SB Nation - Cody Davis

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 12.09.09

Seth C — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:10:01 -0000

More photos » by Tom Pennington - AP

2 days ago: TCU center Zvonko Buljan (15) scrambles for a loose ball against Texas Tech David Tairu (13) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009 in Fort Worth, Texas. Texas Tech beat TCU 80-70. (AP Photo/Tom Pennington)

Browse more photos »

9-0: I didn't get a chance to either watch the game or listen to the game, but I'll throw up some post-game thoughts and feign some sort of expertise. Another nice win, on the road, and for those of you just checking in on things, the Red Raiders beat TCU 80-70 (Box Score).

Down from 14: That appears to be the theme of most of the game stories (LAJ's Courtney Linehan and FWST's Stefan Stevenson and TR's RRR also has post game thoughts). Head coach Pat Knight told his team to keep it close:

"If you can just keep this between four and six points you have a chance to do this," Tech coach Pat Knight told his team in the midst of its 9-0 run to close out the first half. "That was huge, because if we let them go on a run or hit some more shots on us then it would have been really hard for our guys to come back."

And TCU head coach Jim Christian had this to say about PF D`Walyn Roberts, who had 19 rebounds, 9 of them offensive, and 9 points:

"He’s not very big, but he’s very athletic and aggressive," Christian said of the 6-foot-7 Duncanville graduate. "He’s a great player and he’s going to do that when you don’t put a body on him and let him roam free, and that’s what he did."

And PK had is proud of Roberts' performance:

"I’m just glad people are finally noticing what D’walyn does," Knight said. "It’s the stuff that helps you win games. Sometimes it’s not the stuff that’s going to make SportsCenter, but it makes me happy."

Without Ray: This story by LAJ's Courtney Linehan wasn't published until after I posted yesterday's DD, but it essentially details the situation of PF Corbin Ray, who suffered a concussion in a scrimmage, and is still expected to miss another month. PK had this to say about Ray and his situation and the type of skill-set that Ray brings:

"The kid competes. He wants to play; that’s why he came here," Knight said. "You’ve got to be careful because he’s one of those kids who will tell you what he thinks you need to hear so he can play, not thinking about his own health. We’re taking it slow this time around to be sure."

Snip

"He’s not a post threat, really, but he can guard the post really well because he’s more athletic so he can get around the big guys," Knight said. "He’s really good at facing the basket and passing. From a defensive standpoint we don’t lose anything when he’s in, but from an offensive standpoint he’s different because he can set back screens and hit 3s."

Davis 1st Team All-American: Congrats to S Cody Davis for being named first team All-American by Phil Steele publications. Steele also released his All-Big 12 teams and there are a number of Red Raiders represented as Steele goes 4 teams deep. DT's Adam Coleman talked with Davis about how he plays (there's also some quotes from other players about Davis):

"Just flying out to the ball," Davis said. "Being around the ball, just trying to make the secure tackle whenever it comes my way.

"But I’m still looking for my interception. I’m so hungry for it."

Initial Bowl Allotment Sold Out . . . Not So Fast: LAJ's Don Williams wrote last night that Texas Tech has sold out their initial bowl allotment, but then Texas Tech posted that the the allotment has been replenished.

MSU Suspended Players: FWST's Dwain Price writes that head captain Mike Leach had this to say about the Michigan St. suspended players and how that can affect a team:

"Sometimes a team gets better by getting rid of some folks,'' Leach said. "The other thing is those guys have a funny way of being available by the time you play them, so who knows?''

DT's Alex Ybarra talked with some of the players about the same topic, and LB Bront Bird feels that the backups are just as good as those players suspended:

"This is a Division I level, and that’s a big conference," linebacker Bront Bird said. "The guy (who was suspended), his backup is probably just as good as him. I honestly don’t pay too much attention to all that, and I don’t think we as a team should either."

Snip

"Suspensions are tough for a team, you can either keep moving and try to fight forward or some teams it can ruin their season," Bird said. "Obviously, I have no idea what their mindset is. Yeah they can be tough, but if you’re mentally tough, I’m sure their group will push through it and they’ll be just fine."

Hawaiian Trip: It appears that the coaches will be taking a trip to Hawaii to recruit LB V.J. Fehoko, who is the brother of Texas Tech's own LB Sam Fehoko, and was also named as the High School Athlete of the Year. I wish the coaching staff well in their travels.

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 11.25.09

Seth C — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:03:49 -0000

More photos » by Sue Ogrocki - AP

19 days ago: Texas Tech defensive back Jamar Wall, right, reaches in to intercept a pass intended for Oklahoma tight end Trent Ratterree, left, in the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game in Lubbock, Texas, Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Browse more photos »

Friday Night Isolation: LAJ's Don Williams writes about the routine that the football program goes through each Friday night, which is going to the team hotel. DC Ruffin McNeill likes to isolate the team:

"I think you have to isolate the main core of the team,’’ said McNeill, the Texas Tech defensive coordinator. "They have got to be on the same page and have the same amount of football focus time as a group — as well as the coaches. It keeps us on the same page for a 48-hour period.’’

It was also fairly interesting to see Captain Mike Leach's comments regarding the proposed California legislation to outlaw (I like the word "outlaw") this practice:

"They act like it’s an unreasonable extravagance,’’ Leach said. "What about the burden on student-athletes having to go out there and perform in front of tens of thousands, furthermore, on national TV and not be able to put their best foot forward because they can’t get a good night’s sleep? It’s crazy. It’s crazy to the point I would like to meet the individuals in the Pac-10 that were foolish enough to propose it.’’

Influencing Academics: DT's Jon Vanderlaan writes about how Leach has positively affected the academics since he's been the head coach:

"I’ve got more degrees than I use. Than I know what to do with, really. And at one time more than I could afford," he said. "There’s no question you should have high academics. And there should be no excuse for not graduating people."

Despite the occasional temptation to be territorial between academics and athletics, Leach said, he supports the academic departments because it is another part of the university that enhances the quality of life for the students.

"I think attention to the university in general is very positive," he said. "For example, if someone looks to Tech for engineering or something like that and gets excited for our football team, that helps me. Just like if someone gets excited for the football team and looks at our math department, that helps our math department."

I love that this program graduates players and holds players accountable for their grades. Very proud of that.

Football Notebook: LAJ's Don Williams' notebook has the note that RG Brandon Carter will play in the East-West Shrine Game, which is scheduled for January 23, 2010 in Florida . . . a number of players were honored by being named to the academic All-Big 12 team:

First-team honorees were those with a grade-point average of 3.2 or higher. From Tech, those were linebacker Bront Bird (business major), cornerback Taylor Charbonnet (general business), safety Cody Davis (business), defensive tackle David Neill (human development and family studies), guard Mickey Okafor (pre-dental), tackle Chris Olson (general business), quarterback Taylor Potts (pre-physical therapy), flanker Alex Torres (general business) and inside receiver Austin Zouzalik (general business).

Second-team honorees were those with a GPA between 3.0 and 3.19. From Tech, those were kicker-punter Donnie Carona (general business) and defensive end Brandon Sharpe (human development and family studies).

