SB Nation - Harrison Jeffers

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 11.17.09

Seth C — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:53:39 -0000

Sticking With Potts: LAJ's Don Williams writes (also found here with DT's Alex Ybarra) that Captain Mike Leach admitted yesterday that he should have stuck with Potts on Saturday, which seems to me to be a clear indication that Leach will be going with Potts for the rest of the year, barring some unforeseen event. Here's Leach:

"I probably should have kept (Taylor) Potts in the whole game,’’ Leach said during his weekly Monday news conference. "I should have played him the whole game.’’

Asked if that thought was based on what he saw from Potts or what he didn’t see from Steven Sheffield, Leach said, "I base it more just on the shuffling around. I don’t need to mess with a bunch of shuffling around.’’

And Leach has quarterback regret:

"Well, the last time was when I felt like I messed with Chris Todd a little too much with regard to Graham Harrell that first year (Harrell started),’’ Leach said. "I should have just kept Graham in. There were several series I played with Chris Todd. Not to take anything away from Chris Todd, and part of it is you want to give a guy perspective. But part of it is there’s a disruption to it, too. I got a little fancy with that, I thought. That’d probably be the last time.’’

I find this fascinating that Leach has this sort of regret (and regret is probably not the right word, but just go with me) regarding his quarterback play. I think Leach knows quarterbacks and he probably thought that he may have gotten a bit fancy on Saturday.

OU Tail Whipping: FWST's Dwain Price and DT's Alex Ybarra write that the Texas Tech players have not forgotten last year's loss to Oklahoma and this quote from RT Marlon Winn made me laugh out loud this morning:

"The thing I remember the most about that game is when the Kriss Kross song 'Jump’ came on, there were 80-year old women getting out of their wheel chairs and jumping up and down," offensive tackle Marlon Winn said. "The whole stadium was jumping up and down, and it was just demoralizing and it was one of the most humbling situations you can ever be in.

And Leach says that the team needs to put that loss behind them:

"They need to not worry about it," he said. "They need to forget it. All that counts is the next game. Nothing from that game impacts this game. There’s not one play that we made or they made that affects this game. Any reflection on that is a complete waste of time."

FWST's Dwain Price also logs a couple of blog posts, the first from LB Bront Bird, who says that Texas Tech has a lot of respect for OU:

In the ultimate respect paid to OU, Bird said: "One thing I know about Oklahoma is that _ we always say this as a joke _ whenever they step out on the field and they are coming out of their tunnel, that is what some of the best athletes in the whole country look like and it’s true. It doesn’t matter if it is their second string, third string, whatever.

"Those guys get amazing recruits and whoever it is going to be that lines up is going to be good. And you can never underestimate a team like that, when you have that kind of recruiting and that kind of coaching and that kind of school history.''

. . . and the second blog post with a little more detail about how Leach wants the players to forget about 2008 and the seniors don't need to get all emotional:

"We're looking forward to them as well as coming in and playing another game,'' Leach said. "We missed too many opportunities this last game.

"We're preparing to do the best we can and see where it takes us. Right now we are a team that is explosive, but we're not real consistent.''

Snip

"It's kind of a milestone that it's their last home game,'' Leach said of the seniors. "We have two more games after that (if they are bowl eligible) and we don't need a bunch of bologna.''

Football Notebook: LAJ's Don Williams football notebook suggests that there's a reason why Harrison Jeffers has not been utilized recently:

"Some of that’s kind of up to Harrison," Leach said. "When Harrison plays hard, he has a tendency to get into the lineup. When Harrison jogs around, he tends to not be in the lineup. So we’ll see how that goes."

. . . Leach would like for his receivers to play better this week:

"We had a bunch of receivers just eat, ride and warm up this last week," Leach said, "and they need to take it upon themselves to improve. This business that I’m going to pretend it’s otherwise, that’s just not the case. So I’ll address that with them – and have, and will do it repeatedly."

. . . and your captains for the week are IR Austin Zouzalik, RB Baron Batch, RT Marlon Winn, DE Daniel Howard and LB Bront Bird (congrats to all 5 players). . .

Oklahoma Sooner and Big 12 Links: NewsOK's Jake Trotter with an OU football notebook and a bit about the new uniforms that OU will wear on Saturday (I do not understand why OU didn't save these for a home game) . . . LAJ's Adam Zuvanich has lots of Big 12 notes (this is actually an enjoyable read for me personally and I do not know why it's relegated to his blog rather than the actual paper) . . . TR's dedfischer with an OSU post-morten . . .

Tairu Named Big 12 Rookie of the Week: Congrats to G David Tairu, who just wrapped up being named the MVP of the Duel in the Desert on Sunday, to being named the Big 12 Rookie of the Week:

Tairu was named the MVP of the Duel in the Desert Tournament as the Red Raiders started the season with a 3-0 record. The junior guard led the team in scoring in two of three contests, averaging 14.0 points for the weekend. He started all three games, connecting on 14-of-27 (.519) shots from the field. He was also 5-of-9 (.556) from the floor and 9-of-11 (.818) from the charity stripe, while adding three assists and three steals. Tairu’s accolade marks just the sixth time in Big 12 history a Tech player has won rookie honors.

Neglected video after the jump, both football and basketball.

