SB Nation - Chase Clement

Postgame React: Texas Takes Care of Colorado, 38-14

Peter Bean — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 13:25:38 -0000

More photos » by Harry Cabluck - AP

Game MVP: Jordan Shipley caught 11 passes for 147 yards and a touchdown, then added a 74-yard punt return for a score that sealed the game for the 'Horns.

Browse more photos »

The outcome was: incomplete. In thinking and trying to write about Texas' 38-14 win over Colorado, I find myself returning to the following three related points:

Texas won the game. Given the result (Pasadena) that is guaranteed to follow if Texas wins each of its remaining regular season games, the victory must be acknowledged and celebrated.
The team's performance was uneven overall -- outright terrible in some areas, brilliant in others, and up-and-down everywhere else.
Discussing those performances is a relatively easy chore; the tremendously difficult challenge involves speculating about what tonight's performance might tell us -- good and bad -- about the rest of the season and, more immediately, next week in Dallas.

Speculating about what's in front of the team first requires we correctly diagnose what is and isn't working. I'm certain that, at least for me, getting that right means a second (and probably third) viewing of the game are in order. Tonight, though, we dive into our first-take impressions of the performance. Join me after the jump for my initial reactions, then hop down to the comments and share with me your own.

The Offensive MVP was: Jordan Shipley (11 catches, 147 yards, 1 TD receiving / 3 punt returns, 88 yards, 1 TD). The Roommate's 11-catch, 147-yard evening was almost embarrassing, considering that Texas' offense more or less devolved into a two-man game. No kidding at all: if the McCoy-Shipley duo were any less sensational, this would be one painfully frustrating team to watch. As it is, the two are damn effective -- far more than any single pair has the right to be -- and they deserve a standing ovation.

With that said, the centrality of the offense's focus on the McCoy-Shipley connection raises two related questions, one easy and one hard: First, would the offense be better if it were not so hyper-focused on these two? And second, is this offense capable of thriving in some other form? The first question is the easy one to answer: for this offense to be great, it would need to develop into a more balanced and robust attack. What's difficult to say is whether it can or will...

For now, suffice it to say that Shipley is your unquestionable offensive MVP against Colorado, especially if light of his game-ending 74 yard punt return for a score. Whatever Texas' other issues on offense, the senior wideout is every bit the elite playmaker his most vocal fans always insisted he would become. On a night when virtually everything I wrote about this game wound up flipped on its head, it was perhaps fitting that Jordan Shipley spent so much time at split end, where his abuse of single coverage was the offense's only constant all night.

The Offensive offensive LVP was: Greg Davis. And now we get to the WTF WAS THAT portion of the program, starting with the running game. Removing from the stat line the 2 sacks of McCoy for -12 yards, Texas rushed the ball just 23 times for a pitiful 58 yards (2.5 per attempt). The Longhorns rushed for 22 yards in the first quarter, -1 in the second, 4 in the third, and 28 in the fourth. It would be easy enough just to say that tonight's offensive performance was a repeat of the 2008 Fiesta Bowl, except that tonight those 11 excellent Buckeyes defenders were played by a group of Buffaloes who, coming into the game, had surrendered an average of 201 yards per game on the ground (111th nationally), at nearly 5 yards per attempt. West Virginia's Noel Divine gained more yards on one carry against Colorado than Texas did over an entire game.

Far above anything else that happened tonight, it was the utterly forgettable performance rushing the football that both angers and concerns the most. I can accept that this group isn't going to rush for gobs of yards against most solid defenses, but I had been under the impression that the ineptitude was so limited. Let's just be blunt about tonight's performance: this one's on the coaches and, in particular, Greg Davis. We can and will talk about the various personnel/performance issues, but the fundamental failing here was one of preparation and coaching. It's hard even to know where to begin, given the ease with which we could devote an entire postgame react to this single topic. For now, a few ~~points~~ rants on tonight's rushing misery:

