Yesterday was pretty fun, the Red Raiders looked good and there weren’t many moments where it was in doubt.
Tech ran the ball well and the defense came through when they needed too which was a key to a fifth win on the season, one away from bowl eligibility.
There’s a couple of things that stood out to me that were negative, so I’ll cover those before getting to what I want to talk about.
Disliked:
The Injury Bug:
We very well may have seen Tyree Wilson’s last game as a Red Raider. It is so frustrating that he may miss the end of his great season after getting hurt on a play that really shouldn’t have happened (thanks to a questionable penalty that extended the drive).
You also lose Landon Peterson for the year, but that may end up being a positive if Jacoby Jackson can continue to get reps and develop for the future.
The Secondaries Struggle:
There were multiple times last night when the secondary got absolutely torched. Rayshad Williams didn’t have his best night but proceeded to lay one of the best hits of the evening.
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Dadrion Taylor-Demerson’s dropped interception (that was on the same possession as Tyree’s injury) was unfortunate and would’ve sealed the game much sooner if he could’ve held onto it.
Hutchings Not Scoring on the Fumble Recovery:
I more wanted an excuse to use this video in this, but man I would’ve loved to see a big man touchdown here.
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Liked:
Shough’s Breakout Game:
After two seasons and around six games played as a Red Raider, we finally were shown the Tyler Shough that was promised.
Shough made the right reads and didn’t turn the ball over, which is likely his best trait when he can do so. He also ran the ball really well yesterday, which is exciting for the rest of the season.
I do wonder if we hear the “we’ll play both quarterbacks” line from coach McGuire on Monday because last night’s performance from Shough, and the limited action we saw from Donovan Smith, makes it hard for me to bet against Shough being the starter the rest of the way, barring a return from Behren Morton.
Jesiah’s Continued Excellence & the Timely Turnovers:
I wrote about this last week, but Jesiah Pierre continues to develop.
He was super active in the back field last night with two sacks, two tackles for loss in his 7-tackle performance. He also forced the fumble that all but sealed the game.
The two turnovers the Red Raiders forced last night were huge, leading to 10-points. They didn’t “take three,” but they got very close and the two they got were critical timing wise.
Cam’ron Valdez Getting Extensive Run:
Valdez looked good in his 11 carries last night and has really excited me for the future of the back field after Tahj & SaRodorick move on. Him and Bryson Donnell seem to be the future at the position and Valdez has another gear that the other guys just don’t possess.