Neglected Video: KAMC and Fox34 with G David Tairu winning MVP of the Duel in the Desert . . . Fox34 on who will play quarterback against OU (there's no answer, it's what you would call a tease) . . . NewsChannel 11 with some clips from Leach's press conference from yesterday:

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

Seth C — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:00:30 -0000

More photos » by David J. Phillip - AP

2 months ago: Texas Tech running back Harrison Jeffers (10) leaps over Houston linebacker C.J. Cavness (40) as he rushes for a first down during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009 in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

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THE OFFENSE

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 offensive 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
LT	Terry McDaniel	6-7/335	SO
	Chris Olson	6-5/296	SR
LG	Lonnie Edwards	6-5/290	JR
	Chris Olson	6-5/296	SR
C	Justin Keown	6-4/302	JR
	-------
RG	Mickey Okafor	6-7/319	JR
	Deveric Gallington	6-4/350	JR
RT	LaAdrian Waddle	6-6/350	SO
	Joe King	6-6/319	SO
QB	Steven Sheffield	6-4/190	SR
	Taylor Potts	6-4/218	SR
RB	Baron Batch	5-11/205	SR
	Harrison Jeffers	5-9/204	SO
HR	Tramain Swindall	6-3/180	JR
	Adam James	6-3/216	JR
YR	Detron Lewis	6-0/205	SR
	Austin Zouzalik	6-1/181	SO
XR	Lyle Leong	6-1/165	SR
	Eric Ward	5-11/202	FR
ZR	Alexander Torres	6-2/196	SO
	Jacoby Franks	6-1/185	JR

So there's definitely some advantages to having so many injuries in a season. Right now, there's not any one position where there is not a returning starter on offense. Think about that for a minute. Almost the entire 2-deep has at least 1 start. If there was ever a reason to look forward to 2010 it's the offense. Right now, the offensive roster appears to be a well-rounded group, probably because of necessity. This doesn't take into account the various redshirts from the 2009 recruiting class that could step up and help and the other players that have experience, but just don't fit on the 2-deep.

Lots more after the jump.

Don't Sleep On:

OL: Kyle Clark (6-5/277; RS FR); Blake Emert (6-5/287; JR); and Joel Gray (6-6/306; RS FR)
WR: E.J. Celestie (5-11/174; RS FR); Aaron Fisher (6-3/182; RS FR); Derrick Mays (6-0/166; RS FR) and Cornelius Douglas (5-9/193; SO)
RB: Eric Stephens (5-8/182; SO) and Aaron Crawford (5-11/204; JR)
QB: Seth Doege (6-2/205; SO) (6-4/218; SR) and Jacob Karam (6-1/205; RS FR)

Irregardless of whether or not you like Potts or not as a player, you could probably argue that Leach might put Doege ahead of Potts on the 2-deep next year, but based on last week's results, that may not be the case. Still, Leach is still undecided on some level and there's competition, which is good. There's really not any one position that's going to be lacking over the next few years, especially if some of the younger players develop as we expect. And I'd also add that although Scotty Young (detailed below) appears to be just a tremendous football player, I'd just like to remind everyone that Karam is traveling with the team every week. That says something about his personality and what the coaches think of him. Don't anoint Young too quickly. It's easy to get wrapped up in the new guy, but sometimes it's the least likely guy that can lead your football team and Karam had an impressive pedigree -- 3,291 yards / 38 TD's / 10 INT's (thinking of some guy named Sheffield). Let's also not forget that Ward was a 4-star receiver last year, came to Texas Tech early and I'm hoping that he can make a significant impact sooner rather than later.

Recruiting, The 2010 Class

POSITION	PLAYER	STATS	RR	STARS
QB	Scotty Young	6-3/185	5.8	4
RB	Delans Griffin	5-10/181	5.8	4
RB	Aaron Spikes	5-10/185	5.6	3
WR	Kadron Boone	6-1/190	5.8	4
WR	Shawn Corker	6-1/183	5.7	3
OL	Beau Carpenter	6-7/269	5.6	3
OL	Eric Lawson	6-6/320	5.5	3
OL	James Polk	6-7/290	5.6	3
OL	Denton Simek	6-6/260	5.6	3
OL	Javius Townsend	6-4/297	5.6	3
AVERAGE			5.66	3.33

I think it's safe to say that offensively, the class is probably finished. Leach is recruiting at every position and just about every one of these recruits are high quality players and this year, there are no 2-star players on either side of the ball, which is an upgrade in talent. If I had to guess which players receive early playing time, you should probably consider Boone and maybe Corker. Both are supremely talented I also wouldn't be surprised if Griffin gets a look as well. I'd also imagine that considering the depth on the offensive line, all of these guys should redshirt.

Recruit Trends

YEAR	AVG. RR	AVG. STARS	WASHOUT RATE
2010	5.66	3.33	-
2009	5.51	3.10	1/10 = 10.00%
2008	5.58	3.00	0/7 = 0.00%
2007	5.49	2.80	6/15 = 40.00%
2006	5.47	2.79	8/14 = 57.14%

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

I probably need some explaining as the wash-out rate, which is the rate of players that either played just 1 season for Texas Tech or never really made it on campus. The reason to even judge some of these players is that the rankings can look great, but if the players do not contribute or make it on campus, then you haven't done much. I think it's also important to add that the washout rate is something that's going to happen to any college football team and the trend that you would prefer to see is the rate to be lower than it was in 2006, but I think the key is that in 2006 and in previous years, the staff had two options: take safe, but less talented athletes or take more risky, but more talented players. I think that's the reason for the high washout rate in 2006 and in 2007, however, as the team improves, I think a staff is able to recruit a higher caliber player, both personally and on the field.

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)

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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.

Game Day Buff Bites - Colorado Buffaloes vs. Kansas State Wildcats

irish1611 — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 13:42:16 -0000

Buffs aim for road reversal - The Denver Post

CU is 2-16 on the road under coach Dan Hawkins, including last year's game against Florida State at Jacksonville, a contest that was technically a "neutral site" game although it was played in Florida and more than 1,700 miles from Boulder. The Buffs have lost their past nine road games — including Florida State — and have not won a Big 12 road contest since Oct. 27, 2007, when they beat Texas Tech 31-26. That year, CU also beat Baylor in Waco. Those are the two road wins in the Hawkins era.