Against Colorado we saw front and center why earlier this spring I strenuously objected when the coaches communicated an interest in using Cody Johnson in a featured role. First of all, on the "kind to Cody" side of things, there's the impact such a role might have on Johnson's proven value as an exceptional short yardage and goal-to-go tailback. But second, there's the idiocy of thinking a guy with his skill set is a legitimate option as the featured tailback in our rushing scheme -- for crying out loud, the quick guys often struggle to get to the rushing lanes we try to create. Now, is it possible to design a rushing scheme in which Johnson could succeed as the main man? I think so. But is this offense's one such scheme? It's incredible we even have to ask.
There is plenty we might say about the myriad sins committed by Texas' offensive linemen, but let's be up front about the fact that they are in many ways set up to fail. There are the many well-documented issues relating to the scheme itself, yes... but even beyond that, Davis's woefully weak overall approach to the endeavor all but guarantees the lousy results. No joke: Texas would be better off evolving to the point of conscious disregard for the run than it is with this "we care enough about rushing that we'll continue to make predictable stabs at it from time to time, but at the first sign of adversity we're mostly going to pass, except for the awkwardly timed plays in which we remind ourselves that we care about rushing."
Related to the approach, of course, is the play calling. There is absolutely no synergy whatsoever between the passing and rushing attacks, and neither one serves to set up and/or support the other. On the worst nights, the end result is what we saw against Colorado: 25 or so irregularly called rushing plays that not only lack coordination with the aerial plan of attack, but all too often subvert it. The inverse, of course, is true as well: it is hard to imagine any coordinator with such a strong passing attack at his disposal do as little as Davis does to deploy it in a way that would support successful rushes. Again, Texas would be better off consciously committing more to the pass, if only for the benefit of being able to develop a complementary plan for rushing the ball.
Having said all that makes it nearly pointless to spend much time on personnel, but hell, if we're going to hand the ball off to our tailbacks and ask them to make water from wine, how difficult is it to conclude that the speedier and shiftier the tailback, the better? When on Texas' last drive the coaches finally got around to using their speediest and shiftiest tailback, Fozzy Whittaker was -- like his predecessors throughout the game -- rudely greeted behind the line of scrimmage almost as soon as he'd been handed the football. But Whittaker managed to scamper out of a tackle, reversed course, fired his jets to take the corner, and wound up turning his lone carry of the game from a three-yard loss into a twelve-yard touchdown. Even if it's naive to think any one player could rescue this mess of a running attack, it's not too much to ask that we at least put in the runners with the best chance to make their own magic?
If you're wondering: after holding Baylor to 6 yards rushing on 17 attempts, Oklahoma has now surrendered just 268 yards rushing on 150 attempts (1.7 yards per rush). As much as anything else that Texas did well in last year's 45-35 win, they found a way to rush the football successfully -- 161 yards on 35 attempts (4.6 ypa). The favored Sooners, of course, did not, managing just 48 yards on 26 carries (1.8 ypa). If you're wondering what the blueprint looks like for this year's Oklahoma team to similarly knock favored Texas off its title track, it begins and ends right here. If next Saturday Texas is as impotent rushing the football as they were against Colorado, Texas fans will have to hope that either our own defense is even stouter or Colt McCoy has one of his best days as a Longhorn.

All those words, and we've barely discussed the passing game? Amazing... I'll keep it brief, then.

There was much more to be encouraged by the points of strength on display in the passing game, but there's no getting around the fact that from these points of strength Texas is extracting an uncomfortably low amount of value. Successful plays in the Texas passing game tend to flow from a chaotic scramble by McCoy at least as often as they neatly follow from design. It's schoolyard football, and while it's nice that the top two jocks are on our side making plays, they won't be able to do it all themselves when the opposing teams have athletic talent like our own.

More to the point, they shouldn't have to. Texas is not Rice, and McCoy and Shipley are not Chase Clement and Jarett Dillard. There is real opportunity for systematic excellence in Texas' passing attack, and though this isn't the space to chart all those X's and O's, I'm guessing we can all agree that the current version of the Colt McCoy offense -- however successful, however exciting -- too often produces at rates suboptimal to the talent of the players comprising it.

The Defensive MVP was: Roddrick Muckelroy and Sergio Kindle. We could highlight other names from what was, in the end, a good night for the defense (127 total yards allowed, 2.2 yards per play, 2 INTs, CU 3 of 15 on 3rd down), but Muck and Kindle were simply in a different class. Both seniors attacked tonight's game with enormously fierce intensity -- indeed, in the early going, too much, leading to several undisciplined plays. Once they settled into the flow of the game and played within their assignments, the speed and power with which these two were flying around the field making plays was truly beautiful to behold.

Muckelroy completed his evening with a team-best 11 tackles, including 2 tackles for loss (1 sack) and a pair of passes broken up. Kindle finished with 6 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, and countless teammate-springing pass rushes; an advanced box score would undoubtedly show Kindle with half a dozen assists. The aggression and raw speed with which both players hone in on the football instills in the opposition a visible sense of urgency to make a play immediately.

Beyond those two, the defense benefited from terrific play from every Longhorn on the line. Sam Acho was only a smidge less brilliant than Muck and Kindle, if at all, Lamarr Houston wreaked havoc in the backfield each and every time Colorado tried to block him with one man, and Ben Alexander had a career night with 5 tackles and solid penetration with his rush.

Ten gallon hat tips to Emmanuel Acho and Earl Thomas, as well, both of whom were absolutely filthy at various points in the game. Thomas is already a bona fide star, while it's a real delight watching the younger Acho develop as a player: once his intelligence and aggression finish melding with his outrageous physical gifts, he's going to be as destructive a linebacker as Texas has had in a while.