. . . DC Ruffin McNeill talks about DB Trent Nickerson and LB Chris Wallace each getting a play during Saturday's game against Oklahoma because of their commitment to the team:

"Senior, great leader,’’ McNeill said Tuesday. "Great enthusiast on the sideline. He’s a guy who knew his role on the football team, accepted his role and took it to another level. He always has great support for whoever’s playing on offense, defense or special teams. He’s been a scout-team guy for us and gave us great looks.’’

Baylor Bear and Big 12 Links: Waco Tribune's John Werner writes that the Bears are bowing out earlier than expected, but in grand style at Jerry's World . . . the SAEN looks at the 8 teams that have a shot at playing the Alamo Bowl . . .

First Non-Conference Win on the Road Since 2006: That's all you really need to know. The game looked well in hand for a good part of the first half and second half, but the SFA Lumberjacks came storming back in the second half. This is the sort of game that we would have talked about had Texas Tech lost the game, even if it was close, but with a 1 point win, I don't know that we'll be talking about this game in a month. If this game were a loss, it would be discussed until the end of the season. As far as game-play is concerned, G David Tairu didn't have a huge game, but he did his the 3-pointer that put the game away. There was a point late in the game where Tairu chastised SF Mike Singletary for taking an ill-advised shot late in the game, when Tairu was incredibly open. It's interesting to see that dynamic with Tairu being one of the new guys but feeling comfortable correcting his teammates. Tairu is probably the most fundamentally sound player I've seen for Texas Tech, on both sides of the ball. I'd be completely fine if the offense ran through Tairu as I think he has the makeup to be that sort of player.

The thing that bothers me the most is that I'm not sure that this team has a guy that knows how or wants to set up his teammates. Right now there's a lot of one-on-one and not much offensive flow. I'm struggling as to why this team, which has a core players who have been around for 3 years, can't figure out how to get guys involved. Offensively, this team is frustrating so long as there isn't one guy willing to take the team on their back.

Defensively, there were frustrating points for sure. Singletary and Roberson still have their defensive lapses and I think there was 4 points that Singletary gave up because he simply lost his man under the basket . . . twice. I thought that for the most part, Tairu, PF Darko Cohadarevic, SF D`Walyn Roberts and SF Brad Reese all looked good defensively.

Darko's Big Night: LAJ's Courtney Linehan focuses on Cohadarevic leading this team with 18 points and 3 boards. Here's head coach Pat Knight on his depth and the play of Darko:

"Lew and Corbin, they gave us some good minutes, then Darko got his stuff together on the bench, came back in and played well," Knight said. "I think that’s the best thing, if your kid’s struggling, the bench is almost like brain surgery."

And Darko knows that he must rebound better:

"I should go for boards more," he said. "This should not happen again."

Linehan has a notebook with this quote from PK:

"It’s huge. They say you can’t take anybody lightly on the road, even after you built a big lead you think it’s over, but they’re able to hang on like that," he said. "We got down early, came back, got the lead, got a big lead, let them back in. It will help us prepare for the Big 12."

. . . PF Corbin Ray returned after suffering a concussion in a pre-season scrimmage . . . Darko takes some of the blame on himself for trying to post-up too much rather than screen for teammates:

"After I hit the 17-foot jumper, I thought for a second, they’re not guarding me. Then after I got the post move under them they fouled me and I realized they cannot guard me low because I’m technically sound. I realized I’ve got to post up. Later on I got lost a little bit, I posted up too much, and the coaches wanted me to down screen away, down screen, flare screen to get other guys open, but I got caught up in posting up too much. I can take the blame for them catching up our 15-point lead because of that."

Quarterbacks, Defenses, Intangibles And Other Stuff About Texas Tech

ccmachine — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:18:07 -0000

More photos » by Mike Fuentes - AP

Browse more photos »

Seth C, from SBN's Texas Tech site Double T Nation, is aboard the Machine today to give a fan's perspective on this weekend's opponent. We've seen crazy things happen in Lubbock during Oklahoma's last two trips there and now a team that's been snake bitten over and over this season travels to play in the Twilight Zone.

CC Machine: Tell us about the quarterback situation at Tech. What's going on between Potts and Leach and how healthy is Sheffield? Who should we expect to see Saturday morning?

Seth C: Leach mentioned earlier this week that he regrets pulling Taylor Potts out and putting in an injured Steven Sheffield. Sheffield was clearly not ready to go and despite his early season magic, without an offensive line that will adequately protect him, he's simply not as effective as when he had an ankle that wasn't broken. To answer your question, I think you'll see Taylor Potts for the entire game on Saturday, barring an injury. If Potts is injured during the game, I think Leach will probably turn to redshirt freshman Seth Doege.

CC Machine: The Red Raiders are dead last in the conference in rushing. Is that because of inability or is it just pass-happy game planning?

Seth C: The rushing numbers do look abysmal this year and there's lots of reasons why those number don't look so good. I mentioned this in my Five Reasons Texas Tech Will Lose as Texas Tech has lost a total of 283 yards to sacks this year. Compare that with 2008 where the Texas Tech offensive line gave up a total of 113 yards for the year. I'd also add that the line is giving up 2.7 sacks a game and to do the math quickly, that's a little over 10 yards a sack. That will hurt a running game quickly. I'd also add that Texas Tech is only averaging about 2 attempts less than last year, so it's not as if the running game has changed dramatically. The offensive line has also struggled in replacing 3 starters from last year, and despite thoughts that the team would have no issues replacing those guys (I'm sure that Sooner fans can relate), there has been consistency issues along the line. For the first time, in quite some time, the offensive line is starting the same unit for what appears to be 3 consecutive games and there's the thought that that consistency will pay off a bit with an improved running game this week.

CC Machine: This game features the Big 12's top passing attack against the conference's best pass defense. Share some intangibles that could work for and against Texas Tech in this matchup.

Seth C: If there's one intangible I'm counting on this week, it's the fact that the receiving corp is littered with guys who have the potential to make plays. The previous two years, it was a one-man-show with Crabtree and this year, it's really been a combination of guys who have stepped up at various points of the season to lead the team in receiving. Conversely, you could say that having a lead receiver generally means that you've got at least one player that an opposing defensive coordinator has to account for during the game. The fact that there are 10 players with 17 or more catches for the year should demonstrate that it's not just one guy. I also keep thinking that the running backs are due for a break-out game catching the ball out of the backfield. Last week, the passes to the running backs were telegraphed and just didn't work. I'm hoping like hell that Potts and Leach make a determination if they need to stay in for pass protection, and if not, then get those guys in open space, especially Baron Batch.

CC Machine: How in the world did this team lose 52-30 to A&M?

