the first half. As you can see from the plays above, the defense was battling their tales off, the Longhorns just had a little too much firepower. First play is a perfect example, Texas isn’t doing anything groundbreaking scheme wise, they just know that Tech HAS to stop Bijan to have a chance, and so they take advantage of that commitment with an RPO that uses the space and throwing lanes creates by the LBs stepping up to stop the run. Tech is playing Cover 1, and, knowing that he has help over the top, I would like to see Dunlap more physical with the receiver off the line.

The next two plays are more of the same considering the Red Raider defense was incredible close to making a big play, and just didn’t quite do it. Card is under duress in both plays but stays alive just long enough to take advantage of a miscommunication in the secondary, first time, bunch confuses the Tech DBs, and two guys end up taking one receiver. Second time, Worthy runs a deep cross and manages to get lost when running across zones. These types of mistakes should have killed this game, but thanks to the resiliency of this team, it did not. Those secondary miscommunications need to get worked out because you know the Wildcats can and will take advantage.

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This next clip is four of my favorite defensive plays from Saturday. First one, Tech drops 8 and rushes three, a defensive scheme that has been productively utilized by basically everyone, except Texas Tech, in recent years. The DLine pounces quick, everyone is winning their matchup, but Card does have a little window of time to get the ball to one of the playmakers in space. Instead, the Tech back 8 is perfectly positioned and moving together to prevent any easy throw. I said it against Houston, but if this scheme can become a weapon, this Tech defense is dangerous.

Speaking of D Lineman winning their matchups, look at the carnage on this 4th down attempt. Texas is running their version of Wildcat, and running Zone Follow, a play Tech ran to great success several times Saturday. It works by creating easy down blocks for your lineman, a kickout, and a lead blocker for the ball carrier. Like any zone play, penetration will kill it, Jaylon Hutchings ability to get across his blocker and into the backfield from the backside completely disrupts any progress. It’s so fun having a D Line that can win its matchups.

The third play is nothing special, I just like laughing at UT arrogance. Did you really think a TE could block the best defensive end in the league? Give me a break.

Finally, THE play of the game. I shudder to think about how this game ends if Merriweather doesn’t force the first (can’t stop laughing at that) fumble of Bijan’s career. It had to have been difficult to ride the emotional roller coaster of the last minute for the Red Raiders, most teams would have crumbled, this one might have, but, thankfully, we’ll never know. Besides the forced fumble, this is a damn good play from Krishon, one he made several times Saturday. He was able to make his read, sift through the trash, avoid a blocker with ease, and lay the smackdown on the best back in the country. This is not a hit that should force a fumble, but this is where McGuire’s prophecy came to fruition. He said they were going to break, and they did, and their best player led the way. This was an exhaustion fumble. Then the Tech defense is rewarded for constantly swarming the ball with the recovery. Ball game.

This defense is so fun to watch. They are almost hard to breakdown because they don’t do many exotic or flashy things, they just play sound football at full speed. It’s legitimately beautiful. Hard to imagine they won’t give us a chance to win basically every game.



As for the offense, as big of a Donovan Smith fan as I am, I started to waver with the performances against Houston and NC State. I was not sure he could decisively read a defense and do what was asked of him, whether that be running or throwing. It wasn’t always pretty, as you can see in the clip below, but it was much more good than bad. It appeared that his job was simplified, which gave him confidence, he was quicker to use his natural abilities to keep the offense on time, and, most crucially, he stopped throwing the ball to the other team.

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Before we get to the good, let’s look at some improvements that Donovan needs to make before we pull off two top 25 road upsets. First play, I love the play design, getting Donovan on the move, simplifying reads, give him an option to run, and he makes the right call. The problem is the ball, which will be a theme of these plays, that needs to be on a rope. Price makes a great catch, but I’d like to not put our best receiver in physical danger if not necessary.

Second play, I get that he is about to get hammered, but you might as well make it worth it. If this ball is put between the hash and the numbers, Loic may score. This offense needs an element of explosiveness at the moment, can’t miss those.

Next play, again, too much air. Price is wide open, and Donovan just flat misses him. This was an NC State level mistake that cost the team a first down, and I thought at the time, a chance to win. It’s weird because his mechanics looks fine, it’s just a miss. Can’t happen the next two weeks.

Last play, the O Line and Tahj do a great job of picking the rush up, Donovan has plenty of time to find an open receiver, he just makes a bad read. If you pause the clip at :30, you’ll see he has two receivers open for the first down, and one triple teamed. He chooses the one who was triple teamed. Donovan played really well, but we’ve got an extra gear with a little more improvement, and that’s encouraging.

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Next clip 4th down conversions… all 6 of them… I’m not going to break down each one, but a few things to consider.