KSU ready for Hansen this year - Boulder Daily Camera

It makes sense for CU to do all it can to force that passing game to produce today. If the Buffs allow running back Daniel Thomas, the Big 12's third leading rusher, to have his way, it might be a long day for the defense.

CU wants to stuff the run and make the Wildcats pass. It has been a winning formula for CU twice this season and led to some near-misses as well. Defensive coordinator Ron Collins has the Buffs playing well after a slow start this season. The most dramatic improvement has come in stopping the run. CU has held Kansas and Texas -- both nationally ranked programs -- to a combined total of 38 rushing yards the past two weeks once sack yardage is deducted.

Buffs seek way to win when they leave the state - The Longmont Times-Call

Colorado-Kansas State matchups - Boulder Daily Camera

Ringo picks the Buffs 24 - 21, even suggesting that Colorado matches up even or better against Kansas State in every phase of the game except special teams. Yes, coaching was included in the head to head matchups where the Buffs were considered even with Kansas State.

Big 12 midseason awards, from the haves to the have-nots

Here is a stat I didn't know about Jimmy Smith...who knows if its accurate, I am almost positive it isn't because I know both Shipely and Briscoe caught a ball against him in man coverage but still like the recognition for Smith:

Biggest surprises: In order, the candidates are Colorado cornerback Jimmy Smith, who has allowed one completion in man coverage; Texas Tech running back Harrison Jeffers; Texas defensive tackles Kheeston Randall and Ben Alexander; and OSU receiver Hubert Anyiam.

Uncoach of the Year: Colorado's Dan Hawkins wins top — rather, bottom — honors in falling way short of his bid for 10 wins and waiting too long to switch to quarterback Tyler Hansen. However, Sherman could edge out Hawkins if the Aggies win fewer than six games, which is likely.

Big 12 commissioner Beebe preaches patience over realignment - Kansas City Star

"I don’t think it’s healthy to have one division that’s just clearly dominant," he said. Beebe preaches a mixture of creativity and patience. "At the beginning of the conference (1996), you had Kansas State, Nebraska and Colorado were the dominant teams," he said. "Texas and Oklahoma weren’t as good. I think it could be cyclical and that we could be in the situation where that might turn around someday."

Buffs out to earn respect this year - Boulder Daily Camera

"I feel a little bit of anger," Cory Higgins said as he looked around the room at his more popular and appreciated peers. "I just want to earn respect I guess. It`s about that time. I`ll use this as motivation." Higgins, selected All-Big 12 third team as a sophomore, has earned individual accolades. The 6-foot-5 junior guard led the conference in steals (59), was fifth in the conference in scoring (17.5 ppg) and also led CU in rebounding (5.4 rpg) last season.

Friday football roundup | After School
Colorado Buffaloes commit Nick Hirschman is piling up the stats right now. Last night, he completed 12 passes for 413 yards and five scores. His Los Gatos team won 47 - 0.

Seniors Nick Hirschman and Andrew Berg put on a show, hooking up for four touchdowns, including back-to-back strikes of 70 and 69 yards. Hirschman finished 12-of-17 for 413 yards and five touchdowns; Berg had 247 yards receiving and four touchdowns. Jake Hackman-Salazar added 166 receiving yards and a TD. Joey Visuzzi had 19 tackles, Alec Gletzer added 14 tackles and Charlie Zweng had two fumble recoveries for Los Gatos.

Five Reasons Texas Tech Will Win :: Texas A&M Aggies Edition

Seth C — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:30:28 -0000

More photos » by Dave Weaver - AP

2 months ago: Nebraska defenders Ndamukong Suh (93), Pierre Allen (95) and Jared Crick (94), tackle Texas Tech quarterback Steven Sheffield (1), in the first half of their NCAA college football game in Lincoln, Neb., Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009.(AP Photo/Dave Weaver)

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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 :: Texas A&M Aggies Edition.

Reason #1 :: No Reason to Choose: Sports-talk would not be sports-talk without a quarterback controversy and we've got plenty of fans choosing between QB Taylor Potts and QB Steven Sheffield. The thing that interests me more than anything else is that right now, there's really no reason to choose, and I tend to think that's a good thing. This is one of those times where I tend to just enjoy the ride, whoever is calling the shots. I know that I don't have any control over who plays or what happens during the game and it can be entertaining to watch. Texas Tech hasn't had the opportunity to argue over a backup quarterback in years. We're hungry. Fortunately, things like this tend to work themselves out. I think Texas Tech is also fortunate to have 2 outstanding signal callers, and despite the thought that Potts may not read defenses as quickly as Sheffield, he's still pretty damned good. In fact, I was looking at Cody Hodges numbers from 2005 and he completed 66.5% of his passes and had 31 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Roughly speaking, Potts would have similar numbers to Hodges if you were to play out his numbers for the rest of the year, 31.2 TD's and 14 INT's. Quite simply, I appreciate the lively debate, but to say that Texas Tech is in going to have issues because Potts is on the field seems to be a stretch.

Reason #2 :: A Defense that Stops the Run: The Aggies aren't necessarily known to be a running team, but in games where the Aggies have won, they've run an average of 47 attempts for 244.00 yards a game. In TAMU's 3 losses, it's 33 attempts for 69.67 yards. You might say that stopping the run might be of the utmost importance on Saturday night and I'm guessing that the DC McNeill understands the importance in stopping the Aggie rushing game. At this time last year, the Red Raiders were also 24th in the nation, having played 4 patsies in a row and then a tough Nebraska team. This year, it's been quite a difference mix and I'm thinking that the defense won't be perfect, I think this game is going to be about fundamentals on the defensive side of the ball, which includes stopping the run.