Seth C: For me, it was the defense and this is really symptomatic of the entire season. Quarterbacks who have the ability to scramble for first downs have had quite a bit of success against Texas Tech. Whether it be Case Keenum, Jerrod Johnson or Zac Robinson, all three guys were more than capable of seeing that the Texas Tech defense was dropping all but the front four into coverage, leaving huge chunks of yards for the quarterback to easily get first downs. Third down conversion rates for Texas Tech's four losses are 50.00% (Texas); 52.63% (Houston); 57.14% (Texas A&M); and 50.00% (Oklahoma St.). There's also something to be said for the fact that DE Brandon Sharpe hardly played against Texas A&M and he is Texas Tech's best pass rusher. I don't think he would have made a huge difference, but he's still a big part of getting to the quarterback and not having him hurt some.

CC Machine: When it comes to Texas Tech football most people immediately think of the fast paced spread offensive attack. However, Tech has made significant strides of the defensive side of the ball the last two years. Tell us about some of the strengths and weaknesses of the Red Raider defense.

Seth C: The biggest strength lies in the pass defense, and really all facets of pass defense. The Red Raiders are tied with the Sooners for 2nd in the nation in sacks. This is in large part credit to the defensive ends, including the aforementioned Brandon Sharpe, Daniel Howard and Rajon Henley. All guys play with fairly high motors and I think that's been a big key to their success, aside from being talented, in that they are all hard workers. I also think the entire secondary has done a pretty good job of not giving up many big plays (this again goes back to playing it safe, typically in a cover-2 scheme) and the cornerbacks have been really good. The unit is 3rd in the Big 12 in passes defended at a little over 6 a game. The biggest difference has been an increase in overall athleticism across the board. I think the safeties, Cody Davis and Franklin Mitchem, are overall more athletic than their predecessors and corners Jamar Wall and LaRon Moore have been much better at defending the pass. Fortunately for Oklahoma, it looks as if the hit that laid out OSU's Zac Robinson will keep Wall out for this weekend's game.

SB Nation Big 12 Roundtable - 2009 Season - Week 11 - Roundtable Recap

Beergut — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:06:43 -0000

We here at I Am The 12th Man are hosting the SB Nation Big 12 Roundtable this week, so we'll be recapping the thoughts of the other SB Nation Big 12 bloggers as they answered our questions.

1. We are three-fourths of the way through the season now, with either 2 or 3 games remaining for your respective teams. What players have surprised you, what players have disappointed you this year?

Corn Nation:

Surprises? The biggest surprises are Alfonzo Dennard, who's become a solid cornerback, and Dejon Gomes, who's been a playmaker ever since inserted into dime coverage a month ago. Disappointments would be Niles Paul and Menelik Holt. Paul is capable of big plays, but had two inexplicable fumbles in the red zone against Texas Tech and Iowa State that cost the Huskers dearly. Both Paul and Holt have had the dropsies as well. Paul managed to keep his roster spot by making a few plays against Missouri, but Holt just returned from a two week stint on the scout team. Nebraska's offense could sure use some production from their receivers to help stretch defenses vertically and take pressure off of Roy Helu and either Cody Green or Zac Lee.

2. Name a player on another Big 12 team who you think has underachieved or been a disappointment this season (I don't consider someone getting knocked out by injury a disappointment, so no references to Robert Griffin, please).

Crimson and Cream Machine:

This one is easy for me! My pick goes to Sergio Kindle of the texas longhorns. I actually received emails in the preseason about how Kindle was going to be unstoppable and all Sooners should beware. Of course I wasn't scared because my football playing days are well behind me and therefore I had a better chance of Kindle hitting me with his car than I did of him hitting me on the football field. As it turns out, I'm not the only one as Big 12 offensive players have seemed to elude Kindle's wrath like competent driving skills have eluded Kindle himself.
He's not among the Top 10 sack leaders in the conference and he isn't found among the To 50 leading tacklers in the conference (and there are actually 65 players on that list). I even bought into the hype and placed him our preseason Twelve Players To Watch In The Big 12 list. Turns out that his shining moment of the season so far has been an illegal hit on Texas Tech's Taylor Potts.

3. What player on another Big 12 team has surprised you or surpassed your expectations this season?

Clone Chronicles:

Ndamukong Suh. He was talked about in the preseason, but he was better than I thought he would be. He's lived up to the hype and then some, which is hard to say about a player from Nebraska, as Husker fans love to hype their players up!

5. Right now, who is your pick for Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, and Offensive and Defensive Freshman of the Year?

Crimson and Cream Machine:

Offensive Player of the Year: Jerrod Johnson, QB Texas A&M

Defensive Player of the Year: Ndamukong Suh, DT Nebraska

Newcomer of the Year: Daniel Thomas, RB Kansas State

Offensive Freshman of the Year: Landry Jones, QB Oklahoma

Defensive Freshman of the Year: Cody Davis, DB Texas Tech

6. Power rank the teams, 1-12.

texas (3)
Oklahoma State(2)
Oklahoma (2)
Texas Tech
Nebraska (2)
Kansas State (2)
Texas A&M (2)
Kansas (3)
Colorado
Iowa State (2)
Baylor (2)
Missouri

There was a unanimous consensus on who was #1 and #8 in the conference; everything else was all over the place. Teams were ranked by majority vote; if that didn't settle it, the next highest team left out was placed in the rankings, as with Tech at #4 and Colorado at #9. Missouri was the only team left when I was finished tabulating the rankings.

Now, you might want to ask yourself, Where are the other six SB Nation Big 12 blogs, and why haven't they contributed to this Roundtable? Well, I did a little investigating.

Rock Chalk Talk, Bring On The Cats, and Rock M Nation were all busy staring at a bouncing orange-brown ball, looked up blankly, and answered with a chorused, "Huh?" when I asked where their respective replies were.

The staff of Double T Nation was out practicing pirate maneuvers on a marooned ship in the desert (shades of Pirates of the Caribbean?) outside Lubbock, but editor Seth did send me this nice link about Uzoma Nwachukwu, so I gave them a pass.

The Ralphie Report was busy too busy writing about recruiting, and testing out the echo effects of yelling "MUNCHIE!!" in the mountains around Boulder to answer.

Burnt Orange Nation lost all computer access when Sergio Kindle smashed a car into their offices while 'texting' and driving last night.

SBN Big 12 Roundtable – Make The Pain Stop!

ccmachine — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:59:38 -0000

by Orlin Wagner - AP

Oklahoma's passing attack has been painful to watch at times this season. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

View full size photo »

I'm back! Pardon my absence from the blogosphere but until running the Crimson And Cream Machine pays the bills I have to work the real job which requires traveling to Central/South America from time to time. I'd like to say thanks to dishingoutdimes for carrying the torch for me while I was gone. Great job!

Now, on to this week's roundtable discussion and you know the drill. Add your thoughts in the conversation by using the comments section below. Thanks to I Am The 12^th Man for hosting this week!

Offensively, I've actually been surprised with Ryan Broyles. We saw what he was capable of doing last season but didn't know how he would handle being the go-to guy. Its safe to state that he's been the lone bright spot on Oklahoma's this season. Especially when you consider how bad the other receivers have been.

As far as disappointments go for me let's just sum it up by naming every other offensive player other than Broyles.