• This is the best of Donovan. He’s using his legs to not only buy time and create throwing lanes, but to convert on several occasions (including a EuroStep). He also used his physicality in short yardage, it is such a weapon that this offense HAS to use going forward.
• The receivers deserve credit for finding openings, making sure they are past the sticks, and making contested catches. I’m still concerned about their ability to create separation, but that can wait for now.
• The offensive line is not a story line this week, and that is a great thing. They still didn’t play well, but they were good enough when they needed to be, and that might be all that we can ask of this unit.

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Last clip is something we’ve all been confused about and/or clamoring for, tight ends in the passing game!

First play is one of my favorite ways to get the TE involved, it’s simple and utilizes their mismatch capabilities. This is a pass play the whole way, but Donovan and Thompson really play out their mesh to draw the linebackers up, once that happens, all Donovan has to do is hit the large man in a lot of space. This place could easily go for bigger yardage against other opponents, but the Texas S makes a nice play.

Next play is pure sicko stuff, double fake screen to a TE seam? Filthy. If Tharp is looking the other direction, that’s 6, even so, that’s really an incredible catch because I’m not sure he ever saw the ball until it hit his hands. Also, kudos to the O Line, not an easy play to run.

Last play, again, its genius is its simplicity. Texas is beaten and Donovan knows where he’s going just based off alignment. As long as the O Line holds up, which they do, this play is stealing. Also helps to have a freak athlete like Cupp running that route. I’d like to think that if the Texas LB was lined up outside of Cupp, he would just run a hitch right there, but either way, it worked.

This doesn’t even mention the trick play to Tharpe, the TD to Cupp, or the Jayden York snaps (which I’d like to see more of that I formation). It was obvious that using the TEs was emphasized in the gameplan this week, it was encouraging that it was successful, and I’d like to see more of it.

This offense is not a finished product, it still needs more consistent O Line play, for QB Play to continue to improve, and to find a way to create explosive, but it’s hard not to be encouraged with the growth seen and obvious coaching adjustments from the last two weeks to this one.

Most teams have played 3 games against an FBS team, which means it's time to start comparing Tech's numbers to the rest of the country.

Total yards & total points stats are a fugazzi. Just white noise. When Kenpom changed the college basketball stat world, he did so by looking at per possession stats. In football, this translates to how often does a team score per drive? How frequently do they allow points? What percentage of their possessions result in a TD? Or a turnover?

These are more meaningful and predictive stats. It's not our defenses fault that 40% of the TD passes we've given up were thrown by Tech QBs. Per-drive stats disregard that. The ones below also disregard games against FCS teams and garbage-time possessions.

For these comparisons below, note that Tech has played a slightly tougher schedule than Kansas State, although not by much. Both teams have played at least a top 30ish toughest schedule, but I would make Tech's around the top 20th toughest schedule played to date.


Offensive Points Per Drive:

Texas Tech - 2.05 points per offensive possession. 79th in the country.

Kansas State - 2.23 points per offensive possession. 70th in the country.


Offensive TD Percentage:

Texas Tech - 24.4% of possessions end with a TD play. 81st in the country.

Kansas State - 25.7% of possessions end with a TD play. 78th in the country.


Offensive Turnover Percentage:

Texas Tech - 14.6% of possessions end with a turnover. 87th in the country.

Kansas State - 0% of possessions end with a turnover. 1st in the country, obviously.

Is that even correct? How is that possible? I hate playing this damn team.


Offensive Yards Per Play:

Texas Tech - 5 yards per play. 97th in the country.

This is a product of (1) all the negative yard plays against UH and, to a lesser extent, NC State, and (2) the hyper-efficient dink-and-dunk offense we ran against Texas to the tune of 100 plays (which represents a large portion of our total plays on the season). Last year at Western Kentucky, Kittley's offense ranked 4th in the country in yards per play.

Kansas State - 5.24 yards per play. 87th in the country.

They have actually taken a big step back from last year's offense in this category, which was sneakily way better than people gave it credit for (the 27-year-old version of Skyler Thompson was good).

Defensive Points Per Drive:

Texas Tech - 2.03*** points allowed per possession. 58th in the country.

Kansas State - 1.58 points allowed per possession. 28th in the country.


*** The average starting field position for Texas Tech's defense is 130th out of 131 teams. I'm going to be honest with you guys, I didn't even know there were 130 FBS teams now. That's bad. However, I love that it's almost become this defense's identity through 4 games. I can't remember who said this, maybe DeRuyter, but the defense's motto has been.... "911.... you call, we ball." They are embracing adversity and have really shown up in big spots. They have been unfazed when our other units put them in a compromised situation. And are well suited for short-field OT possessions, allowing just 1.5 points per drive to UH and UT (effectively, causing us to win the games)

Kansas State's defense, meanwhile, has benefited from the 26th best starting field position.



Defensive TD Percentage:

Texas Tech - 21.1% of possessions end with opponents running a TD play. 39th in the country.

This is good for our standards. Good for anyone's standards when you consider the teams we've played. Really good when you consider how often the defense is having to respond to an emergency situation.

Kansas State - 16.7% of possessions end with opponents running a TD play. 20th in the country.