Reason #3 :: Reliance on the Run Game: Do unto others . . . well, you know what I mean. We talked yesterday about how the relatively new left tackle could be problematic for Potts, but I think part of the solution is to have ensure, whether it be from Leach or from Potts checking down, to make sure that the running game is an integral part of the game-plan. On paper, it certainly doesn't look pretty, but the truth of the matter is that RB Baron Batch is averaging, yes averaging, 9.29 yards a carry and 5 TD's. RS freshman Harrison Jeffers is averaging 4.67 yards a carry and 4 touchdowns. I don't know if the slow start to the running game was a product of Leach's play-calling or Potts not checking down, but making it a priority on Saturday is key to keep the heat off of Potts. If TAMU is slightly concerned about the running game, it theoretically should give Potts a bit more time, and the more time he has the better off he is as a quarterback.

Reason #4 :: Pressure on Johnson: Henley? Check. Howard? Check. Sharpe? Check. For the first time last week you saw how having 3 healthy defensive ends could impact a game. Daniel Howard gets the fumble return for the touchdown, Brandon Sharpe is able to put a lot of pressure on the quarterback and Rajon Henley was incredibly solid against the run. The Red Raiders sit at 8th in the nation in sacks and is 1st in the Big 12 in passes defended at 45 total, an average of 6.43 per game. The pressure on TAMU QB Jerrod Johnson needs to come from the ends, but the secondary's ability to pressure Johnson into some bad throws (although Johnson, to his credit, has only thrown 3 INT's all year) which might result into more 3 and outs rather than long sustained drives.

Reason #5 :: Pride as Well: Please allow me to go back to this well, especially after coping out yesterday, but I mentioned that the Aggies, as is any college football team, plays with pride. And that certainly doesn't just apply to the Aggies. Texas Tech was a step-child for so many years and to be honest, I think the tide turned a bit when this program and this team, started to play with a little more pride for themselves and this school. I do not believe that this attitude, which seems to just ooze from these players, and was noticable last year, but is very noticable this year, is very prevalent. This is a confident group, but this group consistently talks about being the underdog and not taking anything for granted. To say that it can take years for a school to take that next step towards national revelance is an understatement, but it can take only one bad season, and it can affect the program for much longer than you might like to admit. Texas Tech cannot afford to nap against any team and I seriously doubt that they will against the Aggies.

Matchups :: Texas A&M Aggies Edition

Seth C — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:01:11 -0000

More photos » by Nati Harnik - AP

2 months ago: Texas Tech's Brandon Sharpe (92) swats down a throw by Nebraska quarterback Zac Lee (5), as Nebraska's Ricky Henry (74) and Marcel Jones (78) block Texas Tech's Colby Whitlock (93), in the first half of their NCAA college football game in Lincoln, Neb., Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009.(AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

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Texas A&M Aggies (3-3, 0-2)

vs.

Texas Tech Red Raiders (5-2, 2-1)

Game Information:
Date: October 24, 2009 :: Time: 6:00 p.m. CST :: Weather: Lubbock, TX
TV: None :: Radio: Affiliates :: Game Cast: Fox Sports

The figures next to the team name are, in order, yards per game / national rank / conference rank.

Texas Tech Passing Offense vs. Texas A&M Passing Defense

Texas Tech (413.57 / 2 / 1): Not surprisingly, the Texas Tech offense struggled a bit against Nebraska, but a win is a win, especially when it's on the road against a nationally ranked opponent, and you beat that opponent by 21. QB Steven Sheffield was a manager, and since all indications lean towards Taylor Potts or Seth Doege taking the reins on Saturday, then I'm hoping that he takes the same advice that Leach gave Sheffield:

I wanted him to throw the ball and hit some fat guy in the stands. That didn’t consistently happen. We had a conversation on that.

I do think that Potts is a quality quarterback, and if there's one thing that Leach has consistently been able to do since he's been here is to coach up a quarterback or two. I don't think that's going to stop and although Potts wasn't perfect (again, there is no perfect QB other than St. Tebow) he's still pretty damned good. If it's 3rd string Seth Doege, then I'm concerned about his ability to play on such a high level without so much experience, but I trust Leach. I think it's a testament to the receivers on this team, but each week, we're seeing a different receiver step up and make plays. In fact, after a few weeks of Tramain Swindall leading this team in receiving, Detron Lewis is back on top. And to jazz you just a tad bit more, there's less than 120 yards separating the top 4 receivers. In other words, one great game and you could see Alexander Torres, Lyle Leong, Swindall or Lewis lead this team.

Texas A&M (226.67 / 73 / 6): The Aggies really haven't played a true passing team, except for Arkansas, and TAMU promptly gave up 271 yards and 4 touchdowns. We're going to continue to talk about this until there are a few more conference games to compare, but TAMU has faced Oklahoma St. and Kansas St. thus far in conference play. Not exactly passing teams and it's hard to gauge whether or not the pass defense is truly struggling (73rd in the nation) or if it's going to get worse. I did have the opportunity to watch quite a bit of the OSU game and I thought that the Aggies do have athletes in the secondary, but they're young, and that's a bad combination going into the meat of the Big 12 schedule. A big part of the pass defense success is the outstanding play of Von Miller, who already has 10 sacks, which includes 12.5 tackles for a loss. And aside from Miller, no player has more than 2 sacks for the year, perhaps indicative of the bigger problems at TAMU, there's talent at certain positions, but it's not enough to win a bunch of football games.

Verdict: I'm nervous about this pick, especially if Potts cannot play, but I'll still take Texas Tech.