The offensive Defensive LVP was: Blake Gideon and Keenan Robinson. Fans have rightly thought it incomplete to talk about Gideon the past two years without acknowledging his many important contributions, which tonight should include his terrific diving interception. Of course, complete evaluation of Gideon also means that there is no avoiding his limitations, either. When you get down to it, what we think about Gideon comes down to which of those two lenses we're looking through when we ask the question: Given the team's needs, Gideon's contributions have been indisputably important; and... given a truly high-elite defense's goals, Gideon's limitations are unmistakable. I understand if fans prefer to limit the discourse to the former, but tonight seems the right time to spend a few words on what he is not.

Gideon's most obvious sins on Saturday night were the two highly visible ones on Colorado's opening drive -- a terrible point-blank missed tackle on Sumler, followed three plays later by Gideon's late arrival to Devenny's touchdown catch. The missed tackle was atypical -- merely a mistake, which everyone is prone to from time to time. The late coverage, however, exemplifies the bigger problem with Gideon: he is a step shy of being a playmaker. It was easy to see on the late coverage, but it's equally easy to see in the box score, where Gideon on Saturday was credited with just a single tackle. Some of that's opportunity -- he spent a good bit of time in deep coverage -- but he's got just 16 tackles through 5 games this year, to go with just 2 passes broken up.

The complete story about Blake Gideon is this, then: It's not that he typically plays as poorly as he did early in tonight's game, it's that he is at almost all times merely adequate. Texas can live with adequate if there aren't costly mistakes, but in either case the truth of the matter is that Texas could use an upgrade. With Christian Scott derailed for the year, Gideon will likely stick and, if he's solid and can continue to avoid costly mistakes, give Texas "enough." But we should understand what he is, and needn't gloss over what he is not.

Moving down the chopping block, I take no pleasure in singling out Keenan Robinson for subpar play tonight, but even someone as bullish about the kid as I am has to say that this was not his finest game. Prior to tonight, the young linebacker had been handling about 80% of his responsibilities impressively well, with a smaller portion of his performance trailing behind. But where his weaknesses had heretofore manifested themselves sporadically over the course of several games, tonight he was not so fortunate with the distribution, as he spent much of the first half struggling with his positioning both in pass coverage and in navigating CU blockers. While the good news is that he has displayed all the physical tools (good speed and excellent strength) requisite to play the position very well, his inexperience has regularly caused him to take the wrong path to a play, leaving him too far away to close for a tackle or helplessly walled off by blockers from where he needs to be. It's all teachable stuff, so there's little about which to be concerned in the long term -- here's to hoping he learns a lot from film review of tonight's game.

On the Milk Carton: Malcolm Williams (0 catches). No need to reopen all the same wounds, but for all the McCoy-to-Shipley brilliance, it's scary to imagine that Texas is going to try to win 13 games without developing a deeper, more well-rounded offensive arsenal. And it's hard to imagine that Malcolm Williams can't or shouldn't be a part of that. You didn't have to spend much time watching Florida's defense tonight to realize there aren't any happy endings for a one-dimensional offense against so fast and powerful a defense as the Gators. More importantly, Texas won't even get the chance to dethrone the Gators if the Longhorns' offense is as stale in the Cotton Bowl as it often was tonight.

Garrett Gilbert watch: 1-1 passing, 2 yards. Those of us who predicted a blowout by halftime thought Gilbert might get his first taste of Big 12 action, but it was not to be. On the bright side, he completed his only attempt to raise his completion percentage up over 80 on the season.

Oklahoma Fear Factor: 8 out of 10. (5) is the baseline. +1 for Texas' disastrous rushing performance tonight; +1 for the offense regressing to Colt-looking-for-Shipley; +2 for the implications of Davis's failure to develop this offense against the easy portion of the schedule; +1 for Sam Bradford being healthy enough to start; -1 for Jermaine Gresham on the sidelines; -1 for Bradford lacking any downfield weapons; -1 for Oklahoma's OL making their rushing game average; -2 for Texas' phenomenal special teams; -1 for the positive results in our coaching staff when they feel a sense of urgency after a sketchy performance; +4 for the intensity of the rivalry.

Heading into next week I feel: Conflicted. How should fans feel after a win like tonight's? Should we focus on the win and Texas remaining unbeaten, celebrating the brilliance of McCoy-to-Shipley, the excellence of the special teams, and the overall dominance of the defense? Or is it naive to look past the abysmal rushing performance, the lack of diversity in the passing game, and the team's hyper-dependence on Colt McCoy and Jordan Shipley?

Indeed, there's your million dollar question, Longhorns fans: Are this team's strengths exceptional enough that Texas will still win even when all the team's weaknesses pop up in the same game?