Defensively Jeremy Beal has been amazing to watch. With all the talent and pro-stock on this unit he has been the shinning star on what has been the best defense in the conference. That doesn't mean that there haven't been disappointments though. I'm pointing my finger at Dominique Franks who has been very solid but has also made his share of, "What the heck was he thinking!" plays.

This one is easy for me! My pick goes to Sergio Kindle of the Texas Longhorns. I actually received emails in the preseason about how Kindle was going to be unstoppable and all Sooners should beware. Of course I wasn't scared because my football playing days are well behind me and therefore I had a better chance of Kindle hitting me with his car than I did of him hitting me on the football field. As it turns out, I'm not the only one as Big 12 offensive players have seemed to elude Kindle's wrath like competent driving skills have eluded Kindle himself.

He's not among the Top 10 sack leaders in the conference and he isn't found among the To 50 leading tacklers in the conference (and there are actually 65 players on that list). I even bought into the hype and placed him our preseason Twelve Players To Watch In The Big 12 list. Turns out that his shining moment of the season so far has been a illegal hit on Texas Tech's Taylor Potts.

3. What player on another Big 12 team has surprised you or surpassed your expectations this season?

Kansas State's Daniel Thomas is the only running back in the Big 12 to crack 1,000 yards so far and he's also the only back to average over 100 rushing yards per game. Who would have thought?

4. Nebraska's Ndamukong Suh is the most dominant defensive tackle I have seen in years. Who do you think is the last dominant defensive tackle you can compare him to at the college level? Is there one to compare him to for the last 10 years?

Tommie Harris comes to mind but I just don't know. Suh is such a dominant player who makes things happen in just about every defensive phase of the game. You need a quarterback pressure/sack? He's your man. A run stopper? He's on it! How about an interception returned for a touchdown? Got it! A blocked field goal? Yep!

5. Right now, who is your pick for Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, and Offensive and Defensive Freshman of the Year?

Offensive Player of the Year: Jerrod Johnson, QB Texas A&M

Defensive Player of the Year: Ndamukong Suh, DT Nebraska

Newcomer of the Year: Daniel Thomas, RB Kansas State

Offensive Freshman of the Year: Landry Jones, QB Oklahoma

Defensive Freshman of the Year: Cody Davis, DB Texas Tech

6. Power rank the teams, 1-12.

1. Texas

2. Oklahoma State

3. Texas Tech

4. Kansas State

5. Nebraska

6. Oklahoma

7. Texas A&M

8. Kansas

9. Colorado

10. Iowa State

11. Baylor

12. Missouri

Taking a Breath :: Looking Ahead to the Texas Tech Defense of 2010

Seth C — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:00:29 -0000

by Dave Weaver - AP

Nebraska's Chris Brooks (1), is brought down by Texas Tech's Cody Davis, in the second half of their NCAA college football game in Lincoln, Neb., Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009. Texas Tech beat Nebraska 31-10.(AP Photo/Dave Weaver)

View full size photo »

THE DEFENSE

With the football bye week, DTN is taking this opportunity to look at Texas Tech's offense and defense in 2010. Up today is a look at the 2-deep, the talented players who are on the roster, but have not contributed much this year, the 2010 defensive recruiting class and a look back at the past 5 years recruits and the washout rate of players who were recruited by Texas Tech.

Who Returns (2010 Projected 2-Deep)

POSITION	PLAYER	STATS	YEAR
DE	Ryan Haliburton	6-4/245	SO
	Aundrey Barr	6-3/238	RS FR
	Christopher Knighton	6-3/240	RS FR
	Kerry Hyder	6-3/255	RS FR
DT	Colby Whitlock	6-2/287	SR
	Chris Perry	6-4/300	JR
	Pearlie Graves	6-1/278	RS FR
	Myles Wade	6-2/340	JR
LB	Bront Bird	6-3/240	SR
	Brian Duncan	6-1/240
	Tyrone Sonier	6-2/225	JR
	Sam Fehoko	5-11/220	JR
	Brandon Mahoney	6-2/203	RS FR
	Dion Chidozie	6-1/194	RS FR
CB	LaRon Moore	5-9/200	SR
	Taylor Charbonnet	5-10/175	JR
	D.J. Johnson	6-0/170	SO
	Yashua Williams	6-3/181	RS FR
S	Franklin Mitchem	6-2/198	SR
	Cody Davis	6-2/200	SO
	Brett Dewhurst	6-0/193	JR
	Will Ford	6-1/186	SO

If it's not incredibly clear, the weakness of this team will be at defensive end. I've mentioned this a couple of times and for 2 years straight, Texas Tech is losing quite a bit of production from the defensive end position. The key to all of this is that no one has seen any of these guys play on the collegiate level, other than Haliburton, who has done reasonably well in some spot duty early in the season and filling in for Howard, Sharpe and Henley during the early part of the season when there were so many injuries.

The strength of the defense will be up front with the return of Whitlock and Perry, who should form a formidable front and I think there's plenty of talent behind them in Graves and Wade. Much like Jacob Karam, Graves travels with the team and that's an indication that his personality in infectious and reading the tea leaves, he is going to be a player next year. I'd also mention that I do not see any of these tackles moving to defensive end. Perhaps that changes during the spring, but for the time being, I think this is your 2-deep.

Linebacker also returns 2 of the 3 starters from this year. Marlon Williams has been servicable, but he's been virtually non-existent for the better part of conference play, this past weekend's game excluded. You can expect Sonier to fill Williams spot at WLB. I'm also intrigued by Mahoney and Chidozie, who perhaps represent a change in the type of linebacker that Ruffin McNeill wants, which are projectable athletes who can run. If you see a change in philosophy, I think it starts at linebacker and continues to the secondary.

Jamar Wall will be the only player that needs replacement in the secondary next year and Johnson will have to step up his game during the offseason. I think the staff is enamored with his athletic ability, but you saw against TAMU how athletic ability can only carry you so far, he's got to be better from a technique standpoint as well. Ford should also take a step in the right direction this offseason and I may be in the minority, but I'd like to see more Charbonnet and expect Y. Williams to get some time next year as well. All in all, a pretty experienced group returning next year.

Lots more after the jump.