Texas Tech Rushing Offense vs. Texas A&M Rushing Defense

Texas Tech (70.43 / 118 / 12): It would be easy to say that the Red Raiders ignored the rushing game on Saturday, and there were times that I thought that the line did a good job of creating holes, but 14 rushes between RB Baron Batch and Harrison Jeffers just isn't going to be enough. Again, the rating looks much worse than it probably is, due in part because Potts took so many sacks earlier in the year (he's working on that . . . promise). The loss of LT Terry McDaniel could prove to be a huge loss for this team I don't know if OL coach Moore has many more options other than to start Chris Olson at left tackle. The only other player that's received significant time is Mikey Okafor at right guard, who was later benched in favor of moving Brandon Carter back to the right side.

Texas A&M (166.83 / 88 / 11): There's going to be a similar theme that I have with the Aggies in that I do think there's talent there, but it's young talent. The Aggies have played two teams that feature their running game and gave up 169 yards and 3 touchdowns to Oklahoma St. and 232 yards and 6 touchdowns to Kansas St. The defensive line features 2 freshmen or sophmores and the linebacking corps also has a freshman and sophomore. Garrick Williams and Kyle Mangum are the linebackers who make most of the plays. The Aggies are 37th in the nation in tackles for a loss, but as mentioned above, Miller is responsible for 12.5 of thoese tackles, which means that the Aggies have 1 player truly making plays thus far.

Verdict: Despite the Aggies looking as bad recently been.

Texas A&M Passing Offense vs. Texas Tech Passing Defense

Texas A&M (320.50 / 6 / 3): The skill position players for TAMU are actually fairly talented and for this reason alone, you shouldn't overlook the Aggies. Freshman WR Uzoma Nwachukwu has been tremendous thus far this year while WR's Ryan Tannehill and Howard Morrow each have over 20 catches. TE Jamie McCoy is an offensive threat, with 21 catches for 251 yards. QB Jarrod Johnson has been remarkably good, not Heisman worthy, but he's been pretty good with a horrible offensive line. Johnson isn't as accurate as you might want him to be, but he's still completing 57.8% of of his passes and has 16 touchdowns to only 3 interceptions. As mentioned before, the offensive line has allowed 2.67 sacks a game, which is good for 95h in the nation. That's been Johnson's problem all year, the young offensive line,

Texas Tech (238.57 / 89 / 8): The Texas Tech pass defense has been good, not great and this is something that I keep mentioning, and it's something that's going to have to continue this week, is not to ge beat deep. The pass defense isn't great, but the pass efficiency defense (I really don't know what this is) is at 40th in the nation. In any event, the secondary is also healthy, except that S Will Ford may be out, but there's been enough guys who have seen sufficient reps that I'm not too concerned about losing Ford. The Red Raiders are 8th in the nation in sacks, led by their DE's: Brandon Sharpe (8), Daniel Howard (5) and Rajon Henley (3).

Verdict: I like Johnson, Tannehill and Nwachuksu, but it's the pass blocking that's the problem.

Texas A&M Rushing Offense vs. Texas Tech Rushing Defense

Texas A&M (156.83 / 49 / 5): Prior to this game, I wondered how much the Aggies were actually running the ball, expecting a bit more production from RB's Cyrus Gray and Christine Michael. Both are supposedly heralded, especially Michael, who's had 11 to 14 rushing attempts since the first game. This unit isn't bad, in fact the Aggies are 49th in the nation in rushing offense, which is pretty good, but maybe the point I was trying to make at the beginning, is that why not slow the game down just a tad bit more, in the hopes that the Aggies could hang onto the ball, and chew up some of that time of possession.

Texas Tech (101.86 / 24 / 5): The rush defense has been consistently good all year, and I keep mentioning this point, but the key to a good defense is being able to stop the run. The rush defense is only allowing 3.05 yards a game and despite some rough patches against Texas (135) and Houston (144), the Red Raiders only gave up 70 yards to Nebraska that is averaging 151 yards a game and 116 yards to Kansas St. that is averaging 184 yards a game. DT's Colby Whitlock and Richard Jones aren't showing up in the box score, but coupled with the outstanding and oftentimes overlooked play of the linebackers, this unit is slowly but surely becoming adept at stopping the run. I thought DE Rajon Henley's play last week deserved mention, especially against the run. I thought he was outstanding.

Verdict: I'll take the Red Raiders again.

Q&A With Double T Nation - Insight Into The Texas Tech Red Raiders

Jon Johnston — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:19:41 -0000

More photos » by Donna McWilliam - AP

Brandon Carter, freak, will be between Ndamukong Suh and Tech quarterbacks. Tattoos and face paint can't help him in that regard, but the battle between the two will be one to watch!

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Tech seems like a hard team to gauge. They've had some internal struggles, two losses in a row to ranked teams and a quarterback change.

Instead of insinuating and grasping, it's easiest to ask people who know the answers. In this case, that would be Seth at Double T Nation, our SB Nation Texas Tech site. He joins us for a blogger Q&A.

It's hard to gauge what's going on at Tech. It seemed like things were coming apart after the loss to Houston, Twittergate and Brandon Carter's suspension. Where is this team right now?

There may not be a team that deals with drama better than Texas Tech. In regards to RG Brandon Carter's suspension, he wasn't suspended because he was on Twitter, he was suspended for what happened after the Houston game (i.e. being angry, very angry, about the loss). I thought LB Marlon Williams' tweet was inappropriate (i.e., why is he here waiting on Leach for practice), but it turns out that practice was canceled so really it's not that big of a deal.

As it turns out, giving 18 to 22 year old kids a place to voice any and every concern might not be such a good idea. If the team was in any sort of disarray, it was after the Houston loss and the lackluster first half against New Mexico. There's the thought that QB Taylor Potts still wasn't right after the hit against UT and his rough play was a result of that. In steps 6'4" and all 180 pounds QB Steven Sheffield who seems to have captured the attention of this team and has been lights out against New Mexico and Kansas State. The ship has been righted, at least for now.

