I've made a conscious effort to avoid social media and RRS on gamedays and give myself some time to sit back and take everything in from the game/weekend. I may regurgitate some thoughts or opinions about the game so I do apologize.
1. Our tortillas will blot out the sun - I'm a Lubbock native who still lives and works in the ole 806. I have not seen Lubbock Texas this excited about a football game in a long while. All week there was a buzz and an anxiousness that I've missed for several years. Gameday was something special. Lots of opportunities for the crowd to thin out. Rain, then the humid heat. But no, 60K+ stayed entrenched and ready for a war. The students were fantastic. The tortillas were great. Only complaint from me is the water bottles to end the game. But I will not let 25 frustrated 17 year olds throwing Dasani take anything away from the football game I watched.
2. TCU can play some offense - The number of options and weapons for that team is only rivaled by us and Baylor, and I still think Seth Russell is very sloppy with the football and taking his chances. Tcu is like a lambo, and if Boykin ever goes down they are a lambo without a steering wheel. Having to account for him on every down is tough for a defense and coaching staff. This was evident on the last play. Aaron Green was running free because we had Pete 100% focused on Boykin to keep him contained.
3. Crossing Routes - Cumbie and Co clearly found a weakness in our outside linebackers and nickel players. The would either send Green in motion to the flat or have him leak out after the snap. This made Allen (I haven't watched the whole game again but remember seeing 40 quite a bit) decide between bailing for the running back or sinking to his zone. One step in the wrong direction and Doctson was running a dig right in behind him the entire game. I'm no defensive guru, but this was the same problem we saw against SHSU. Until we can find 2 physical corners who can disrupt routes and then pickup the back in the flat in a cover 2 scheme, this route concept will kill us.
4. Walking wounded - TCU will get a ton of credit for winning this football game with as many notable injuries as they have, but Tech had their share of flat tires on Saturday. Having Pat limp around really hurts the gameplan for Kliff as he wants to use Mahomes mobility, or threat of mobility, on a ton of plays. Sadler has been your third down workhorse all year and he goes down in the 2nd quarter I believe. Tech hung in and went punch for punch even with the injuries.
5. Call stands/Call confirmed - At this point I feel like instant replay is about as wishy washy as just letting the call on the field be the final say. I 100% thought Mahomes fumbled the football, and I know that as of 8:47 on Monday morning, Boykin still didn't catch that two point conversion. The final play comes down to whether or not green had caught the ball before his right toenail stops throwing up the rubber pellets on the field turf. All in all I just want more clarification on whether or not it's, "We can't really tell, so it stands." "Hey we were wrong, so it will be changed" or "Boom folks we got it right!"
6. Run the ball - Deandre Washington now leads the big 12 in rushing. He is averaging 8.1 yards a carry on the season and Saturday we fed him the rock 22 times on rushing plays. Guy is a freaking stud. I wanted to see him get a chance on the last drive to eat clock and ice the game. But there is a reason I'm paying for season tickets to sit up in the bleachers. He has a chance for a really special season from the running back position. I'll piggy back on this to say that Justin Stockton is one of the fastest football players I've ever seen.
All in all Texas Tech went toe to toe with a preseason favorite to make the playoffs, and is one centimeter from winning a ballgame in which we didn't play particularly fantastic. I love it. Take a step back and see this team for what they are. An offensive juggernaught that needs 3-4 stops a game from a piecemeal defense. A team that fought tooth and nail until the clock hit 0:00. And a maturing team that did not let the, "Here we go again" mentality to creep back in like we saw all last season.
Hell of a football game that I'm thoroughly thrilled to say I was a part of on Saturday afternoon. It was a war, we came up just short.
It's f****** baylor week! Wreck 'em
1. Our tortillas will blot out the sun - I'm a Lubbock native who still lives and works in the ole 806. I have not seen Lubbock Texas this excited about a football game in a long while. All week there was a buzz and an anxiousness that I've missed for several years. Gameday was something special. Lots of opportunities for the crowd to thin out. Rain, then the humid heat. But no, 60K+ stayed entrenched and ready for a war. The students were fantastic. The tortillas were great. Only complaint from me is the water bottles to end the game. But I will not let 25 frustrated 17 year olds throwing Dasani take anything away from the football game I watched.
2. TCU can play some offense - The number of options and weapons for that team is only rivaled by us and Baylor, and I still think Seth Russell is very sloppy with the football and taking his chances. Tcu is like a lambo, and if Boykin ever goes down they are a lambo without a steering wheel. Having to account for him on every down is tough for a defense and coaching staff. This was evident on the last play. Aaron Green was running free because we had Pete 100% focused on Boykin to keep him contained.
3. Crossing Routes - Cumbie and Co clearly found a weakness in our outside linebackers and nickel players. The would either send Green in motion to the flat or have him leak out after the snap. This made Allen (I haven't watched the whole game again but remember seeing 40 quite a bit) decide between bailing for the running back or sinking to his zone. One step in the wrong direction and Doctson was running a dig right in behind him the entire game. I'm no defensive guru, but this was the same problem we saw against SHSU. Until we can find 2 physical corners who can disrupt routes and then pickup the back in the flat in a cover 2 scheme, this route concept will kill us.
4. Walking wounded - TCU will get a ton of credit for winning this football game with as many notable injuries as they have, but Tech had their share of flat tires on Saturday. Having Pat limp around really hurts the gameplan for Kliff as he wants to use Mahomes mobility, or threat of mobility, on a ton of plays. Sadler has been your third down workhorse all year and he goes down in the 2nd quarter I believe. Tech hung in and went punch for punch even with the injuries.
5. Call stands/Call confirmed - At this point I feel like instant replay is about as wishy washy as just letting the call on the field be the final say. I 100% thought Mahomes fumbled the football, and I know that as of 8:47 on Monday morning, Boykin still didn't catch that two point conversion. The final play comes down to whether or not green had caught the ball before his right toenail stops throwing up the rubber pellets on the field turf. All in all I just want more clarification on whether or not it's, "We can't really tell, so it stands." "Hey we were wrong, so it will be changed" or "Boom folks we got it right!"
6. Run the ball - Deandre Washington now leads the big 12 in rushing. He is averaging 8.1 yards a carry on the season and Saturday we fed him the rock 22 times on rushing plays. Guy is a freaking stud. I wanted to see him get a chance on the last drive to eat clock and ice the game. But there is a reason I'm paying for season tickets to sit up in the bleachers. He has a chance for a really special season from the running back position. I'll piggy back on this to say that Justin Stockton is one of the fastest football players I've ever seen.
All in all Texas Tech went toe to toe with a preseason favorite to make the playoffs, and is one centimeter from winning a ballgame in which we didn't play particularly fantastic. I love it. Take a step back and see this team for what they are. An offensive juggernaught that needs 3-4 stops a game from a piecemeal defense. A team that fought tooth and nail until the clock hit 0:00. And a maturing team that did not let the, "Here we go again" mentality to creep back in like we saw all last season.
Hell of a football game that I'm thoroughly thrilled to say I was a part of on Saturday afternoon. It was a war, we came up just short.
It's f****** baylor week! Wreck 'em