Against average competition, the answer is clearly yes, but what about against Oklahoma, Missouri, or Oklahoma State? Is Texas strong enough to overcome another half like last year's opening period in Lubbock?

The related question, of course, is whether there are reasons to believe the team can improve on its weaknesses. How fundamental are the troubles, what viable solutions appear to exist, and how likely are they actually to develop?

Though I don't think anyone can definitively say they have all the answers, I invite your thoughts on any and all of the questions posed throughout this post. For my part, I obviously am at this point conflicted, torn between my excitement about the team's many strengths and the nagging worry about the offense remainiong vulnerable to occasional bouts with mediocrity. For what it's worth, my sense after five games is that the defense, special teams, and overall roster composition are substantially stronger than last year -- sufficiently so to mitigate the offensive question marks. Whereas in 2008 Texas was vulnerable to a bad game on both sides of the ball, it's difficult to envision the 2009 defense coughing up big points and needing a pick-me-up. If that's correct, then Texas can win any given game if either the offense has a good day or, in the case of a pedestrian performance by the offense, Texas' defense and special teams put points on/keep opposing points off the scoreboard.

That's all speculative, though, and with the best team on the schedule awaiting us next Saturday, it's going to be one hell of a stressful afternoon in Dallas if the coaches don't have a successful week of practice righting some wrongs. Because I'd rather not find out whether on an afternoon Texas' offense only scores twice, the Longhorns defense really is, as I hopefully suggest, good enough to carry the team to a Red River Shootout victor, anyway.

Hook 'em 'Horns. OU Sucks.

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 09.11.09

Seth C — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:34:59 -0000

Odds and Ends

9/11: I don't want to ignore the significance of this date, but I don't want to get political either, that's not why you're here, but it is still a significant date and a time to reflect. I hope you do that some time today.

Going to the Game: I'm headed to Lubbock sometime Friday morning and will be there way too close to kickoff but if I don't go to the game this weekend, it's going to be quite some time before I'm able to head that way. Very excited about the game, although I'm not excited about the chances of rain.

CN Writing Guide and Community Rules: If you ever wanted to know essentially how I feel about community guidelines for DTN and how to write FanPosts, FanShots, etc., then check out Corn Nation's post yesterday. I'm thinking about copying and pasting the entire thing and claiming it as my own (I'm kidding . . . sorta).

Texas Tech Football

Swindall to Play: LAJ's Don Williams reports that IR Tramain Swindall will play on Saturday, according to receivers coach Lincoln Riley, and will likely bump either Adam James or Cornelius Douglas to the third team:

"He’s practiced a lot harder and a lot better (this week),’’ Riley said. "You see a sense of urgency with him that we didn’t see in camp. I think anytime you’re a guy that’s played some and you get demoted to scout team for three weeks, all of a sudden your effort and intensity and all that magically seems to pick up.

There's also a bit about Matt Baldwin, Captain Leach's agent, in this article, mentioning something about how although he played for Rice in the late 90's, he's cheering for Texas Tech because of Leach. Really? There's no school loyalty? I think now we know why this took a meeting between Leach and Hance to get things done.

Williams also has a recruiting update at the end of the article, noting that the Red Raiders will likely take 1 more offensive lineman, 3 or 4 defensive linemen and a linebacker, although this is the most prevelant part:

Tech’s two oral commitments this week give the Red Raiders 19 pledges for their 2010 class. With Tech likely to sign 24 or 25 players, that leaves five or six spots to fill.

Dallas Madison offensive lineman Javius Townsend (6-foot-4, 300 pounds), who committed to Tech on Tuesday, and Navarro College’s Lawrence Rumph (6-3, 270), who has played both defensive end and defensive tackle, are expected to visit campus this weekend.

According to the Rivals.com recruiting service, Rumph has scholarship offers from Arkansas, Baylor, Missouri, Oklahoma State and Southern Mississippi, but not yet from Tech. He was a high-school teammate of Tech defensive tackle Chris Perry at Keller Fossil Ridge and was credited with 16 sacks as a senior.

Rock M Nation Dominates the Interwebs: Rock M Nation has a couple of items that need pointing out, first up is the Week 2 Big 12 Roundtable Recap and in addition to that is the Beyond the Box Score for all week 1 Big 12 games last week and I encourage you to read the whole thing, but the numbers say that Texas Tech must do a better job running the ball:

Tech fell into WAY too many passing downs for this caliber of opponent. Potts' three interceptions came on 3rd-and-15, 2nd-and-13, and 3rd-and-15. Granted, he should really learn what passes he should and shouldn't make, but...a 29.4% rushing success rate? Against North Dakota? That MUST improve, and immediately. Tech is obviously not tremendously likely to beat Texas or OSU on the road, and they'll certainly be underdogs against OU at home, but with poor line play and no threat of a run, suddenly trips to Houston and Nebraska become dicey (especially against NU's defensive line), as do home games against Kansas and Baylor. You have to figure Tech will go 8-4 like they almost always seem to do, but if they can't even pretend to be capable of running the ball, then they're in trouble.