Potts or Sheffield? or Both?

I like both. Potts has taken quite a bit of criticism because he's thrown some interceptions, and he hasn't been perfect, but I do not believe that his performances against Texas and Houston were the reasons Texas Tech lost. Did he play perfectly those games, certainly not, but he wasn't the sole reason for either of those losses. Potts still has a 2:1 TD to INT ratio and was part of the team was at the top of the nation in passing. I think Potts' struggles have been exaggerated a bit and I try to keep in mind that he's a 20 or 21 year old kid who got the crap knocked out of him and wasn't quite the same since.

With Sheffield at the helm, he's been absolutely electric and the team seems to have responded to his energy. The last two games, Sheffield has been near perfect, sans a couple of interceptions, one in each game. Sheffield is a bit more mobile and more likely to dodge pressure. Sheffield's arm isn't quite as strong as Potts, but he can still make all of the throws required by this offense. If I had to pick a starter for the Nebraska game, I'd go with the hot-hand in Sheffield. If I had to pick a quarterback who I think who has the better chance to lead the program going forward, I'd pick Potts. Sheffield's been great but he hasn't been tested . . . yet.

What receivers should Husker fans be watching?

All of them? Seriously, it's somewhat ridiculous to see so many receivers step up each game.

Tramain Swindall has consistently been this team's leading receiver and averaging almost 20 YPC, which is ridiculous in this offense. Detron Lewis was expected to replace Crabtree in some respects, but Swindall's been electric, and Lewis has been a tad injured and reliable, but hasn't really had a break-out game.

Alexander Torres has proven to be a very reliable receiver outside, he won't beat you deep, but he'll catch just about anything thrown his way and he's pretty strong. Lyle Leong has been relatively quite since his 3 touchdown performance against Rice, but he's still a threat.

Nebraska will still need to account for the running backs who have been really good catching the ball out of the backfield (Harrison Jeffers is averaging 10.5 YPC and Baron Batch is averaging 8.87 YPC).

Tech has been exceptional at home, horrible on the road. 2008: 4 for 5 in road games last year (losses - OU); 2007: 3 for 6 (Oklahoma St., Missouri and Texas); 2006: 3 for 6 (TCU, Colorado, and OU). Can you explain such a huge discrepancy?

I think programs that are struggling to break-through to an upper tier of the football elite tend to do this for a period of time. Last year was an exception, and I think that most teams that make it to middling bowl games tend to follow the same path that Texas Tech has (i.e. win the non-conference home games + beat the crappy teams on the road = bowl game).

I'm not sure I can explain it other than it's tough to win on the road and for a program trying to make that jump, I think it just comes down to having better players and that happens over time. And for the record I think a Texas and OU would have worse road game records if they didn't have a neutral game at the Cotton Bowl. I went to Norman last year and cannot imagine what that town would be if Texas were to ever roll into town and the same thought goes for Austin.

Last year's game was weird in that Nebraska held the ball for around 40 minutes. We don't have the same ball control passing offense we had last year (although we're working on it). Where should Nebraska attack if we're going to be successful on offense?

Even if Nebraska doesn't have the same type of offense, I think I'd stick with a similar plan of just taking what the defense will give you. Texas Tech defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill has had quite a bit of success relying on his offense to outscore the defense, and I've always thought that Leach and McNeill discuss prior to the game how creative he needs to be to be successful on defense.

Some games, McNeill will stunt and blitz more than others. Surprisingly, Texas Tech leads the conference in sacks, this after losing their top guys in Brandon Williams and McKinner Dixon. Most of that success is due to out-working opponents and I think the Cornhuskers would be wise emphasize the quick passing game. Nebraska will have success running the ball against Texas Tech and I think that the key will be if the Texas Tech offense can score quickly, taking Nebraska out of what they might do best.

Five Reasons Texas Tech Will Win :: Nebraska Cornhuskers Edition

Seth C — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:00:27 -0000

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 :: Nebraska Cornhuskers Edition.

Reason #1 :: Force Turnovers: This will be a difficult task for Texas Tech as Nebraska has only turned the ball over 5 times the entire season. Winning on the road is invariably easier when you can force a turnover and create a drive where Nebraska cannot eat up the clock and also create a potential score. QB Zac Lee has been incredibly careful with the ball thus far and he's a big part of the reason why Nebraska is winning games. The defense should be at full-strength on Saturday and I think the fact that so many players had to play while other players were recovering from injuries should help out as there's the expectation that the Nebraska offense will look to dominate the 4th quarter. I have no doubt that this defense is capable, especially when you have senior leaders like CB Jamar Wall, and DE Daniel Howard leading the way. I also wouldn't be at all surprised by an appearance by the relatively quiet DT Colby Whitlock, who seems to show up for big games.

Reason #2 :: Prepare for Suh: The play where Texas DE Sergio Kindle flat-out beat RT Marlon Winn to level QB Taylor Potts is still burned in my brain, and I hope like hell it's burned in Winn's brain as well. Winn took that play off, and to give credit to Kindle, Winn just couldn't keep pace with him on that play either. Earlier this week, OL coach Moore stated that RG Brandon Carter will see 95% of Ndamukong Suh and I too think that because the wide-splits, it's tougher to double-team an interior defender rather than an outside rusher. No matter who has who, all I really want out of this offensive line is for players to not take one play off the entire game. I'm not sure they can afford to do so, but to the running backs who chip to the linemen themselves, I think this is going to have to be a complete game for this unit and I think they're more than capable.

