SB Nation - Donnie Carona

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 11.25.09

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

24 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)

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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."

Post Game Thoughts :: Oklahoma Sooners Edition

Seth C — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:27:43 -0000

by Sue Ogrocki - AP

24 days ago: Wearing a jersey with the name "Nick", Texas Tech quarterback Taylor Potts passes against Oklahoma in the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game in Lubbock, Texas, Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009. Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach said the name was a nickname. Potts threw for 388 yards and two touchdowns as Texas Tech beat Oklahoma 41-13 on Saturday for its most lopsided win ever over the Sooners. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

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SBN Box Score :: TTU Box Score :: Post Game Quotes : Mike Leach and Players

The Result :: So Sweet: I had not even considered a blowout on the Texas Tech side of the ledger. It seemed to me that such a result was truly inconceivable, considering all of the factors that have caused this season to be somewhat of a disappointment were virtually non-existent for most, if not all of this game. Huge props goes to the Texas Tech defense who just out-hit the Sooner offense on Saturday. I get the feeling that they were not expecting the type of athlete and player that was on the field on Saturday.

And I've probably missed a ton of storylines, so help a brother out and give me your storyline from Saturday's win. Follow me after the jump for storylines on the game, including my crazy theory as to why Leach had a player going in motion for quite a bit of the game.

The Storylines ::

Going in Motion: I really will need to go back and look at the tape of the game, but it seemed to me that the Texas Tech offense was running a receiver in motion quite a bit during the game, except for formations where the Red Raiders had a 2-RB set. Football 101 says that one of the main reasons why you send a man in motion is to give the offense a clue as to whether or not the defense is in zone or man. When Texas Tech wasn't sending a man in motion, I thought that the 2-RB set received quite a bit of burn.

The basic premise here is that I think Leach wanted to make it as easy on QB Taylor Potts as possible. He wanted to make it as easy on "Nick" to make the right decision, which I believe he did, for most of the game. And on 53 attempts, Potts had one interception, all game long he took what the defense gave him, pushed the ball down the field, took some chances and played a helluva game.

And on a personal side, I love the fact that Potts had success against a big opponent. All of the comments about how Potts doesn't celebrate or know how to have fun didn't hold water yesterday as he seemed to be leading the charge. There's no doubt that Potts hasn't been perfect this year, but if you give him some time in the pocket, he can do some things.

Finally, RB Baron Batch had this to say about his quarterback:

"I’ve heard the fans boo him. I’ve heard people say get him out of there,’’ running back Baron Batch said. "It takes a tough, tough, tough person to be able to withstand all that and come out of that on top, and that’s what he’s done. I’m so proud of him for that. I don’t know how I would have responded in that situation. I don’t know how a lot of people would have responded. But he’s shown he’s mentally tough and he has a lot of heart."

O-Line and Running Backs: I don't know how you separate the two, especially in this game. The line certainly had their problems, especially late in the second half where the OU defense were bringing more than what the Texas Tech offense could hold (I think this was just after playing "Jump Around"). But there's no reason to criticize the offensive line this game. Potts was only sacked twice for the entire game and I cannot remember any negative plays for the running backs. There were two plays that stood out to me, which was RB Baron Batch first touchdown. LT Chris Olson had a tremendous block, blowing out the OU defender and the rest of the offensive line, including LG Lonnie Edwards completely caved in the rest of the OU defensive line. Batch walks into the endzone untouched. That play doesn't happen without Olson taking his man out of the play entirely.

The second play is RB Eric Stephen's touchdown that put Texas Tech up 40 to 13 and Stephens ran right between RT Marlon Winn and RG Brandon Carter for an easy score. Winn had this to say after the game about that run:

Asked about what memory he’ll take from senior day, tackle Marlon Winn said, "Just that last drive, that last touchdown. Stephens comes in, and he runs it between me and (guard) Brandon Carter.
"We worked hard for five years, and for that to be the last play in the Jones our senior year, it was amazing. Great thing.’’