Freshman Focus on Joel Gray: LAJ's Don Williams looks at the redshirts this year and LT Joel Gray is up and offensive line coach Matt Moore likes what he has in Gray:

"Joel is just one of those guys that very consistently wins,’’ Moore said. "It’s not always pretty, but he seems to get the job done. That’s the same thing he did in high school. He always found a way to win, and he’s real competitive. He’s athletic, has really good feet. That helps him out a lot.’’

Owls Look to Rebound: The Chron's Jeffrey Martin writes that the Owls must rebound quickly from their loss to UAB last week and focus on the Red Raiders.

"You want to put (UAB) behind you, but you have to remember it in a way," sophomore safety Travis Bradshaw said. "You don't want to have that feeling again, but it's something you also want to use as motivation.

"We were confident going in, and we knew what we had to do. We just didn't execute."

Rice Finding Identity: DT's Adam Coleman notes that the Owls are still looking for their identity after losing so much talent last year (Jarrett Dillard, Chase Clement and James Casey come to mind) and Captain Mike Leach (emphasis mine) says that his team would be stupid to look past the Owls:

"If they’re that stupid, we’ve got a lot of problems," said Leach, whose Red Raiders take on Rice at 6 p.m. Saturday at Jones AT&T Stadium. "I mean, we’re only playing Rice this week."

And Leach acknowledged that although Rice lost quite a bit, much like Texas Tech, they manufacture talent and production:

"They’re missing a quarterback from last year, who I thought was a great player, one of my favorite all-time," Leach said. "I enjoyed watching him play. Everybody says ‘Well, they lost so-and-so.’ Well they also coached and manufactured these guys to some point, so there’s nothing to say they can’t do it again."

Thoughts from Tortilla Retort: I've fallen a little behind on linking to the Tortilla Retort and dedfischer and RRR have thoughts on the UND game (here, here and here).

Neglected Audio and Video: KAMC and Fox34 ask the same question, which is if Texas Tech looking past Rice. Check out the video for the surprising answer.

National and Big 12 Links: ESPN's Tim Griffin looks at how effective the Big 12 offenses and defenses are and predicts outcomes for this weekend's games . . . The Rivalry Esq. previews the USC vs. Ohio St. game . . .

2010 Recruiting Tidbits: Tonight, quarterbacks Scotty Young and Zack Lee will face off as Young's Denton-Ryan Team will take on Lee's McKinney squad. Young is committed to Texas Tech and Lee, initially looked at Texas Tech, committed to LSU . . . the first commitment this week, LB Fred Harvey talks about his commitment to Texas Tech:

"The first time I ever talked to coach Simmons, he had told me that whenever they were able to send me a scholarship offer, they were going to do it," said Harvey, who tallied 78 solo tackles and 21 sacks as a junior last season.

"Out of all the schools, (Texas Tech) recruited me the hardest. They made sure I always had e-mails coming from them. ... It's like they were really working hard, wanting me to come there."

Smart Football on Wes Welker: Smart Football's Chris Brown guest-posted on the NY Times pro-football blog, the Fifth Down and had this about former Red Raider Wes Welker and how he is so effective in New England (I would love for some of our current receivers to read this):

He does this by running every imaginable route that can be run from a depth of about 5 to 15 yards. Although he has enough speed to get downfield, it is his quick feet that are his biggest asset, and he marries them with his precise routes — revealing his art like a great violinist playing his favorite Vivaldi pieces. Keep in mind that Welker stepped in with a low profile and almost immediately earned Brady’s trust simply by getting open, all this in an offense not designed to get the ball to a single guy on a given play, but rather to spread the field and let the expert reader of defenses deliver the ball to the open guy.

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 09.10.09

Seth C — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 11:28:53 -0000

Odds and Ends

SB Nation Relaunch: Please, please, please head on over to SBNation.com where you'll find a lively new place to get all of your sports news. This has been a huge problem for me lately as I would subscribe to every SB Nation college blog and within the last month, due to the tremendous growth of SBNation.com, I couldn't keep up with all of the incredible posts from thoughts from bloggers in the network and just yesterday unsubscribed to a majority of those blogs and have now subscribed to the new SBNation.com, figuring that I needed a collector of news rather than trying to do that myself. Check out the welcome post and what SBNation.com hopes to accomplish as well as coverage in the Washington Post.

