Sports. I swear, man, I love them but sometimes I want to punch them straight in the face and be done with them forever.
… Of course, Caden Sterns intercepted Alan Bowman to end the game after his two brothers had done a number on the Red Raiders’ defense a few weeks ago for the Huskies. Thankfully no more Sterns brothers to face the rest of the season.
… I get that people don’t care and only care about the end result but when I’m sitting in a quiet room waiting to do a short postgame interview with Matt Wells and Keith Patterson comes in to specifically tell me he’s sorry, that resonates with me. Is the same thing Brandon Francis said to me after the title game too. In both cases, I had zero idea on how to respond. Back to KP though, his guys needed to make more plays at the end but they did enough for this team to win. They held Texas to 38 yards in the third quarter and to 5 of 16 on third downs. But yeah, rushing three at the end didn’t work well and blitzing on the 2-point conversion didn’t work well either.
… The interceptions are bad enough by themselves, but the timing of Alan Bowman’s interceptions after huge momentum-changing plays by his team made them especially difficult to stomach. You have a perfectly executed onside kick and the review allows Texas to potentially remind or adjust to a deep shot. Then comes the blocked punt and two plays later the same thing. It was very cleary that they wanted to go to T.J. Vasher in big spots and Texas seemed to know that too.
… Some potential game-changing plays that Texas Tech had a chance to make and didn’t included, Ja’Marcus Ingram being right there to make a play in the end zone when Josh Moore made a great play. Earlier in that drive Kosi Eldridge had a chance to sack Sam Ehlinger and just whiffed on him which equaled a 14-yard scramble to extend the drive. But the one that no one is talking about because of the onside kick, the pooch kick, the prevent defense, the interceptions, etc. was the throwback pass in Texas territory that went right through Eli Howard’s hands. He likely would’ve scored.
… I’m not sure how bad the injuries are to left guard Weston Wright or center Dawson Deaton but they both left the game at various times. True freshman Caleb Rogers also played a ton of left tackle in the second half. Just wanting to get him more time was the plan going into the game but I think he played more than I was expecting. Same with Will Farrar filling in at center and left guard but those were due to injuries.
… Speaking of younger players, there were plenty of times yesterday when the receiver options included Myles Price, Ja’Lynn Polk, Trey Cleveland and John Holcomb all at once. Loic Fouonji was suited up but not sure he saw action, he hasn’t practiced much lately but he’s clearly in the mix for time and all the above is mainly why Seth Collins essentially sought out a potential opportunity to help at safety which is where he's been for the last few weeks.
… As the season goes long, you’ll see Price featured more and more at wideout. He's earned some serious respect internally with how dyanmic he is with ball in his hands. He will get his chances. Also, as an aside, it’s pretty clear that Xavier White has moved up the depth chart at running back and will stay there now that he’s back and practicing. I think White has moved up to second and true freshman Tajh Brooks has dropped to fourth. Just based on what I've seen and heard.
… I wasn’t sure what to expect before the game yesterday when it came to player availability but it was pretty darn clean for both teams with the COVID stuff. Can’t confirm it but someone mentioned that Texas Tech had zero players in quarantine yesterday. Of guys that would’ve likely played some, only DaMarcus Fields, Gilbert Ibeneme, McLane Mannix and Zach Adams weren’t available. During the game KeSean Carter, SaRodrick Thompson, Nick McCann, Weston Wright, Dawson Deaton and Dalton Rigdon all had things pop up but not sure on severity on any of them as most returned to action.
… Others have mentioned it but I liked the low penalty game and the small number of third downs conversions that Texas Tech allowed. If those two things can remain consistent, Texas Tech should win more than it loses. And that’s ultimately the deal here. Everyone just wants to win, no matter who is playing quarterback, how the game is won, what it looks like or if it’s done with older or younger players. Winning is all that matters. We will see how the team responds now in back-to-back road trips.
… Of course, Caden Sterns intercepted Alan Bowman to end the game after his two brothers had done a number on the Red Raiders’ defense a few weeks ago for the Huskies. Thankfully no more Sterns brothers to face the rest of the season.
… I get that people don’t care and only care about the end result but when I’m sitting in a quiet room waiting to do a short postgame interview with Matt Wells and Keith Patterson comes in to specifically tell me he’s sorry, that resonates with me. Is the same thing Brandon Francis said to me after the title game too. In both cases, I had zero idea on how to respond. Back to KP though, his guys needed to make more plays at the end but they did enough for this team to win. They held Texas to 38 yards in the third quarter and to 5 of 16 on third downs. But yeah, rushing three at the end didn’t work well and blitzing on the 2-point conversion didn’t work well either.
… The interceptions are bad enough by themselves, but the timing of Alan Bowman’s interceptions after huge momentum-changing plays by his team made them especially difficult to stomach. You have a perfectly executed onside kick and the review allows Texas to potentially remind or adjust to a deep shot. Then comes the blocked punt and two plays later the same thing. It was very cleary that they wanted to go to T.J. Vasher in big spots and Texas seemed to know that too.
… Some potential game-changing plays that Texas Tech had a chance to make and didn’t included, Ja’Marcus Ingram being right there to make a play in the end zone when Josh Moore made a great play. Earlier in that drive Kosi Eldridge had a chance to sack Sam Ehlinger and just whiffed on him which equaled a 14-yard scramble to extend the drive. But the one that no one is talking about because of the onside kick, the pooch kick, the prevent defense, the interceptions, etc. was the throwback pass in Texas territory that went right through Eli Howard’s hands. He likely would’ve scored.
… I’m not sure how bad the injuries are to left guard Weston Wright or center Dawson Deaton but they both left the game at various times. True freshman Caleb Rogers also played a ton of left tackle in the second half. Just wanting to get him more time was the plan going into the game but I think he played more than I was expecting. Same with Will Farrar filling in at center and left guard but those were due to injuries.
… Speaking of younger players, there were plenty of times yesterday when the receiver options included Myles Price, Ja’Lynn Polk, Trey Cleveland and John Holcomb all at once. Loic Fouonji was suited up but not sure he saw action, he hasn’t practiced much lately but he’s clearly in the mix for time and all the above is mainly why Seth Collins essentially sought out a potential opportunity to help at safety which is where he's been for the last few weeks.
… As the season goes long, you’ll see Price featured more and more at wideout. He's earned some serious respect internally with how dyanmic he is with ball in his hands. He will get his chances. Also, as an aside, it’s pretty clear that Xavier White has moved up the depth chart at running back and will stay there now that he’s back and practicing. I think White has moved up to second and true freshman Tajh Brooks has dropped to fourth. Just based on what I've seen and heard.
… I wasn’t sure what to expect before the game yesterday when it came to player availability but it was pretty darn clean for both teams with the COVID stuff. Can’t confirm it but someone mentioned that Texas Tech had zero players in quarantine yesterday. Of guys that would’ve likely played some, only DaMarcus Fields, Gilbert Ibeneme, McLane Mannix and Zach Adams weren’t available. During the game KeSean Carter, SaRodrick Thompson, Nick McCann, Weston Wright, Dawson Deaton and Dalton Rigdon all had things pop up but not sure on severity on any of them as most returned to action.
… Others have mentioned it but I liked the low penalty game and the small number of third downs conversions that Texas Tech allowed. If those two things can remain consistent, Texas Tech should win more than it loses. And that’s ultimately the deal here. Everyone just wants to win, no matter who is playing quarterback, how the game is won, what it looks like or if it’s done with older or younger players. Winning is all that matters. We will see how the team responds now in back-to-back road trips.
