- I’ll start here: Keith Patterson built up a strong defense and Tim DeRuyter is putting in the work to make it even better and that side of the ball is working.
- What’s not working is this offense. I’ve seen people call out the play calling and I’ll have to agree there for the most part. It doesn’t seem as though Kittley has a true game plan for Donovan and probably not even Behren. The plan was for Tyler Shough to run the show and obviously things have changed but the offense doesn’t seem to have adapted to that.
- Next week feels like it’s going to be a rough one with how strong Texas’ defense is. I already see them dominating the Red Raider offense. Meanwhile, I see the Tech defense making plays as it has but they’ll need the Tech offense to do it’s part and score often. We didn’t see that against NC State especially early when the Wolfpack was up 6-0 after red zone trips. Defense was stepping up but the offensive execution needs to be there.
- With all of those factors I don’t see a change occurring at QB. I think Smith is still the starting QB but possibly with a short leash. They can’t let a repeat happen from last year’s trip in Austin especially at home. They’ll need to try to fix the problems early if they begin to snowball. The inexperience of Donovan is still an issue but at the end of the day he has more of it than Behren, which is why I don’t see a change happening.
- Injuries are so unpredictable but have proven to hurt the Red Raiders once again. A big one is Weston Wright. You need a veteran presence on offense right now and that a huge hit in that front five.
- It’s also worth nothing that this team was pretty much all inherited from the last staff. Even with that said, they’re 2-1 after two tough non-conference games to head into Big 12 play. It doesn’t get easier from here. That makes me nervous but also excited to see where this team will finish.
- What’s not working is this offense. I’ve seen people call out the play calling and I’ll have to agree there for the most part. It doesn’t seem as though Kittley has a true game plan for Donovan and probably not even Behren. The plan was for Tyler Shough to run the show and obviously things have changed but the offense doesn’t seem to have adapted to that.
- Next week feels like it’s going to be a rough one with how strong Texas’ defense is. I already see them dominating the Red Raider offense. Meanwhile, I see the Tech defense making plays as it has but they’ll need the Tech offense to do it’s part and score often. We didn’t see that against NC State especially early when the Wolfpack was up 6-0 after red zone trips. Defense was stepping up but the offensive execution needs to be there.
- With all of those factors I don’t see a change occurring at QB. I think Smith is still the starting QB but possibly with a short leash. They can’t let a repeat happen from last year’s trip in Austin especially at home. They’ll need to try to fix the problems early if they begin to snowball. The inexperience of Donovan is still an issue but at the end of the day he has more of it than Behren, which is why I don’t see a change happening.
- Injuries are so unpredictable but have proven to hurt the Red Raiders once again. A big one is Weston Wright. You need a veteran presence on offense right now and that a huge hit in that front five.
- It’s also worth nothing that this team was pretty much all inherited from the last staff. Even with that said, they’re 2-1 after two tough non-conference games to head into Big 12 play. It doesn’t get easier from here. That makes me nervous but also excited to see where this team will finish.