Texas Tech Football

I Am Offended by this Old Caricature: I can't believe the gall of the Rice athletic department to portray the Red Raider as a happy-go-lucky masked bandit (hat-tip The Rice Football Webletter for the cool old cartoon):

via ricefootball.net

Rice Looking to Show Skillz: LAJ's Adam Zuvanich writes that the Rice Owls are looking to show their skills as Rice defensive coordinator had this to say:

"It’ll sound crazy, but we probably have a little better chance of slowing Tech down," said Rice defensive coordinator Chuck Driesbach, whose unit allowed Webb to rush for 194 yards, a Conference USA record for a quarterback. "We thought we had a chance to slow Joe Webb down, but he proved us wrong. He was more athletic than us."

Yes, that does sound crazy. Stopping a quality offense, no matter the form of attack, is difficult if the defense is awful, and from all accounts, the Rice defense this year (102nd in total defense) and last year (111th in total defense) was and is awful.

Running Game Rebound: DT's Alex Ybarra writes that the Texas Tech running game looks to make a huge improvement over last week's performance (more on this in this afternoon's Five Reasons Texas Tech Will Win):

Tech averaged more than 100 yards per game on the ground last season. There were only two games in which it didn’t reach that mark.

It was a different story against North Dakota.

The Red Raiders averaged 2.1 yards per carry. They maxed out at 40 rushing yards — Baron Batch had 30 on nine carries while Harrison Jeffers had 16 yards on a measly two carries.

Even with less chances, Jeffers showed some of his explosion, prompting Tech coach Mike Leach to acknowledge he should have received more touches.

Texas Tech Team Report: RRS.com's team report has lots of notes and quotes including this key to the game:

Keys To The Game: Rice is coming off a 10-3 season capped by a win in the Texas Bowl, but the Owls were forced to reload, which was evident in a 44-24 season-opening loss against Conference-USA rival Alabama-Birmingham. Gone are QB Chase Clement, TE James Casey and WR Jarett Dillard. Defensively, the Owls allowed 412 total yards to UAB QB Joe Webb. WR Toren Dixon caught a career-high nine passes to lead the Owls.

Neglected Audio and Video: KAMC with a report on the new Rice quarterback and receiver options.

Smart Football Gets Its Own Subject Line: Smart Football's Chris Brown had an interesting look at how the BYU Cougars offense was able to beat the Oklahoma Sooners and give credit to former Texas Tech coach Robert Anae, who is BYU's current offensive coordinator. Also, EDSBS asks Brown what makes an offense terrible.

National and Big 12 Links: The most recent BlogPoll was released yesterday and the Red Raiders still sit outside the top 25 . . . FWST's Jimmy Burch wonders if the Oklahoma St. Cowboys are ready for act II, which is the Houston Cougars . . . The Daily Texas notes that Big 12 teams are now focusing on defense rather than offense and has their own power rankings . . .

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe // 06.11.09

Seth C — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 11:26:40 -0000

Texas Tech Football

Looking Back at K-State

RRS.com's Joe Yeager is continuing to take a look back at each game from last year and up next is the Kansas State win. Ahhh, good times:

STAR OF THE SHOW: As noted above, this contest was a monster game for Graham Harrell. Not only did he pass for 454 yards and six touchdowns with no interceptions, he also eclipsed Kliff Kingsbury to become Tech’s all time leading passer with 12,709 passing yards. It could be a very long time indeed before a future Red Raider passer overtakes Harrell’s career passing mark.

The Non-Conference Schedules

ESPN's Tim Griffin looks at the best and worst non-conference schedules and Texas Tech checks in at #9:

9. Texas Tech: North Dakota, Rice, at Houston, New Mexico
Mike Leach's nonconference schedule won't be as bad as last season's trip to the pastry wagon, but not by much. North Dakota is transitioning into FCS status this season after ranking 137th among the 148 Division II passing teams last season. Sounds like target practice for Taylor Potts, doesn't it? Rice won't be nearly as tough as last season without James Casey, Jarrett Dillard and Chase Clement gone. The trip to Houston will be Tech's biggest challenge and Case Keenum will test Tech's rebuilt secondary in the first battle between the old Southwest Conference rivals since 1995. And New Mexico will have had several weeks to work under Locksley's system, making them a tougher challenge for the Red Raiders in early October.

You could probably argue endlessly about where Texas Tech would rank, probably ranking a number of places, but I didn't understand how Texas didn't rank last. At least K-State is playing UCLA and Iowa State is playing Iowa, while Texas' schedule consists of La. Monroe, Wyoming, UTEP and Central Florida. I know, we're nit-picking here, but Texas' schedule is reminiscent of Texas Tech's 2008 non-conference schedule. Easy.

