The worst part about Saturday night for Texas Tech was how familiar it seemed.
Last week in this space, I wrote about how Pat Mahomes makes the amazing seem routine. He did some of that in the desert, turning in the seventh-best single-game passing performance in program history like it was nothing.
Unfortunately, the Red Raider defense makes the amazing seem routine as well.
For most programs, a 68-55 loss would be a monumental, once-in-a-lifetime oddity. Fans would be almost too bewildered by what they witnessed to be angry. More perplexed than furious.
For Texas Tech – the program, the players, the coaches and, most of fall, the fans – Saturday’s loss to Arizona State was the new normal.
Through the 2014 season, the Texas Tech football program was 70-0 – undefeated – when scoring 50 points or more. In the 15 games since, the Red Raiders have topped the 50-point mark eight times. Their record in those games now stands at an obscene 5-3.
Some programs have played a century’s worth of football seasons without having lost more than one or two such games. Texas is 101-0 all-time when putting a 50-burger on opponents. Oklahoma is 158-0. Alabama is 88-0. Notre Dame is 92-0. Texas A&M is 83-1. Oklahoma State is 70-1.
In the last calendar year, Kliff Kingsbury’s team has lost more games when scoring 50-plus than those six programs have in their combined history (592-2).
The numbers allowed by Texas Tech’s defense would be stunning if witnessing it week in and week out hadn’t made them feel so ordinary.
Arizona State running back Kalen Ballage tied an NCAA record with eight touchdowns and set a career-high with 137 rushing yards. The Sun Devils’ 68 points were the most the program has ever scored against a Power Five opponent.
Yawn.
Frankly, it’s more notable at this point when the Red Raider defense doesn’t earn a spot or six in the opponent’s record book. By my count, Ballage is the seventh running back – Mike Warren, Shock Linwood, Chris Warren III, Wendell Smallwood, Joe Mixon, Leonard Fournette* – since the beginning of the 2015 season to set a new career-high in yards against Texas Tech.
They aren’t alone.
Last season in games against Texas Tech, Sam Houston State accounted for more yards (671) than it ever had before against an FBS opponent; Oklahoma State’s 70 points were tied for the most it has ever scored against a Power Five team; LSU set a program bowl record with 56 points; quarterbacks Ryan Willis (330) and Joe Hubener (289) set career-highs in passing yards; wide receivers Kyle Klein (131), Josh Doctson (267) and James Washington (200) set career-highs in receiving yards.
Mark these down for this weekend: Louisiana Tech running back Jarred Craft set a new career-high last week against South Carolina State with 95 rushing yards; quarterback Ryan Higgins’ career-high in passing yards is 409; the Bulldogs’ program record for points scored on the road against a Power Five team is 52.
What amazing things will we see this weekend against the Bulldogs?
* Fournette set a career-high in all-purpose yards. The other six all set career-highs in rushing yards.
Last week in this space, I wrote about how Pat Mahomes makes the amazing seem routine. He did some of that in the desert, turning in the seventh-best single-game passing performance in program history like it was nothing.
Unfortunately, the Red Raider defense makes the amazing seem routine as well.
For most programs, a 68-55 loss would be a monumental, once-in-a-lifetime oddity. Fans would be almost too bewildered by what they witnessed to be angry. More perplexed than furious.
For Texas Tech – the program, the players, the coaches and, most of fall, the fans – Saturday’s loss to Arizona State was the new normal.
Through the 2014 season, the Texas Tech football program was 70-0 – undefeated – when scoring 50 points or more. In the 15 games since, the Red Raiders have topped the 50-point mark eight times. Their record in those games now stands at an obscene 5-3.
Some programs have played a century’s worth of football seasons without having lost more than one or two such games. Texas is 101-0 all-time when putting a 50-burger on opponents. Oklahoma is 158-0. Alabama is 88-0. Notre Dame is 92-0. Texas A&M is 83-1. Oklahoma State is 70-1.
In the last calendar year, Kliff Kingsbury’s team has lost more games when scoring 50-plus than those six programs have in their combined history (592-2).
The numbers allowed by Texas Tech’s defense would be stunning if witnessing it week in and week out hadn’t made them feel so ordinary.
Arizona State running back Kalen Ballage tied an NCAA record with eight touchdowns and set a career-high with 137 rushing yards. The Sun Devils’ 68 points were the most the program has ever scored against a Power Five opponent.
Yawn.
Frankly, it’s more notable at this point when the Red Raider defense doesn’t earn a spot or six in the opponent’s record book. By my count, Ballage is the seventh running back – Mike Warren, Shock Linwood, Chris Warren III, Wendell Smallwood, Joe Mixon, Leonard Fournette* – since the beginning of the 2015 season to set a new career-high in yards against Texas Tech.
They aren’t alone.
Last season in games against Texas Tech, Sam Houston State accounted for more yards (671) than it ever had before against an FBS opponent; Oklahoma State’s 70 points were tied for the most it has ever scored against a Power Five team; LSU set a program bowl record with 56 points; quarterbacks Ryan Willis (330) and Joe Hubener (289) set career-highs in passing yards; wide receivers Kyle Klein (131), Josh Doctson (267) and James Washington (200) set career-highs in receiving yards.
Mark these down for this weekend: Louisiana Tech running back Jarred Craft set a new career-high last week against South Carolina State with 95 rushing yards; quarterback Ryan Higgins’ career-high in passing yards is 409; the Bulldogs’ program record for points scored on the road against a Power Five team is 52.
What amazing things will we see this weekend against the Bulldogs?
* Fournette set a career-high in all-purpose yards. The other six all set career-highs in rushing yards.
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