Don't Sleep On

DT: Britton Barbee (6-2/296; SR) and David Neill (6-5/280; JR)
DE: Jonathan Brydon (6-3/220; SR)
LB: None
CB: Jarvis Phillips (6-0/189; RS FR)
S: Jared Flannel (5-11/167; JR); Aaron Charbonnet (5-11/201; RS FR); Andre McCorkle (6-2/204; JR); Daniel Cobb (6-1/211; RS FR) and Terrance Bullitt (6-3/182; RS FR)

I think the only guys that I'm comfortable stating could make an impact from this group is Cobb and Bullitt, although I like Barbee and Neill from a depth perspective

Recruiting

POSITION	PLAYER	STATS	RR	STARS
DE	Kedrick Dial	6-5/215	5.6	3
DE	Jackson Richards	6-4/245	5.8	4
DT	Coby Coleman	6-3/290	5.7	3
DT	Lawrence Rumph	6-4/270	5.7	3
LB	Zac Winbush	6-2/200	5.5	3
DB	Urell Johnson	6-1/185	5.6	3
DB	Desmond Martin	6-0/173	5.6	3
DB	Russell Polk	5-11/200	5.6	3
DB	Tre'Vante Porter	6-0/185	5.7	3
DB	Brandon Smith	6-1/175	5.6	3
AVERAGE			5.63	3.09

If additional recruits are added, I think it's on the defensive side of the ball, namely at defensive end or linebacker. The one guy that I think could get some burn next year is Rumph, especially with the lack of defensive end. Keep in mind that Rumph was luke-warm when he committed to Texas Tech, so I would not count on his commitment until he's actually signed. I think you could also see Richards make an impact next year and Dial is another player who might make a difference next year. Richards is one of the more higher rated players of the class, he's a mature player and already has the size to play defensive end on the collegiate level. At this point, I'd imagine that it's about technique more than anything else. The sleeper of this group might be Martin, who was highly impressive in his film and possibly Porter.

Recruit Trending

YEAR	AVG. RR	AVG. STARS	WASHOUT RATE
2010	5.63	3.09	-
2009	5.57	3.00	2/15 = 13.33%
2008	5.63	3.13	5/8 = 62.50%
2007	5.47	2.70	2/10 = 20.00%
2006	5.53	2.89	7/19 = 36.84%

Disclaimer: I'm using the Rivals recruiting rankings and each player is assigned an RR number and a star.

To explain again, the Washout Rate are players who either never made it on campus or played only 1 year. As you'll note, the 2008 class was small, only 16 recruits total (keep in mind that there will be some classes that are smaller than others and a staff is typically limited to a certain number of scholarships in relation to the number of players on scholarship) but you had guys like Joey Fowler, McKinner Dixon, Broderick Marshall, Brandon Sesay and Brandon Reid (who could return to Texas Tech after a stint at JUCO) that all never made it at Texas Tech. This was Ruffin's first class officially, but this was also the same year that he replaced Setencich. If you wanted to take a look at the year that McNeill was in place early as the defensive coordinator then it's really the 2009 class that's his first class from start of the recruiting season to signing day. In that 2009 class you only had Romario Cathey who never made it on campus and James Scott, another guy who has gone the JUCO route but has a good chance of returning to Lubbock.

Post Game Thoughts :: Kansas Jayhawks Edition

Seth C — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 14:00:28 -0000

SBN Box Score :: TTU Box Score :: Leach Post Game Quotes :: Player Post Game Quotes

The Result :: Decidedly Defensive: This might be something that the entire fanbase might have felt prior to yesterday's game. Everyone was a tad bit jumpy, defensive if you will, regarding the current state of this team. I thought before the game that the defensive MVP would be Ruffn McNeill and that's probably a good place to start. Kansas hasn't been the Kansas of prior years, but they've still be pretty good. The Kansas that Texas Tech beat yesterday was dominated defensively, and you can argue over whether it was Kansas or Texas Tech that did the dominating, but 6 sacks, 8 tackles for a loss, 2 forced fumbles, and 10 pass break-ups isn't a bad afternoon defensively.

Join me after the jump for storylines and MVP's.

The Storylines ::

Leach is Emotional: With Saturday's win over Kansas, Leach tied Spike Dykes for the number of wins at Texas Tech. I never thought I'd see the day where our very Captain Mike Leach showed any emotion at any press gathering, but if you ever thought there was a disconnect between Leach and the man that he replaced then I'd encourage you to watch this video of Leach after this win. Here's the text, but the words on paper don't do Leach's emotion justice:

Well, Spike's, you know, it's funny. I think the young guys don't do maybe as good a job of thanking the older guys as they really ought to. You know, when I was coming up in coaching, Spike's a guy that I always really admired. I think that I learned a lot from Spike like all of us do. Well I just really want to thank him, you know. But, you know, there's no new guys without the old guys. The old guys are what made it happen.

There's not much there with those words, but watching the video along with reading the words, you know that Leach respects Dykes and the things he was able to accomplish at Texas Tech. Leach is a fan of history and his comments lend to the idea that he respects the history of his own company.

Who Is Calling Those Running Plays: An absolutely dominating performance from one RB Baron Batch. I think there's this misconception that the lack of running game is a direct reflection on Leach and his willingness to run versus the quarterbacks checking down into a running play. I think the only thing we do know is that I believe that Leach gives his quarterbacks quite a bit of latitude offensively and if the running game isn't working, it's not always a reflection of Leach not wanting to run the ball. If you look at rushing statistics from 2008, the one constant during the 10 game winning streak was that this team ran for over 100 yards every game. That means two things: the quarterback isn't losing a ton of yards on sacks and the running backs are getting the ball.

If my math is correct, Batch ran 8 times for 7 yards in the first half. Perhaps this is a situation where QB Seth Doege didn't check to the running game in the right situations. Complain all you want about QB Taylor Potts, but there's something to be said for his ability to make the right reads and Batch acknowledged that after the game:

Q. How did it feel to rack up so many touchdowns today on a team that's kind of known for passing?
BARON BATCH: I mean, it's nice, but the touchdowns I score is a reflection of everybody doing what they're supposed to. Receivers blocking down field. Linemen doing a great job blocking the quarterback. You know, Potts did a great job checking into those runs. I don't think many of those, maybe two of the plays that we scored on were called in the huddle. But every other run, pretty much, was checked into. That's a great job by Potts just doing what he's supposed to, and recognizing what they're giving us and being a smart player.

Potts didn't have a great passing game, and we'll get to being a leader later, but I hope like hell you're not one of those people who refuse to give credit to a player for making the right calls and the right reads during a game. I have high hopes for Doege, but to me it was clear that Potts had a better command of the offense on Saturday and I think a big part of that command is repetitions. Doege will have that soon enough, but we might all think about giving Potts some love after previous week criticisms from a fanbase. His recognition of the defense may be the reason Batch rushes for all of those yards and touchdowns.

How to Dominate Defensively: Right now, I'm not sure which defense shows up for each and every game, but if Texas Tech gets the same performance last week, then the game is at the very least quite a bit closer.

Yesterday, the entire unit just looked cohesive, all on the same page. I thought McNeill utilized good stunts, blitzed a few times and was successful, pressured Kansas receivers, etc. Generally speaking, the defensive line was active and it was nice to hear DT Colby Whitlock's name more than once during a game. The hits that KU QB Todd Reesing took were sometimes brutal, especially the hit from DE Daniel Howard that caused the fumble. Rajon Henley stepped up his play. But the true difference maker on Saturday was again DE Brandon Sharpe. More about his play below, but there is a distinct difference when Sharpe plays and opposing offenses have to account for him. Sharpe was ready to move forward after last week:

Q. Did what happened last week have an effect on you guys just from a private standpoint, make you mad? Want to come back out there and show that you were a different team today?
BRANDON SHARPE: Yes, I mean, any time you have a loss you have to just fight back and build yourself back up. You don't just sit there and wander on and pout about it. You just have to beat yourself up, go play hard, and comes in the morning. I just want to thank the D-line and the defense because we all work as a team. We make things happen.