Texas Tech Baseball

MLB Draft

Texas Tech had no players taken in the first day of the MLB Draft, but had three players and two commitments get drafted yesterday. The MLB draft continues with rounds 31 through 50 today, so we're not completely out of the woods yet, especially with commitments. Let's start with LAJ's George Watson (as an advisory, my browser, Firefox, crashed twice while trying to view this article) who talked with 1B Chris Richburg about being drafted in the 23rd round by the Cincinnati Reds:

"I wish I actually could have seen my name (first)," said Richburg, one of several players with ties to Texas Tech or Lubbock who was selected Wednesday in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. "But any way is a good way. It’s something I’ve wanted to do and something that’s been a goal at the end, for me to get a chance to play pro baseball. Now it’s here, and I’m glad this part is over with and I can get this knot out of my stomach and look forward to getting going again and start playing."

Richburg is a senior and DTN certainly wishes him the best moving forward.

Junior P Nate Karns was picked in the 12th round by the Washington Nationals and from all accounts I think that Karns is going to play professional baseball next year and won't be back with Texas Tech. Same goes for Karns, we wish him luck.

Senior P A.J. Ramos was picked in the 21st round by the Florida Marlins and he sounds like he's ready to start working:

"It’s a great feeling … especially since some people said I wasn’t supposed to be back this season," Ramos said. "All day today I was nervous, my stomach was in a knot wondering when that call would come. This was one of my biggest goals was to get drafted and the hard work I put into it is what this has led to. But I also know that getting drafted is just part of the process and I have to work even harder now to make it up to my ultimate goal."

The two Texas Tech commitments that have been picked are LHP Jay Johnson in the 25th round by the Baltimore Orioles and RHP Brandon Petite in the 30th round by the Houston Astros. Texas Tech head coach Dan Spencer had this to say about whether or not Johnson and Petite will be in Lubbock this fall:

"I do … as confident as you can be without them being here standing at your door," Spencer said. "I think it’s an honor for them to get drafted and that’s great. But both should come to school and I think the money will dictate that."

I'm not as confident as Spencer after reading some quotes from Petite and Johnson. Up first, Kevin Barrett of the Daily Gleaner (I know, sounds strange) talked with Johnson who sounds like he has no problem going professional:

"It didn't really matter with me because with my injury, I wasn't going to be able to get a contract until I pitched this summer and people saw me again," he said. "It makes you feel better if you went higher but the 25th round is good enough."

Being selected by the Orioles was an added bonus.

"Baltimore is my dad's favorite team," Jay said of his father Bill. "When we were young, we were always watching them and Cal Ripken."

Who else isn't feeling very comfortable?

Brandon Petite talked with Dale Woodard of the Lethbridge Herald and T.J. Colello of The Cape Breton Post, who sounds like he's interested in playing for the Astros:

"I was at school," said Petite, who has committed to Texas Tech in Lubbock this fall. "I waited longer than I expected to wait, but it came through and I got drafted. It was a good feeling. It was a big sigh of relief because a lot of teams had been scared off by my commitment to Texas Tech. So they didn’t know if they should take me and take the chance on losing a draft due to a kid that’s going to college. It was a guessing game. So it was a big relief."

Like Inch, Petite chatted up the team that drafted him on Wednesday.

"I talked to Houston right after I got picked," he said. "They were telling me what kind of situations we’re going to be in and what they see in the future. They’re going to wait over the summer to make me my offer and watch me play with the Lethbridge Bulls.

They’re going to see it out and make sure they’re giving me the right offer. So it’s not close to being done yet."

And this (emphasis mine, and yeah, that's a direct quote):

"I wasn’t expecting to wait so long, but it happened," said Petite, who watched the draft unfold on the computer at school. "The initial thought was ‘you got to be kidding me’ because I was in the draft slot as a seventh to 12th rounder, but my commitment to Texas Tech kind of scared off a few teams because they didn’t know if they would draft me in the seventh to 12th rounds that they’d lose me if I went to school.

"But then Houston kind of nutted up and went after me. It was a long day."

Petite attended the Vauxhall Academy of Baseball in Vauxhall, Alta., playing for the private school’s Vauxhall Jets. The 6’3", 210-pound right hander was then named to Team Canada’s roster for the 2008 World Junior ‘AAA’ Baseball Championship in Edmonton.

Not done yet, but it sure sounds like he's excited to play professionally and if given enough money, he wants to play professionally. I understand that a lot of this is posturing by these guys and it's all a part of the game. I just hope that Spencer is calling these guys and letting them know that they can significantly improve their draft status if they end up staying committed to Texas Tech.

Bowl Previews: Tuesday brings offense, offense and more offense (Humanitarian, Holiday, Texas)

cocknfire — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 07:39:40 -0000

Another good news, bad news day on Monday, as I chose both winners correctly to move to 9-5 but feel to a truly awful 1-13 in choosing the score. C'est la vie. Today's slate:

Humanitarian Bowl, 4:30 p.m., ESPN

What it is: A reason to disorient at least two football teams by forcing them to play on the Smurf Turf of Boise.