Defensive Turnover Percentage:

Texas Tech - 13.2% of opponents' possessions end with a turnover. 51st in the country.

Our defense could really take the next step here. A little bit better turnover luck, and we're talking about a top 25 defensive unit.

Kansas State - 16.7% of opponents' possessions end with a turnover. 23rd in the country.

Man, f*ck Kansas State. How do they keep getting away with this?



Defensive Yards Per Play:

Texas Tech - 5.16 yards allowed per play. 39th in the country.

Kansas State - 5.34 yards allowed per play. 46th in the country.

Interesting that both teams are 3-1 and have allowed more yards per play than they are generating. That's a bit odd.




Our offense obviously has a ton of room for improvement, and we may have seen some of that on Saturday. Kittley might be figuring out how to move the ball down the field with Donovan in a way that scores points and doesn't totally screw our defense over. It would make sense that UH / NC State / UT taught him a lot about Donovan, our skill guys, and our OL - what they can and can't do against real opponents. I expect us to keep getting better each week.

Kansas State's defense looks like the real deal on paper, though.



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@Saynotobarefoot

How gassed Gary Fatterson must have been tying those shoe laces.

Link from twitter.

It’s a good look on him…
🤣

“It’s like if an arrogant rich kid kept getting into fights with slower and smaller kids every day and bought bigger weapons, started filming it and then still kept getting beat up.”

https://www.rollbamaroll.com/2022/9...xas-invents-new-ways-to-shame-their-ancestors

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Looking at the conference schedule and again we are again hosting a premier team (Kansas again) when the students are not scheduled to be back from break. You would think the conference would figure out that premier games need premier atmospheres.

I realize most students will come back but you really hate these kinds of games so early in the schedule.

Our own @JPatsPowerHour is working at a medical facility today and he has turned the break room TV on to the replay of Saturday's game. Has several longhorns looking for the remote, but it seems to have mysteriously disappeared. Poor little fellas, hope they can make it through the day.

Ryan Leaf was hosting ESPNU College Sports Tonight, on SXM, this evening. They interviewed Dave Archer and both were very positive about us.

Ryan Leaf is apparently calling our game this weekend. He said we really impressed him with our play vs NC State.

That got me going to his Twitter and I found this rant about UT, which is amazing:

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Confirms he’s calling our game this week:

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He also ranks us #25.

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In the interview with Archer, they first talked about how good Adrian Martinez was and how they have no clue what Frost was doing with him.

Arch credited Martinez “playing free”

Roddy Jones said he was really impressed with us in the NC State game and that after watching that he thought we could make some noise in the Big 12. Arch said he agreed. He started to talk about Joey and his energy.

Arch said he worried that the energy would die down if we got off to a slow start but instead the energy is a house fire/a grease fire. He referred to us rushing the field as evidence of the energy around the program. “They are thriving and feeding on each other. It’s Joey’s energy and I think it’s sustainable.”

They’re playing really good defensively. Number 1 team in 1st downs allowed. Tech doing a good job and winning on 3rd down defensively. Our O had high expectations with ZK and Shough- talks about DS coming in and doing a good job, our RB room being something worthy of envy.

“They’ve got stuff going on and people better start to take notice.”

Leaf takes several digs about OUT supposedly being the big dogs of the Big 12 having both already lost. He and Arch talk about the rest of the Big 12 playing with a chip and all moving on without OUT. Arch then says the Big 12 doesn’t seem to have a bad team and the conf championship being up for grabs.

They had CL on after this.

A little update on The Matador Club...Things are going really well!

We now have over 2,500 individual donors, which is amazing at this point - but still doesn't scratch the surface on our potential (we have 300k living alumni).
Publicly we are still keeping our fundraising totals close to the vest (for competitive purposes), but I will say that we are well on track to compete at the very highest levels in NIL.

Football and Men's Basketball are still the largest areas of competition in NIL, as you all know. With our momentum, we will be able to significantly increase our payouts for next year, and as long as everyone keeps supporting the effort, we will have no issue staying ahead of the competition. We are miles ahead of the rest of the Big 12 in terms of our organization and the professionalization.

We are working on deals with the women's sports, baseball, and non-revenue sports. Some large donors have recently stepped up to help underwrite our NIL programs for those sports. Stay tuned!
We will also have some exciting announcements related to organizing our efforts with "corporate" deals, which we expect will multiply our size and reach.

We have some great Matador Club "swag" on order, and will be rolling that out soon (hopefully before the UT game). I'll post here when it's ready to go.

I'm not sure that anybody really believed it when we got started, but we've said for months that Texas Tech will be a national leader in NIL, and that NIL will be a huge competitive advantage for us. This prediction has certainly come to fruition. We have the most passionate fans in college sports, without a doubt!!

I would like to once again thank everyone for your generous support, and would encourage anyone who hasn't given to get online and help however you can - matadorclub.org
Crowdfunding is key to making this program sustainable, and every little bit counts - Please tell your friends, family, co-workers, etc.

Guns Up!!!