I think the linebackers and secondary need some mention here too. LB Marlon Williams has been relatively quiet for most of conference play. His play early in this game was a big part of this team's success and there was that late hit in the dive for that fumble in the 4th quarter, the 4th down and 1, that caused the ball to squirt down the field. Not a huge play, but Williams was going for the ball all game long. I think you also saw the relative strength of Brian Duncan and his ability to stop the run. Just outstanding from that repsect.

The secondary was huge all game long. There were certainly breakdowns, but the hits that S Cody Davis and S Franklin Mitchem had were big. Those two ran down plays all over the field and it was apparent as Davis had 10 tackles and Mitchem had 8 for the game. And CB Jamar Wall's hit on ~~Kerry Meier~~ Jake Sharp (thanks to kayakyakr) does not require a comment:

Doege vs. Potts: First and foremost, QB Seth Doege was in a tough position. The offensive line was an absolute mess in the first half. The problems he suffered were not always related to his play. Doege certainly wasn't perfect and he missed on more than a few throws, but Doege was under a tremendous amount of pressure for the entire 1st half. Leach isn't throwing anyone under the bus, here's Leach on Doege:

I think that he's -- I think Doege's well ahead of schedule. I think that Doege, you know, the toughest thing is there is this area where experience, you know, meets confidence and all those things. And I think that, you know, the biggest thing is that more reps, you know. I think that you know, practice played real well this week. And I think in the game as it started moving faster, you know, he's a conscientious guy, too. He didn't want to make a mistake. So I think things moved slowly, and our tempo was slower than it should have been.

With that being said, I was shocked to see QB Taylor Potts enter game in the 2nd half. It was painfully obvious that Doege was having a tough go at it, and I think Leach made the right decision. The Texas Tech passing offense only managed 253 yards for the game and Potts averaged a measly 4.9 yards per attempt with 1 interception that he threw behind his receiver. But Potts managed the game and I thought he managed the game well during the second half. Go read the entire post-game quotes from Leach, where he goes on a ramble that will eventually make it's way to some highlight reel, but the point that sometimes gets lost, and I would guess that Leach struggles with this issue as well, is that quarterback is a tough position to master in his offense.

Doege will be fine, but the offense certainly did respond in the 2nd half.

Offensive Line Mess and Eventual Rebound: The offensive line started C Shawn Byrnes, LT Marlon Winn, LG Lonnie Edwards, RG Brandon Carter and RT LaAdrian Waddle. Carter pulls a hamstring on the 2nd play of the game and things get messier. Mickey Okafor took over at right guard and then things started to get messy. It only took Doege getting pounded a couple of times to realize that this wasn't working. Relatively early in the first half, Wynn was moved back to right tackle after getting Doege annihilated and Chris Olson was moved to left tackle and things actually started to settle down. It wasn't until Carter made his way back to right guard that the offensive line truly clicked and the running game picked up. If there's one thing that the offensive line can say is that they persevered. It wasn't always pretty, but at the end of the day, the offense persevered.

The Offensive MVP :: RB Baron Batch: A special and well-deserved MVP for Batch. At the end of the day, Batch finished with 131 yards on 17 carries and 4 touchdowns.

The Defensive MVP :: DE Brandon Sharpe: As mentioned above, the guy is a difference maker and makes things happen defensively.

The Special Teams MVP :: Coverage Units: I think everyone one of these guys that play on this unit deserves some credit. For the day, Kansas averaged 15.2 yars per kickoff return and 0.5 yards per punt return. Not to mention, Texas Tech almost blocked a punt, and looked pretty good doing it. I think we need to see more of this aggressive type of play, but there's no doubt that from a coverage perspective, the special teams were outstanding and really limited the Jayhawks.

Five Reasons Texas Tech Will Win :: Kansas Jayhawks Edition

Seth C — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:00:44 -0000

More photos » by Mike Fuentes - AP

about 1 month ago: Texas Tech quarterback Seth Doege throws in the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game against Texas A&M in Lubbock, Texas, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009. Doege came off the bench to replace the starter Taylor Potts. Texas A&M won 52 - 30. (AP Photo/Mike Fuentes)

Browse more photos »

This weekly feature considers five reasons why Texas Tech will win and five reasons Texas Tech will lose to each opponent. Related: Five Reasons Texas Tech Will Lose :: Kansas Jayhawks Edition.

Reason #1 :: Might Be Motivated: I think Texas Tech fans could collectively hit this reason right out of the park. If this team isn't highly motivated on Saturday afternoon, then I shudder what will happen the rest of the season. I know this is supposed to be 5 reasons why I believe Texas Tech will win, but there better be a whole lot of fire from this club, both offensively and defensively. At this point of the season, it's really not about comments made about players' girlfriends or learning about transitive results in college football, it's about execution on the field. In comparison to last year, this team has really had to pull itself up a number of times, namely because of injuries or a suspension or two, and I'm hoping that this will serve the team well moving forward.

Reason #2 :: Do What You Do Best: I don't know if I need to consider the TAMU game an anomaly or if I need to base my thoughts on the collective whole of the season. For the season, this defense has been pretty good, and prior to last week was 50th in the nation in total defense, but was quickly reletaged to 78th in the nation after last week. Despite only having 1 sack last week, the defense as a unit is still 11th in the nation in total sacks. I know this defensive line can play better and I know that the linebackers can play better. I've seen it with my own two eyes. I can't say that I know any of these players, and this somewhat relates to item 1 above, but I hope like hell that the front 7 took last week's game personally. This is a pride issue with the team. I've seen DT Colby Whitlock dominate a game all by himself. I've seen the defensive end trio of Howard, Henley and Sharpe get in a quarterback's back pocket all day long. All I'm asking is for containment and collapsing the pocket. I've seen it happen many times before, let's see it again.

Reason #3 :: Lean On The Running Playmakers: I would truly appreciate it if someone could just send a memo of this reason to Captain Leach. To wit -- I know that you believe in your quarterbacks and I know that you believe that you can transform just about any human into a NCAA leading passing machine, but I think it might be in your best interest and the best interest of this team if you deferred to certain playmakers on this team who tend rush the football more than pass the football. I'm not at all asking that you abandon what you do best, and we all know that that is, but there's real talent at the running back position. In the second half of the game last week RB Baron Batch had 2 rushing attempts and RB Harrison Jeffers had 1 (please ignore the fact that he fumbled -- a complete fluke). I'm pretty sure that I've mentioned the running game a time or two and even yesterday, well respected DTN reader texastfan made a similar comment about the running game. I think you help out your offensive line and quarterback immensely if you can consistently run the ball.