Reason #3 :: Take What's There, Unless You Feel Like You Need to Take a Chance: This is really up to QB Steven Sheffield and Mike Leach. As I watched last week's game with my brother-in-law, we both thought that there were a couple of pass plays that had the defensive backs played better angles or been better athletes, that Sheffield could have been in danger of throwing a few extra picks. Conversely, this might be a credit to Sheffield, who had a bead on the defenders and knew exactly what he was doing. There's a fine balance between a quarterback that takes unnecessary chances and a quarterback that takes what the defense gives him. Finding that balance can be tough, and Leach and his Red Raiders have typically prided themselves on being able to take chances and live with the consequences, but I'd like for Leach and Sheffield to keep it simple. Check down to the run, even if it doesn't net 8 yards a carry. If Nebraska is playing a cover-2 then get underneath and get the receivers to block the hell out of the defensive backs.

Reason #4 :: Play-Makers Make Plays: Last year I found myself in a bit of a rut as I wrote this series, mainly because I could have said each week, "Because Texas Tech Has Mr. Crabtree." There were plenty of questions as to whether or not Texas Tech would be able to duplicate last year's results and I'd say that with the 2nd ranked offense in the country, the Red Raiders seem fine. We've talked about this for a few weeks now, but the list of potential play-makers continues to grow each week. Early in the season, some were convinced that Eric Stephens would supplant Harrison Jeffers. Now those roles are reversed. Some thought that Detron Lewis would be the Crabtree-Replacement, but it's been Tramain Swindall, Lyle Leong, Jacoby Franks, Alexander Torres, etc. There's quite a few targets out there and I'm extremely interested to see if and who Nebraska decides to double-team. If that happens, there's going to be a man advantage and as stated above, I think Texas Tech might have the best blocking receivers in football.

Reason #5 :: Coaching to Win: I've wondered this since the Houston game, where Leach was faced with the proposition of taking the points or going for the gusto. Initially, Leach said that he should have gone for the points, but in retrospect, he later said that he would go for the gusto, but call a different play. I'm perfectly comfortable living with a guy like Leach playing unconventionally. After I've thought about it, it's almost like going for a 2-point conversion for a win at the end of the game. Sometimes you just have to put yourselves out there and that one play can be a tremendous measuring stick of where your team sits. Despite the gusto, I hope that Leach has learned somewhat of a lesson in that sometimes, it's okay to take the points. I don't want Leach to out-smart himself here, but sometimes taking the points isn't such a bad thing and I want to think that Leach is okay with taking the points in certain situations.

Keys to the Game, Revisited - KSU Edition

NM99 — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:39:17 -0000

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When you win a game by 52 points, it is hard to be critical of anything. Which is why I like to wait a couple of days before positing this article. It gives me time to digest the good and bad and make a more objective assessment of how Texas Tech performed.

In general, I think this was one of the better games that Tech has played. This is the first game this season in which we put together a complete 4 quarters of football. Not everything was perfect, but the guys seemed to be playing together as a team and to start to trust their abilities.

Before we all get ahead of ourselves, let's remember that this was K-State, not Alabama. We are starting to dial things in on offense, and this should serve as a big confidence booster going into the rest of conference play.

After watching the Texas game, I thought that this team had it in them, and they seemed to find it this week, what ever it is. Perhaps Steven Sheffield is the catalyst that this group needed. Though I think it is worth while to point out that the O-line did an excellent job of keeping his jersey clean. There were a number of plays where Sheffield had at least 8 seconds to find a receiver. Again part of this is due to the opponent, but it is also something that they should have been able to do against UNM and didn't. I think Matt Moore may have found his 5 guys that work together well and provide the best protection. If you are winning the battle in the trenches, you are probably going to win the game.

I have to admit that I started getting really nervous when, on the first drive we stalled on 2nd and short and decided to go for it on 4th and 1 from our own 38. But we did it right, bringing Jeffers in motion as we had done against U of H, theatening the end around, and forcing the KSU linebackers to not crowd the line. This allowed Sheffield to follow Brandon Carter and pick up the first down (Don't expect this to work this week against Suh and the Nebraska DL. If it's 4th and 1, we better punt or throw the quick slant to James.). After this near-miss, the offense quit sputtering and never looked back.

Defensively, we seemed to start a little slow as well. Luckily, though KSU was moving the ball well on their first drive, the Wildcats shot themselves in the foot with a hold and a false start that pushed them to 3rd and 16 and moved them out of field goal range. KSU's second drive didn't start out badly either, but a questionable play call, going deep on 3rd and 3 from your own 16 forced another punt. By the time they got the ball again, KSU was already down by 3 scores and had to shift their game to a more passing attack that did not fit their strengths. Read this carefully. The Tech defense got a lot of help, especially in the first series. Had KSU put even a field goal on the board, such that it was within 2 possessions, I think they would have stuck with grind it out tactics in hopes of wearing our defense down and coming back late. Bo Pelini knows this.

Offensive Keys

1. Avoid turnovers. Not bad. I can live with 1 INT a game, though it came on what Sheffield himself called a dumb decision. This will happen in your first game as the starting QB. Everyone else held on to the ball pretty well. I recall one drop by Leong on a deep pass that was just abouth perfectly placed, but other than that, pretty sure hands on the night.

2. Relax and play as a unit. As I alluded to above, the offense line finally seemed to get it together. I actually noticed them pointing to and calling out blocks on the line. Usually the center does this, but I noticed Brandon Carter taking the lead here. Maybe the suspension did him some good. Doing a little more to lead and playing with this kind of maturity rather than emotion and face paint is what will earn him a paycheck in the future.

3. Let Batch and Jeffers lead the charge. The first play of the game was a Baron Batch carry for 8 yards. This set the tone, and Batch managed to eek out a meager 86 yards on 9.6 yds/carry over the night, including a TD run. Even taking out his long run (33 yards) he still averaged over 6.5 yds/carry. What would normally be a good showing pales in comparison, as Harrison Jeffers only manged 7.9 yds/carry. Including receptions (our screen game looked good, too), these two combined for 200 yards on 25 touches. Yep. Your math is right. That's 8 yds/touch and was exactly what we needed from these two.

