Gonna keep this real short....
*Look, there just isn't a whole lot to say about this game that's not pretty obvious, even upon a second viewing. This team came out of the gates sputtering on offense and couldn't stop Iowa State defensively. Add to that fact you gave Iowa State fantastic field position all afternoon because of terrible punting mixed with three and outs and a turnover inside the 30, and you get the stankburger that Saturday snowballed into. When Da'Leon Ward fumbled while Tech was down 21-3, I think that was the final nail in the coffin. There was no hope of a comeback after that.
*Specifically on offense, it was as bad as the West Virginia game. The offensive line couldn't stop Iowa State's pass rush, whether that was with three men or a blitz of seven plus, and Mahomes and Shimonek both had next to zero time most of the afternoon. Receivers continued to drop balls. Mahomes devolved into survival mode where he was trying to throw the fourteen point touchdown. You couldn't run the ball consistently. It was all the bad things we've seen since WVU on. It's that simple.
*Which is hard for me to grasp this week after Tech seemed to break the mold and really figured things out against Oklahoma State a week ago. They were efficient in that game, rarely got behind the chains, and Mahomes made great decisions. So the question for me becomes why? Why the revert? I don't know, which is why I'm asking.
*Defensively, you had two huge problems: First, you had zero answer for Allen Lazard. He bullied around Tech's secondary all afternoon and caught whatever ball he wanted to. Second, our old friend the off-tackle run game showed up to the party, and as it's been all year, the Tech defense hemorrhaged yards on the ground to a running quarterback in those situations. It looks worse when Jordyn Brooks isn't healthy, as Brayden Stringer and Luke Stice flat out just can't help you in those situations. There's just no personnel decision to make to make that better right now unless you radically change the scheme, which is just almost impossible to pull off for any coaching staff mid-season.
*I think it's also fair to question the energy and motivation of this team in that game. because it's flat out unacceptable to lose a game to Iowa State by 56 points. That's embarrassing, and Kliff was the first one to admit that at his presser today. But now we must ask why. Why did it happen? This team, while it certainly has its flaws, is more than capable of getting enough stops to win a game against an ISU team that was ranked in the bottom third of scoring offense in college football and was averaging only 25 points a game coming in. This team is more than capable of scoring enough to win against an Iowa State defense ranked in the 70s in scoring defense. So why didn't Tech do either of those things? That's the question Kliff Kingsbury and his staff have to find the answer to and correct.
*No matter how things play out from here with Kliff, one thing is for certain: This 66-10 loss will come to define his tenure, good or bad. If things continue to head south, everyone will point to that game as the breaking point. If Kliff and this staff have their come to Jesus moment here and end up having roaring success at Tech, everyone will point to that game as the moment they changed for the better. Good or bad, this is the moment that will define Texas Tech football under Kliff Kingsbury.
*Look, there just isn't a whole lot to say about this game that's not pretty obvious, even upon a second viewing. This team came out of the gates sputtering on offense and couldn't stop Iowa State defensively. Add to that fact you gave Iowa State fantastic field position all afternoon because of terrible punting mixed with three and outs and a turnover inside the 30, and you get the stankburger that Saturday snowballed into. When Da'Leon Ward fumbled while Tech was down 21-3, I think that was the final nail in the coffin. There was no hope of a comeback after that.
*Specifically on offense, it was as bad as the West Virginia game. The offensive line couldn't stop Iowa State's pass rush, whether that was with three men or a blitz of seven plus, and Mahomes and Shimonek both had next to zero time most of the afternoon. Receivers continued to drop balls. Mahomes devolved into survival mode where he was trying to throw the fourteen point touchdown. You couldn't run the ball consistently. It was all the bad things we've seen since WVU on. It's that simple.
*Which is hard for me to grasp this week after Tech seemed to break the mold and really figured things out against Oklahoma State a week ago. They were efficient in that game, rarely got behind the chains, and Mahomes made great decisions. So the question for me becomes why? Why the revert? I don't know, which is why I'm asking.
*Defensively, you had two huge problems: First, you had zero answer for Allen Lazard. He bullied around Tech's secondary all afternoon and caught whatever ball he wanted to. Second, our old friend the off-tackle run game showed up to the party, and as it's been all year, the Tech defense hemorrhaged yards on the ground to a running quarterback in those situations. It looks worse when Jordyn Brooks isn't healthy, as Brayden Stringer and Luke Stice flat out just can't help you in those situations. There's just no personnel decision to make to make that better right now unless you radically change the scheme, which is just almost impossible to pull off for any coaching staff mid-season.
*I think it's also fair to question the energy and motivation of this team in that game. because it's flat out unacceptable to lose a game to Iowa State by 56 points. That's embarrassing, and Kliff was the first one to admit that at his presser today. But now we must ask why. Why did it happen? This team, while it certainly has its flaws, is more than capable of getting enough stops to win a game against an ISU team that was ranked in the bottom third of scoring offense in college football and was averaging only 25 points a game coming in. This team is more than capable of scoring enough to win against an Iowa State defense ranked in the 70s in scoring defense. So why didn't Tech do either of those things? That's the question Kliff Kingsbury and his staff have to find the answer to and correct.
*No matter how things play out from here with Kliff, one thing is for certain: This 66-10 loss will come to define his tenure, good or bad. If things continue to head south, everyone will point to that game as the breaking point. If Kliff and this staff have their come to Jesus moment here and end up having roaring success at Tech, everyone will point to that game as the moment they changed for the better. Good or bad, this is the moment that will define Texas Tech football under Kliff Kingsbury.