Reason #4 :: Pressure Receivers: The more I think about it this week, I think I'm starting to understand McNeill's decision to play off of the TAMU receivers last week. McNeill was without his star freshman S Will Ford and reliable S Brett Dewhurst, and it's likely that this pair will also be out this week as well. Despite those two being out, this Texas Tech defense still leads the Big 12 in passes defended. I'm thinking that McNeill knew that he was going to have to play S Julius Howard and CB D.J. Johnson for a good part of Texas Tech's nickel and dime packages and McNeill didn't want to expose the defense to any big plays. I've tended to notice that McNeill is much more conservative at home and without being too critical, I think we can safely say that this failed miserably. This week however, I think McNeill re-thinks his strategy a bit. We know that starting safeties Cody Davis and Franklin Mitchem are completely healthy and we also know that senior CB Brent Nickerson filled in nicely at safety when either Davis or Mitchem were injured. I know that this guy isn't the biggest guy, but he's fast and he's reliable and he's proven himself on special teams, but I'd love for Ruff to give CB Taylor Charbonnet a shot at the other defensive back spot. It's obvious that what happened last week was an abomination, let's think outside the box a bit. I think what you may be dealing with in Nickerson and Charbonnet are two intelligent players that get the system. They may not have the physical ability to play like Johnson, who is physically gifted, but young, and Howard, who has struggled to find a role for much of his career at Texas Tech, but I think they'll play more aggressively and they won't get you beat. That's Ruff's mantra, I'm sure of it and I don't think Charbonnet or Nickerson will let Ruff down.

Reason #5 :: Then Open It Up: I'm not trying to be contradictory, but I have no doubt that once item 3 above is accomplished, it's going to absolutely open up the passing game for QB Seth Doege. Leach mentioned that Doege had good tempo when he came into the game and there's no doubt that the team responded. However, Doege also didn't press, which can be a good thing and a bad thing. Doege's longest pass of the night was 20 yards and his yards per attempt was 5.8 for the game. Granted, his receives didn't help him out a whole bunch, but part of Doege's success will be making plays down the field. There's plenty of guys to choose from: Alexander Torres, Tramain Swindall, Detron Lewis, Lyle Leong, Austin Zouzalike, etc. Once Kansas is backed off by the running game, Doege has to test the secondary and not just defer to either wide receiver and/or running back screens. There may be some mistakes made along the way, but playing it too safe isn't going to win this football game.

Post Game Thoughts :: Texas A&M Aggies Edition

Seth C — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:24:23 -0000

TTU Box Score :: Post Game Quotes

The Result :: Ugly: I'll get into this quite a bit more later, but it was really an ugly game from a Texas Tech perspective. That's not to take anything away from the Aggies. They whipped the Red Raiders on Saturday night, so rather than re-hash that each and every time, just know, I'm giving credit where credit is due at the beginning.

The Storylines ::

Losing Stinks: I'll never forget this game. I was meeting my law school friends in Tulsa for the weekend, playing a bit of golf (I hate golf and consider this to just be an excuse to have a few beers), drinking a bit of beer and watching the game. I left the Friday night before the game and received a phone call at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday morning from my Mom who said that my grandfather had passed away about a half an hour earlier that morning. The service wasn't going to be until Monday and I had already driven to Tulsa, so I decided to spend the day hanging out with my friends, try to enjoy my time with them and then leave after the TT vs. TAMU game to go home and then make the drive to the service. The outcome of the game couldn't have been any better, it was pure magic, and the feeling of a win was absolutely incredibly, but as I climbed into my truck for the 5 hour drive back home, that feeling was as fleeting as this loss perhaps should be. I'm not trying to diminish everyone's passion about their team. Hell, if that passion wasn't here DTN would be as successful as I think it is. I'm just talking about me personally, in that as great as that 2006 win was, it was just that: a win on a football field that I have nothing to do with other than an emotional investment for my team. The 5 hour drive back wasn't about that win, it was about other things, namely my grandfather, and sometimes, whether or not you believe in coincidence or a higher calling or what have you, but sometimes things happen in life that lead us to take a step back a bit and realize that as great as a game as this is (and it is), its still just a game.

More storylines and MVP's after the jump.

It Was The Defense: There's plenty of blame to go around, but the defense was just awful. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out, 456 yards later, it was truly the defense. And the strange thing about all of this is that the Aggies didn't do anything truly exotic, I'm pretty sure that they ran what they always ran, but the key for the Texas Tech defense was that they just played soft. From the corners, to the linebackers, to the defensive line, they just played soft all game long. I'd love to tell you that it was just one phase over another, but there were too many times, all game long, where the Aggie receiver could have walked 10 yards down the field, and caught the pass without much interference. An incredibly young offensive line should not have dominated this defensive line. The linebackers couldn't put a hit on a running back to save their lives. We've talked about how a win can be a team effort, and I think this loss is the same way. There wasn't one phase of the defense that I thought came out ready to play.

DTN will have plenty of people who will throw their arms up and declare that this whole Ruffin McNeill experiment has failed. That Texas Tech needs someone new and fresh and McNeill is not the guy for the Red Raiders. It's strange how just last week, and the week before last, many thought that McNeill had turned this around a bit, myself included. For those of you completely upset, McNeill didn't miss the tackles, or was unable to get pressure on Johnson, or close gaps to tackle a running back. A fairly simple 4 man front has worked really well most of the year and there's no reason to think that it wouldn't work on Saturday as well. That's not to say that McNeill doesn't deserve any blame, he does. There should have been adjustments, and trying something new, but some blame needs to be on the players as well for not executing.

Before everyone goes bonkers, I'd just like to remind everyone that the 2009 recruiting class was McNeill's first from start to finish. And according to the rankings, it was one of the best defensive classes ever at Texas Tech, and the 2010 class is shaping up to be even better than that. If I had to guess, no one wants to change the make-up of this defense more than McNeill, but he was handcuffed with a defensive coordinator who did things his way (Setencich). Just take a look at the type and caliber of player he's recruited and are already playing (Will Ford and D.J. Johnson). It's tough being patient, and we've all had to be patient for a long time, so I feel your pain, but no one has recruited like McNeill is currently recruiting defensive players to come to Texas Tech.

Being Prepared: When HC Mike Leach made comments after the game about his staff, I don't think this was any sort of lip-service, I think he meant what he said.

You know, in the -- like I said, it starts with the coaching staff. But in the back of our minds as coaches, and in the back of on our minds as players, well, ha-ha-ha, he-he-he, we pounded Kansas State. Kansas State pounded A&M. So therefore, we're really going to pound Texas A&M.
Snip

But seeing what happened here at Kansas State, well, we only have to work this hard versus A&M. Well, what a bunch of baloney that is. If we're out there having practices and doing all those things and working to develop our skills, as coaches we've got to reach the players. As players, they've got to have great effort. It was a total team loss. We need to have a great week of practice and go out and have a great game next week.

Leach goes on to say that he is proud of his staff and his players:

As disappointing as today's game was, I'm proud of our coaching staff, proud of our players. And we have some work to do. And we obviously fell in some potholes that other people ahead of us fell into. And it's disappointing that we weren't able to you know, rise above the examples. But we weren't today. So we need to figure out as coaches and players how we can do better next time.