The Teams: Maryland, Nevada

How Maryland got here: How does Maryland ever get to a bowl game? With pixie dust and unicorns, of course. A team that could only beat Delaware by seven and lost to Middle Tennessee State also defeated California and North Carolina. I have no explanation for it -- even for the ACC, Maryland took the week-to-week swings to new levels of bizarreness. They were outscored by nearly 1.5 ppg during the regular season; their best offensive player might be Da'Rel Scott, who rushed for 959 yards and 6 TDs but has a troubling tendency to disappear during big games -- 11 yards against Virginia Tech on ten carries, 19 yards on 13 rushes against Boston College. Their defense, which allowed 355.0 ypg, qualifies as mediocre.

How Nevada got here: For those of us who saw the Wolfpack as potential WAC dark horses -- coughcough not me at all coughcough -- well, that never happened. Nevada essentially fell off the national map after losing to Texas Tech and Missouri by a combined 104-36 margin. Those would be the only two games the Pack lost by more than a touchdown, though, and Nevada had a decent enough year. For Nevada. I love their QB, Colin Kaepernick, who doesn't have a high completion percentage but doesn't make many mistakes, passing for 2,479 yards, 19 TDs and just 5 INTs this year and rushing for 1,115 yards and 16 TDs. He also has a talented and colorfully named supporting cast, from Vai Taua, who rushed for 1,420 yards and 14 TDs, and Marko Mitchell, 56 catches for 1,011 and 9 TDs. Too bad they didn't get much help from their defense, which allowed 395.6 ypg.

College football fans care because: It's the first time Maryland and Nevada have ever played each other. That's all I've got.

SEC fans care because: There are still no SEC bowls yet, so you might as well watch this one.

Watch this game if ... : You don't mind watching football played on blue grass.

The result: Nevada 55, Maryland 45

Holiday Bowl, 8 p.m., ESPN

What it is: A game surrounded by the most Pacific Life commercials you'll ever see without watching CNN.

The Teams: No. 13 Oklahoma State, No. 15 Oregon (all rankings, as always, BlogPoll)

How Oklahoma State got here: By losing only to teams that were ranked No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 when the Cowboys played them and are now ranked No. 2, No. 3 and No. 7. That would be -- in whatever order you like, because everyone has a strong opinion about this -- Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech. That said, their schedule outside of those three games goes from Missouri to Colorado to -- um, Houston? Oklahoma State's offense generated 489.3 ypg and 41.6 ppg. So they score. The offense is explosive pretty much across the board, and is led by a man. Who's 40 41. Stopping other teams' offenses has been a problem, with the defense allowing 392.3 ypg.

How Oregon got here: With a powerful rushing game led by Jeremiah Johnson (156 carries, 1,082 yards, 12 TDs) and the lower-profile LeGarrette Blount (130 carries, 928 yards, 16 TDs). The only losses were to Boise State, Southern Cal and California; the Ducks ended their season by waxing rival Oregon State 65-38, preventing the Beavers from claiming the Pac-10's Rose Bowl berth. Of course, their defense isn't much better than Oklahoma State's; Oregon's opponents rang up 383.0 ypg.

College football fans care because: These teams will score points. And then more points. And then more points. They could hit 100.

SEC fans care because: If Oregon can win, the Big XII's rep might take a hit.

Watch this game if ... : You want to find out what hideous uniform configuration Oregon has cooked up for this game.

The result: Oregon 56, Oklahoma State 34

Texas Bowl, 8 p.m., NFL Network

What it is: A bowl you've never heard of because it's always been on the NFL Network.

The Teams: Western Michigan, Rice

How Western Michigan got here: Going 9-3 overall and 6-2 in the MAC, mostly thanks to the arm of Tim Hiller. Hiller threw for 3,527 yards, 34 TDs and 8 INTs while completing almost 67 percent of his passes. Hiller attempted 40 or more passes in five of the Broncos games, including an astonishing 63 attempts in a 34-28 OT win against Buffalo. Opponents rang up 390.3 ypg against Western Michigan.

How Rice got here: An offense that includes QB Chase Clement (3,812 yards, 41 TDs and 7 INTs passing, 621 yards and 11 TDs rushing), WR Jarett Dillard (79 receptions, 1,224 yards and 19 TDs) and WR James Casey (104 receptions, 1,217 yards and 12 TDs). Rice did allow 466.8 ypg on defense.

College football fans care because: Rice hasn't won a bowl game in 54 years.

SEC fans care because: You really have no reason to.

Watch this game if ... : You want to find out what hideous uniform configuration Oregon has cooked up for this game.

The result: Rice 48, Western Michigan 36