Some things I want to see tomorrow:
Man, I’m getting more nervous by the hour. Not a bad nervous, but maybe more of an anxious. I’m excited to see the boys out there in a great atmosphere in Raleigh. This no doubt will be one of the toughest games of the year for us, and we really get a chance to see just how good Joey McGuire’s team is in year one.
Maybe I’m setting myself up for disappointment, maybe I have my expectations a little too high for this team right now, but man, what I would do to see Texas Tech pull out a win here. Honestly, I think we have a great shot too! How good is the NC State team really? Win tomorrow night, and the sky is the limit for this squad.
Devin Leary scares me, even more so than Clayton Tune did going into last weeks game. Dude is a baller, and probably will be one of the best quarterbacks the Red Raiders face all season. Leary doesn’t make many mistakes. With that being said, NC State hasn’t faced a defensive line even close to the caliber that the Red Raiders have, and I would love to see DeRuyter dial up some pressure early to make Leary uncomfortable. On the flip side of things, the NC State defense has only had 1 sack in their first 2 games, with that 1 sack coming last week against Charleston Southern. Texas Tech gave up a whopping 6 sacks against Houston last weekend, with Derek Parish accounting for 4.5 of those. Something must give, and the Red Raiders have a ton of question marks surrounding the offensive line, especially with Weston Wright’s ankle sprain. I would love to see the offensive line step up to the best of its abilities and give Smith some more time to throw the ball than what we saw last week.
Speaking of Donovan Smith, he will have to play better turnover wise for the Red Raiders to pull out a win. We saw lots of incredible play from Smith last week, but a couple of mistakes let Houston back into it and almost cost Texas Tech the game. Like stated above, the offensive line will be key in protecting Smith and helping him play to the best of his ability, and if they are able to limit the pressure that he faces, Smith could be in for a great game. It’s hard to imagine, however, the NC State defensive line won’t be disruptive to some degree with the struggles we’ve had in that area recently.
NC State has a solid run game with the likes of Jordan Houston and Demie Sumo-Karngbaye. The Texas Tech defense has been solid great the run through its first two games, holding Murray State to 50 yards on 1.9 YPC and Houston to 88 yards on 3.0 YPC. I’m not particularly worried about us in this aspect so much as I am Leary getting the ball down the field through the air, but it will be interesting to watch. NC State ran for 217 yards on 5.2 YPC against Charleston Southern (Sumo-Karngbaye 7 carries, 70 yards, 9.5 YPC) and 133 yards on 4.2 YPC against East Carolina (Sumo-Karngbaye 14 carries, 79 yards, 1 td).
I'd like to see the defense force a couple of takeaways tomorrow. NC State had two against East Carolina week 1 (int, fumble) and one against Charleston Southern last week (fumble). Reggie Pearson's interception last week was nice and came to fruition in part because of the pressure that was put on Clayton Tune in the pocket. If the defensive line can get to the quarterback again, maybe we can get another one. Is it weird that I'm more confident in the defense than the offense tomorrow night?
All this to say, I’m not going to be too disappointed if we lose this game. This will be our first time on the road, and we’ll be in front of a sold-out crowd against a top-20 team. As long as we put up a fight and make it as close of a game as possible, I’ll be happy.
What’s the fun in that though????
As always, Red Raider country, LET’S RIDE.
Texas Tech 31, NC State 28.
What do y'all think about the final score? Thoughts, concerns, predictions? Would love to hear them!
.........
Founded by a Red Raider, All Hands Craft Cocktails is proud to announce their partnership with RedRaiderSports.com. Try these bar strength, ready-to-drink vodka cocktails at Jones AT&T Stadium this football season or find them at a retailer near you. Cheers.
Man, I’m getting more nervous by the hour. Not a bad nervous, but maybe more of an anxious. I’m excited to see the boys out there in a great atmosphere in Raleigh. This no doubt will be one of the toughest games of the year for us, and we really get a chance to see just how good Joey McGuire’s team is in year one.
Maybe I’m setting myself up for disappointment, maybe I have my expectations a little too high for this team right now, but man, what I would do to see Texas Tech pull out a win here. Honestly, I think we have a great shot too! How good is the NC State team really? Win tomorrow night, and the sky is the limit for this squad.
Devin Leary scares me, even more so than Clayton Tune did going into last weeks game. Dude is a baller, and probably will be one of the best quarterbacks the Red Raiders face all season. Leary doesn’t make many mistakes. With that being said, NC State hasn’t faced a defensive line even close to the caliber that the Red Raiders have, and I would love to see DeRuyter dial up some pressure early to make Leary uncomfortable. On the flip side of things, the NC State defense has only had 1 sack in their first 2 games, with that 1 sack coming last week against Charleston Southern. Texas Tech gave up a whopping 6 sacks against Houston last weekend, with Derek Parish accounting for 4.5 of those. Something must give, and the Red Raiders have a ton of question marks surrounding the offensive line, especially with Weston Wright’s ankle sprain. I would love to see the offensive line step up to the best of its abilities and give Smith some more time to throw the ball than what we saw last week.
Speaking of Donovan Smith, he will have to play better turnover wise for the Red Raiders to pull out a win. We saw lots of incredible play from Smith last week, but a couple of mistakes let Houston back into it and almost cost Texas Tech the game. Like stated above, the offensive line will be key in protecting Smith and helping him play to the best of his ability, and if they are able to limit the pressure that he faces, Smith could be in for a great game. It’s hard to imagine, however, the NC State defensive line won’t be disruptive to some degree with the struggles we’ve had in that area recently.
NC State has a solid run game with the likes of Jordan Houston and Demie Sumo-Karngbaye. The Texas Tech defense has been solid great the run through its first two games, holding Murray State to 50 yards on 1.9 YPC and Houston to 88 yards on 3.0 YPC. I’m not particularly worried about us in this aspect so much as I am Leary getting the ball down the field through the air, but it will be interesting to watch. NC State ran for 217 yards on 5.2 YPC against Charleston Southern (Sumo-Karngbaye 7 carries, 70 yards, 9.5 YPC) and 133 yards on 4.2 YPC against East Carolina (Sumo-Karngbaye 14 carries, 79 yards, 1 td).
I'd like to see the defense force a couple of takeaways tomorrow. NC State had two against East Carolina week 1 (int, fumble) and one against Charleston Southern last week (fumble). Reggie Pearson's interception last week was nice and came to fruition in part because of the pressure that was put on Clayton Tune in the pocket. If the defensive line can get to the quarterback again, maybe we can get another one. Is it weird that I'm more confident in the defense than the offense tomorrow night?
All this to say, I’m not going to be too disappointed if we lose this game. This will be our first time on the road, and we’ll be in front of a sold-out crowd against a top-20 team. As long as we put up a fight and make it as close of a game as possible, I’ll be happy.
What’s the fun in that though????
As always, Red Raider country, LET’S RIDE.
Texas Tech 31, NC State 28.
What do y'all think about the final score? Thoughts, concerns, predictions? Would love to hear them!
.........
Founded by a Red Raider, All Hands Craft Cocktails is proud to announce their partnership with RedRaiderSports.com. Try these bar strength, ready-to-drink vodka cocktails at Jones AT&T Stadium this football season or find them at a retailer near you. Cheers.