Defensive Keys

1. 3rd and long. After the first series, we were successful in this, in part because we knew they were passing and we were able to pin our ears back and bring pressure. Brandon Sharpe was playing like an MVP.

2. Stop the run. KSU actually had quite a bit of success on the ground, if you take out the sack yardage. Their running backs averaged 7.6 yds/carry, picked up 145 yards, and broke several long runs. Again, Tech dodged a bullet here in that KSU was forced to abandon their run game. I think the biggest issue here was losing containment. We did a decent job of stopping anything up the middle for short gains, save the first big run by Thomas. Our guys weren't used to anything that big running the football. Once they realized they couldn't arm tackle him, he was contained.

3. Contain Brandon Banks. 1 catch for 5 yards. I don't have anything else to say. I continue to be impressed by our young DB talent.

Special Teams

We kicked off 11 times, so obviously Kansas State got some return yards. The fact that Donnie Corona had 5 tackles should be concerning. I am certainly glad to have a physical kicker in the game who can make tackles, but the kicker is not the first guy down the field. We showed improvement, which is all I can really ask for, but we are not exactly pinning them deep following kick offs.

The story from this game is the offense. KSU is not stellar defensively, but we weren't making mistakes that killed drives, and when we did (offensive pass interference, illegal blocks) we came right back and made the next play. Sometimes, the best defense is a good offense...Is that kind of like sometimes a pirate can beat a soldier? Anyway, we were able to get KSU out of their game plan (or what I assume was their game plan) and control the game. Our defense isn't the best in the conference, but it is good enough to get at least one extra stop and break serve. It's who we are this year.

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 10.12.09

Seth C — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:40:52 -0000

Busy This Week, Need Assistance with BlogPoll: This is going to be an incredibly busy week for me personally. Everything should be back to normal next week, but my job is to be as honest with you as possible, and as I look at the week ahead I'm going to be very busy. I'm not going to be able to get to a crunching the numbers segment today and I'll probably try to combine that weekly post with a matchup post this week.

But in addition to that, I need help with the BlogPoll. To make my life easier, I thought I'd ask you guys who are the top 12 teams in the nation? You use whatever criteria you feel is appropriate, but give me the top 12 teams in the comments and I'll cobble together DTN ballot for the BlogPoll that's representative of you guys and gals.

Tide Turning: LAJ's Don Williams reports this morning that QB Steven Sheffield is taking more steps to take over at quarterback (I should also mention that RRS.com's Chris Level tweeted (?) that Sheffield is now a captain). Both Captain Mike Leach and Sheffield appreciated the play of the offensive line:

"There’s no question they played better,’’ Leach said. "They played significantly better. I thought the whole offensive line unit played well. I thought (left guard) Lonnie Edwards stepped up and had the best game that he’s had. I thought all five of them played good.’’

Sheffield said the linemen "played their hearts out’’ and "it couldn’t have been easier for me.’’ He said when he leaves the pocket, sometimes it’s to get a better view of receivers. Even if that’s not the case, he said he and his blockers can still make a play work.

"Like I tell them, ‘If one (rusher) is coming up field, don’t quit him on just because he beats you,’ ’’ Sheffield said. " ‘Turn around, and I’m going to step to the side. Block him again, and I’m going to get out of there.’ ’

Football Notebook: LAJ's Don Williams looks at the kicking game this morning, including the thought that I mentioned yesterday, which is that K Donnie Carona needs to be more consistent, but appreciated Carona's ability to make takles:

"There’s no doubt, yeah,’’ Russell said. "Not by design, but we needed it last night. He did a great job in that area, and he’s not afraid. That’s certainly an extra weapon, because teams don’t usually account for 11 (in kickoff coverage) on there. They account for 10. It’s good to have that guy in case something does break down.’’

. . . there is no punter-controversy as current starter Ryan Erxleben will not be unseated by previously suspended P Jonathan LaCour . . . Leach is very happy with the combined effort of the running backs, Baron Batch, Harrison Jeffers and Eric Stephens:

"I thought they did a pretty good variety of things,’’ Tech coach Mike Leach said Sunday. "First of all, we got three (running backs) involved. I thought they all caught the ball well, I thought they all rushed the ball well, and I thought they all blocked well. They complemented each others play pretty good.’’

. . . QB Taylor Potts, C Shawn Byrnes, DE Daniel Howard, S Cody Davis and CB LaRon Moore all returned to practice last night . . .

Other KSU Post-Game Thoughts: TR's dedfischer writes that Texas Tech is getting it right . . . RA's ayleein hands out grades . . . as does LAJ's Don Williams . . .

Big 12 Links: CJOnline's Austin Meek answers 3 questions about KSU vs. TT . . . KC Star's Blair Kerkoff rounds up the college football world . . . Omaha.com's Rich Kaipust writes that Nebraska RB Roy Helu is just fine . . .

2011 Commit, Estacado's Wagner: How about that, per LAJ's Courtney Linehan, Pat Knight has secured the commitment from 2011 point guard, Kevin Wagner (5-8/145), a junior from Estacado:

Wagner has started since his freshman year at Estacado, where his father Tony Wagner is the head boys basketball coach. Kevin helped carry the Matadors all the way to last season’s state championship game, where they lost 68-66 in overtime to Madison.

He said Tech coach Pat Knight has a style he feels fairly familiar with.

"I like the way Pat coaches; it reminds me of my dad," Wagner said. "I play for my dad now, so it will be easy to adapt."

I couldn't find a profile for Wagner on Scout, but was able to find one for Rivals and ESPN. There's no information on Wagner, but maybe some of you local folks could help us out on what type of player Wagner is and what he can do on the court.