Texas Tech opens its 2015 football season in a little over a month and most prognosticators seem to have the Red Raiders pegged as a 6-6 team. Given the team's schedule and how poorly it played a times last season, that prediction seems very reasonable. You might even call it a safe bet.
I'm not a fan of safe.
And so, for the third year in a row, I will present to you my bold predictions for the upcoming season. That's coming next week.
First, let's review the burnt and smoldering remains of my forecasts from last year.
BOLD PREDICTION 1: TCU and Texas will both miss bowl games.
I was close(but still wrong) with Texas. TCU made me look really, really dumb.
BOLD PREDICTION 2: Oklahoma State will cover against Florida State.
Success! The Pokes were 18-point underdogs and lost by just six points. I'll admit that the blistering failure from my Texas/TCU prediction had made me forget how awesome I am at this stuff.
BOLD PREDICTION 3: The Big 12 Championship will still be up in the air heading into the season's final weekend.
Truth. TCU and Baylor both entered Week 15 of the 2014 season with identical 7-1 records in Big 12 play. TCU beat Iowa State 55-3 and Baylor topped No. 9 Kansas State 38-27. Had either game gone the other way, the league would have had One True Champion instead of co-champs.
BOLD PREDICTION 4: Justin Stockton will have more than 475 yards of offense as a true freshman.
I was ridiculously close to nailing this one. Stockton finished the season with 472 yards of offense last year -- 396 on the ground and 76 receiving.
BOLD PREDICTION 5: Texas Tech will finish in the top half of the Big 12 in sacks and turnovers gained.
Hoo boy. I actually wasn't galactically far off on this one as the Red Raiders finished No. 6 in the Big 12 in sacks per game (2). The turnover part bit me though, as the team ranked No. 8 in the league in turnovers gained (15).
BOLD PREDICTION 6: Davis Webb will start all 13 games for the Red Raiders this fall.
Nope. Webb started eight games and didn't play after Oct. 25.
BOLD PREDICTION 7: The media will whiff with its preseason picks for the Big 12's major awards.
Hats off to the media, we actually got one of the three preseason picks correct (Tyreek Hill, Newcomer of the Year). Of course, this marginal amount of success is offset by the fact that our pick for Preseason Defensive Player of the Year (Devonte Fields) was kicked off of TCU's football team just days after Big 12 Media Days. Bryce Petty, the preseason pick for Offensive Player of the Year, lost out to Trevone Boykin.
I get at least half of a point here.
BOLD PREDICTION 8: Bradley Marquez will top 1,000 yards receiving in 2014.
Nah. Marquez's transition to Y-receiver was not nearly as successful as many of us expected at this point last year. He was second on the team in receptions (65) and yards (821) but did rack up 10 touchdowns.
BOLD PREDICTION 9: Texas Tech will struggle in Ames.
This is true, but not in the context that I expected going into last season. Instead of a momentum-riding Texas Tech team sleepwalking through a game against bottom-feeder Iowa State, last year's matchup was between teams that had a combined five wins between them. Either way, the Red Raiders were down 10 points early in the second half and trailed the Cyclones in the fourth quarter before Kenny Williams took a swing pass 44-yards to the heezy.
Victory!
BOLD PREDICTION 10: The Red Raider defense will finish the season ranked fifth or sixth in the Big 12 in rushing yards allowed per game.
Guh. Guh. Guh. Not only did Texas Tech finished the season dead-last in rushing defense, but the team also allowed more rushing yards per game (259.50) than any Big 12 team in at least seven years. Instead of fifth or sixth in the conference, as I predicted in mid-August, the team was actually fifth-from-last in the entire country in this category. Guh.
If I get half a point each for being super close on Stockton and the preseason awards -- and I do, since I'm the one writing the piece -- I end up with four points. It looks like my prognostication efforts in 2014 went about as same as the Red Raiders' football efforts.
Like Texas Tech, I must be better in 2015.
That process will start next Monday when I unveil my 2015 bold predictions.
I'm not a fan of safe.
And so, for the third year in a row, I will present to you my bold predictions for the upcoming season. That's coming next week.
First, let's review the burnt and smoldering remains of my forecasts from last year.
BOLD PREDICTION 1: TCU and Texas will both miss bowl games.
I was close(but still wrong) with Texas. TCU made me look really, really dumb.
BOLD PREDICTION 2: Oklahoma State will cover against Florida State.
Success! The Pokes were 18-point underdogs and lost by just six points. I'll admit that the blistering failure from my Texas/TCU prediction had made me forget how awesome I am at this stuff.
BOLD PREDICTION 3: The Big 12 Championship will still be up in the air heading into the season's final weekend.
Truth. TCU and Baylor both entered Week 15 of the 2014 season with identical 7-1 records in Big 12 play. TCU beat Iowa State 55-3 and Baylor topped No. 9 Kansas State 38-27. Had either game gone the other way, the league would have had One True Champion instead of co-champs.
BOLD PREDICTION 4: Justin Stockton will have more than 475 yards of offense as a true freshman.
I was ridiculously close to nailing this one. Stockton finished the season with 472 yards of offense last year -- 396 on the ground and 76 receiving.
BOLD PREDICTION 5: Texas Tech will finish in the top half of the Big 12 in sacks and turnovers gained.
Hoo boy. I actually wasn't galactically far off on this one as the Red Raiders finished No. 6 in the Big 12 in sacks per game (2). The turnover part bit me though, as the team ranked No. 8 in the league in turnovers gained (15).
BOLD PREDICTION 6: Davis Webb will start all 13 games for the Red Raiders this fall.
Nope. Webb started eight games and didn't play after Oct. 25.
BOLD PREDICTION 7: The media will whiff with its preseason picks for the Big 12's major awards.
Hats off to the media, we actually got one of the three preseason picks correct (Tyreek Hill, Newcomer of the Year). Of course, this marginal amount of success is offset by the fact that our pick for Preseason Defensive Player of the Year (Devonte Fields) was kicked off of TCU's football team just days after Big 12 Media Days. Bryce Petty, the preseason pick for Offensive Player of the Year, lost out to Trevone Boykin.
I get at least half of a point here.
BOLD PREDICTION 8: Bradley Marquez will top 1,000 yards receiving in 2014.
Nah. Marquez's transition to Y-receiver was not nearly as successful as many of us expected at this point last year. He was second on the team in receptions (65) and yards (821) but did rack up 10 touchdowns.
BOLD PREDICTION 9: Texas Tech will struggle in Ames.
This is true, but not in the context that I expected going into last season. Instead of a momentum-riding Texas Tech team sleepwalking through a game against bottom-feeder Iowa State, last year's matchup was between teams that had a combined five wins between them. Either way, the Red Raiders were down 10 points early in the second half and trailed the Cyclones in the fourth quarter before Kenny Williams took a swing pass 44-yards to the heezy.
Victory!
BOLD PREDICTION 10: The Red Raider defense will finish the season ranked fifth or sixth in the Big 12 in rushing yards allowed per game.
Guh. Guh. Guh. Not only did Texas Tech finished the season dead-last in rushing defense, but the team also allowed more rushing yards per game (259.50) than any Big 12 team in at least seven years. Instead of fifth or sixth in the conference, as I predicted in mid-August, the team was actually fifth-from-last in the entire country in this category. Guh.
If I get half a point each for being super close on Stockton and the preseason awards -- and I do, since I'm the one writing the piece -- I end up with four points. It looks like my prognostication efforts in 2014 went about as same as the Red Raiders' football efforts.
Like Texas Tech, I must be better in 2015.
That process will start next Monday when I unveil my 2015 bold predictions.