But when Leach is pointing fingers, I think the first place he points is his staff and I think that includes himself. The defense didn't look ready to play and the offense looked contrived. Leach also mentioned after the game that the mistakes were about technique and attention to detail with the small things and consistency from week to week. I think this is what makes college athletics so unique is that it can be a very different team from week to week.

No Quarterback Controversy: I think this may be one of my flaws as a fan, in that I get attached to players, despite not knowing them from Adam. I want to see them succeed, and I feel that way about Taylor Potts. It's obvious that he's not in the game. It's terribly obvious, but at the very same moment that I can see that Potts isn't the player that I hoped he would become. I'm sad for him, and I cannot imagine how he feels about the entire situation.

There's no way that he wants to play poorly, or that any of this is intentional. I have no doubt that he's giving it his all, but at the end of the day, it's not enough and that thought depresses me a bit. I keep thinking that Potts has to go to class on Monday, that he's given up the past 3 years of his life so that he could be a part of this team and wait in line behind Harrell and have his shot. And now that shot is clearly not a viable option, unless there are further injuries, just doesn't seem right.

I empathize for Potts.

Doege is Okay: QB Seth Doege was okay in his limited action and Leach was fairly honest in his assessment:

So we've got to mix the quarterbacks and find the best one and put the best one in there. But I thought that Doege, given the situation, did some good things. And I think somewhere between confidence and routine plays and not trying to make too much happen, and you know I think that's where Potts needs to settle down.

There was nothing threatening about going down the field, a part of that goes to the Aggies who dropped just about everyone except for the front 4. At the point that Doege entered into the game, I thought that the prospects of a monumental comeback seemed incredibly remote. I hate to be a non-believer, but the odds were against the Red Raiders and that's a ton of pressure for a redshirt freshman to take on his shoulders. Doege will have to be better at getting the ball down the field, otherwise Kansas is going to play Texas Tech in the exact same manner. If there's no threat of going deep, and there wasn't really all game long, then there's no reason to worry about the underneath stuff. Yards don't always equal points and Doege must look down field, which he did later during the game, especially over the middle.

Offensive Play Calling: In the first half, it seemed to me, and I'm not connected in any way shape or form, but that Leach was the one calling the incredibly short passes early and most of the game while Potts was in the game. Maybe I'm completely wrong about all of this, but it just seemed incredibly intentional and forced for a good part of the game. I know that the quarterbacks usually have the latitude to make adjustments, but it just seemed that the decisions that Potts was making were incredibly quick and intentional. If that's the case then I can see two scenarios, which is that Leach wanted Potts to feel comfortable, so he scripted plays to get Potts into the groove, which never panned out. The second part would be that if it wasn't working, then why did it seemingly continue for the rest of the half. And we haven't even touched on the rushing game, which was non-existent in the 2nd half. Batch seemed to be carving away yards in the 1st half, but in the 2nd half, it seemed as if Leach gave up way too early in the running game.

The Offensive MVP :: WR Alexander Torres: Torres made the Texas Tech offensive play of the game, the key here being that this was too easy of a choice as the plays were few and far between.

The Defensive MVP :: S Cody Davis: Davis probably had the biggest hit of the game, which may have been the highlight of the game. This probably speaks volumes about the overall play of the defense.

The Special Teams MVP :: K Donnie Carona: Carona did a much better job of kicking the ball today, especially into the endzone. Is it sad that this is the MVP? Yep, but Carona did kick a heck of lot better.

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 10.14.09

Seth C — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 10:47:15 -0000

Ask a Husker: Make sure and check out Corn Blight's FanPost, Ask a Husker and feel free to ask just about anything you want. I had told Jon that with my work schedule this week, I wouldn't be able to properly answer questions, but I'll see if we can't get something similar up on Corn Nation and would even appreciate you guys helping out with answering questions about our Red Raiders.

Ball-Control: LAJ's Don Williams (be careful when clicking on the link as a video starts whether you like it or not) writes that the defense will try and stop the Nebraska ball-control offense and DC Ruffin McNeill says that the Cornhuskers changed their offense before the Texas Tech game last year:

"They changed their whole offense before our game last year,’’ said McNeill, who said what Nebraska ran was nothing like what he had watched that week on videotape. "Totally different plays. Totally different passes.

And LB Bront Bird sounds as if he's done this before:

"They like to run the ball, and they like to bootleg,’’ Tech strong-side linebacker Bront Bird said. "That’s one thing they like to do is run a lot of stretch plays — get us used to those — and then fake a stretch and run a bootleg. They kept our offense off the field a lot.

"I think we’ve all improved as a defense and as individual players. We didn’t feel that we played as good as we could have last year. We’re excited about this challenge.’’

Football Notebook: LAJ's Don Williams writes that the Red Raiders are finally getting healthy as FS Cody Davis was back at practice as was C Shawn Byrnes, DE Daniel Howard and QB Taylor Potts . . . Williams also reports that there is no chance of the TT vs. TAMU game being on television . . . OL Coach Moore thinks that DT Ndamukong Suh and RG Brandon Carter will be lined up against each other almost all night:

"From what I’ve seen, he plays every snap over the right guard,’’ Moore said. "He plays 95 percent of the snaps over the offensive right guard. Same thing last year. He moved to the nose maybe four plays (in the Tech-Nebraska game). Other than that, he played over Carter every snap.’’

Lots of Balance: DT's Alex Ybarra writes the team is finally playing some balanced football, and QB Steven Sheffield agrees:

"We needed this week to be that week that everything came together,’’ said quarterback Steven Sheffield, who spelled starter Taylor Potts and had 370 yards and five touchdown passes by halftime against the Wildcats — both school records. "We hadn’t played a full game on all three sides of the ball – just played a smooth game. Since day one, that hasn’t happened this season."

And RT Marlon Winn thinks that this is all part of the maturation process:

"It’s something we have been working for and something were finally getting to experience," said right tackle Marlon Winn of the balance. "We experienced it for one game, and I think everybody liked the way it felt."

Texas Tech Links: TR's RRR with a comparison of the QB's, Steven Sheffield and Zac Lee . . .

Nebraska Cornhusker Links: CN's Corn Blight notes that tackles and sacks aren't the only measure of how good DT Ndamukong Suh is and also notes that backup RB Rex Burkhead is out with a foot injury . . . BRN's Steve Hanway believes that Captain Leach is lacking something . . . StatePaper's Samuel Mckewon talks with C Jacob Hickman about the Texas Tech defense:

"Pretty vanilla," Hickman said. "They don’t blitz much. They’re gonna play one or two defenses. They’re gonna play so they don’t make mistakse. Basically their goal is to let their offense score points and minimize mistakes.

. . . HuskerExtra writes that Bo Pelini is confident in their offense . . . Omaha.com with lots of notes from yesterday's NU press conference . .

Neglected Video: It's after the jump and it's a sportacular Pete Christie going one-on-one with Captain Mike Leach . . .

Open Practice: Pat Knight and his 2009-2010 squad will have an open practice at 5:00 p.m. this Friday at the United Spirit Arena. See the link for more details, and this is yet another reason I need to move back to Lubbock.

The promised neglected video: