Spitballin' is presented by our friends at SpindleTap Brewery. We cut through the Houston Haze with these insider tidbits, and you can enjoy a six-pack of Houston Haze and other SpindleTap favorites in stores near you!
... Based on what I saw in August, it was a fairly easy choice to make Jackson Tyner the No. 2 quarterback when the season began. He took care of the ball during preseason camp and was able to make his fair share of throws. That being said, Tyner is not someone that needs to have too much put on him. Ultimately, unless/until Alan Bowman returns this season, I think Tyner and Jett Duffey will play moving forward. What does that look like? I’m not real sure, but I don't expect either of them to handle the position solo.
... Duffey is still the same player that can make something out of nothing and he's kept a great attitude about everything based on what I have seen and heard. His issues remain and those are taking care of the football and understanding that playing quarterback at this level is as much about what happens during the middle of the week as what happens on Saturdays. I think it's worth pointing out - and not to be harsh here - that he went through preseason camps in back-to-back years with completely different coaching staffs and came in third both times.
...The outlook for the season obviously changes dramatically with this Bowman news and in many ways the coming weeks will be more about the big picture than 2019. This team's path was going to be hard enough as it was, but now it will be about making progress, developing players and grinding away to see if the team can win enough games to be in a position to make the postseason.
... Imagine if Kliff Kingsbury had been retained and this injury occurred.
... I’m okay with Mike Defee lecturing players on sportsmanship during a game because, at times, it is definitely needed. And looking back, Doug Coleman should have listened to what Defee had to say on Saturday for a bit longer before getting to the sideline. My issue with Defee is that he should make sure he's lecturing EVERYONE if he's going to go this route. He allowed several taunts by Arizona players on Texas Tech’s sideline and not a word was said. Defee's inconsistency is the issue here and it was was a net negative for the Red Raiders on Saturday.
... I know you can’t choose when the bye week happens but, based on injuries alone, this is a good week to have one. Eli Howard, Terence Steele, Ta’Zhawn Henry, Thomas Leggett, Travis Koontz and Adrian Frye all missed parts of the game on Saturday due to various ailments. Nick McCann isn’t right and Lonzell Gilmore and Quincy Addison are still a week away, too. I’d also love to see Seth Collins at some point too but mid-October may be the earliest we see him.
... I know they lost the fourth quarter and ran out of gas but it's notable that Keith Patterson’s defense forced Arizona into 21 third downs. The Red Raiders clearly allowed too many conversions, but forcing the Wildcats into 21 third-down situations suggests sustainable defense going forward.
... Bowman's injury is a non-throwing shoulder/collarbone issue which, relatively speaking, is a positive and much better than the alternative. No one knows the exact timetable for his return - it could be anything from a month to season-ending depending on how long it takes to heal. If it the injury doesn't heal quickly and the Red Raiders aren't on track to contend for a bowl spot when he does return, it wouldn't surprise me if Bowman redshirted to preserve his sophomore season of eligibility.
... Texas Tech's offensive line is dealing with several injuries and I’m not sure if we’ll ever see the group they envisioned this season with Steele at left tackle, Madison Akamnonu at left guard, Dawson Deaton at center, Jack Anderson at right guard and Travis Bruffy at right tackle. Akamnonu needs to play a lot better and is in jeopardy of losing playing time to Weston Wright who continues to progress. I mentioned Steele being dinged up on Saturday and he's dealing with a different injury than what kept him out of the first two games which is why Bruffy will remain at left tackle for the foreseeable future.
... It's not usually a good indication of how things are going when you spotlight the punter position, but I also don’t want people to ignore or overlook how well Austin McNamara is playing. I'm not sure I’ve seen a punter do what he’s done since Michael Dickson was at Texas. That is high praise. McNamara has a huge leg, touch and can kick it different ways to get the roll he wants or doesn’t want. The Red Raiders have a gem here, but my hope is that we don’t see him punting seven times a game going forward.
... Armand Shyne continues to emerge and, with Henry's ankle issue, may move ahead in the lineup and earn more reps. The staff loves Shyne. The thing to watch with him is how hard he practices during the week and how locked in he is when he doesn't get the ball.
... Ja'Marcus Ingram played against Arizona with a cast on his right wrist. He apparently broke a bone in his wrist late in the UTEP game but it is something he can play with going forward.
... Texas Tech’s next test comes against the Jalen Hurts and the Oklahoma Sooners. Hurts currently has more touchdown passes (13) than he does incompletions (12). That's quite a stat and it appears that another Heisman campaign is being built for yet another Sooner signal caller. As an aside, if things go south in Dallas under Jason Garrett, Lincoln Riley will be in play there, no rumor about it at all … and especially so with the news of Sean Payton’s extension in New Orleans. But, things are rolling in Dallas so feel free to toss this aside and focus on the Hurts stat which is frightening.
... Kansas State plays Oklahoma State in Stillwater on Sept. 28 at 6 p.m. on ESPN+. There was a lot made about this yesterday in some circles, but the reality is that this will become the norm at some point soon. Texas Tech will get a game or two on this streaming platform next season and this is more than likely as close as you will get to a Big 12 Network. I think several of the Red Raiders' baseball and basketball games could be featured on ESPN+, too.
... Arizona only had one more chunk play (9) than Texas Tech did (8) on Saturday, but the Red Raiders only had one that went 40-plus yards (McLane Mannix's 66-yard reception) while the Wildcats had four.
... Here's an area of concern moving forward, especially with the team's QB1 out for the foreseeable future: Texas Tech has been awful on 3rd and long situations. The Red Raiders have faced nine 3rd and 7-9 situations in three games and picked up just two first downs, and the team has yet to convert 3rd and 9+ this season (0-9).
... Through three games, Donta Thompson has a longer reception (19 yards against Arizona) this season than four of the Red Raiders' top five outside receivers: Erik Ezukanma (11), Kesean Carter (15), RJ Turner (11), Myller Royals (5). Thompson's back-up, Travis Koontz, has a longer reception (13 yards against Montana State) than Ezukanma, Turner and Royals.
... For as dominant as Oklahoma has been in the Big 12 over the last decade and in this series since Texas Tech won in Norman in 2011, the last several Red Raiders-Sooners games have been more competitive than one would assume if you just looked at the final score. Texas Tech led Oklahoma at halftime last year - Bowman got hurt late in the first half - and the two teams scored a combined 31 points in a frantic, back-and-forth fourth quarter that ultimately saw OU win by five. In 2017, the Red Raiders led the Sooners 20-14 at the end of the first quarter and were within one possession in the second half before Oklahoma pulled away for a 49-27 win. I don't think the 2016 game needs much explanation, but it certainly qualifies as a nail-biter.
... Finally, on a personal note, the news about Bowman was really a gut punch. I know how much he means to this team and yesterday it was tough to watch everyone make jokes about Texas Tech football and asking completely original sarcastic questions about when basketball season starts. I think I had 17 different texts from people letting me know that basketball season was 50 days away. Thanks for the heads up. I get it and I love basketball as much as anyone but I’m not ready give up on guys like Jordyn Brooks or Broderick Washington just yet.
… The so-called "Mike Leach curse" gets mentioned to me often, especially on days like yesterday. I always wonder, if there was a curse wouldn't it apply to all of Texas Tech and not just the football program based on Leach being angry at "Texas Tech officials" and his lawsuit against the university? Omaha, Minneapolis, Vet school in Amarillo, etc. I also exchanged texts with someone in his staff last week who wished the Red Raiders well and told me, "Yost is a really sharp guy that knows offense and is very similar to Mike in many ways."
... Lastly, 9:30pm kickoffs, no thank you.