Touching Gesture: I feel comfortable enough with you guys to let you know that I almost shed a man tear when it was known that DE Rajon Henley would not be wearing his traditional number, but instead wore #40 in honor of DB Nathan Stone, a walk-on from Lubbock, who worked his way up the depth chart to see significant time early this season. Stone's season ended early with an undiclosed neck injury and although I don't know all of the details, I have heard that Stone is fine, but will never be able to play football again. You could call it a silly gesture, but I take great pride in the type of men that this Texas Tech football program produces. There will always be some bad apples, but there's a ton of solid citizens amongst this group. WR Alexander Torres and DE Brandon Sharpe had this to say about this after the game:

BRANDON SHARPE: That's real nice, you know. Somebody else was supposed to wear Sandy Riley's jersey. But I think it was a late time to ask for it and stuff but it was really an inspiration, you know, just to see him have a heart like that. To share his playing time with another playing on the team. You saw how close we can be, and we are.
ALEX TORRES: Like he said, it's one of those things that it's great to see that out there. And I know Nate appreciates it. It kind of goes to show what a family we are as a team and how much we care about one another to be able to give them a shot to see his jersey out there one last time on Senior Day and everything. I thought it was really uplifting, and I hope Nate appreciated that, which I'm sure he does.

Here's Your Run Stuffing Defense: Seriously. 26 carries and 48 yards. Sure, that figure includes 3 sacks for 30 yards, but son of a gun, that Texas Tech front 7 was simply outstanding. This may have been as well-rounded an effort as you'll see. To say that the front 7 dominated on Saturday would be an understatement. The defensive line did a tremendous job of holding their blocks to allow the linebackers to make tackles, as LB Brian Duncan led the team with 6 tackles and LB Marlon Williams had 5 tackles, including 1 TFL. The pressure that DE's Brandon Sharpe, Daniel Howard and Rajon Henley brought all game was tremendous, although I think that to not give credit to the tackles would be a mistake in this game. DT's Colby Whitlock and Richard Jones played big and I think Jones goes unnoticed sometimes, but he's as solid a defensive tackle that you'll see.

And although the defense will lose these pass-rushers mentioned above, I think it's interesting to see Sharpe talk about the fact that he essentially played one year, and with a little hard work, dedication, he's in a position to break the single-season sack record:

Oh, shoot, it means a lot, you know. I mean, hopefully I can finish up with a little bit more, break it and keep going with it and stuff for these last few games we've got. I hope to have my name sitting here with the sack list and stuff. So the people that's coming in next year are going to look forward to having something to do, something to work for, you know.

Torres Big Day: I've secretly had my doubts as to whether or not WR Alexander Torres could have a big day. Torres finished the day with 10 catches for 163 yards and a touchdown. Torres replaced Crabtree and I've wondered whether or not Torres could effectively replace the play-making ability of Crabtree. And that's an incredibly tough thing to do. I thought during the game that as a fanbase, we certainly give Graham Harrell quiet a bit of credit for the work he did last year, but Harrell also had the luxury of having the absolute best wide receiver in the country for 2 years running. I was trying to remember the last time that I saw a wide-receiver slant for a touchdown, something that Red Raider fans saw so frequently last year. The offense has and will be fine, but there was something special about the offense the past 2 seasons and that's a tough thing to have to remember life before Crabtree. Under previous years, it was guys like Torres who were making big plays out of seemingly nothing. Torres huge 65 yard receiption was all Torres. It was Torres knowing that the defensive back was overplaying the ball, that Torres didn't have anyone behind him and if he could quickly turn the route up field, he'd have a huge play. That's exactly what happened. I'm impressed and surprised that Torres has been a spokesperson for the offensive side of the team for a good part of the season. Leach hand-picks these guys and although Torres is merely a redshirt freshman, he knows exactly what to say:

Yeah, that whole play just happened to be a great check by pots. He gave me a quick route that told me to get my head around real fast. And like I do in practice and Coach Leach preaches all the time, the receivers coach, Lincoln and Dennis preach all the time. Catch the ball, turn and go straight up field. That's all I did. It wasn't really a special play on my part. All I did was do what I've been coached to to do. It was just a great check by Potts being able to see the defense and read that.

Passing Spikes: It was tremendous to see former Texas Tech coach Spike Dykes honored the way that he was. The day could not have been better for Dykes and I'm of the opinion that all that Dykes would love to see, whether it's breaking his all-time wins record at Texas Tech or some other significant event, would be for the Red Raiders to win. Dykes is as humble, gracious and conversational as they come and it's a shame that he's not in the limelight more than he is. Dykes probably wants it that way and I can certainly appreciate that. Leach didn't get choked up like he did after the Kansas game, but he knows the importance of Dykes to himself and to the program:

It means a lot. We've kind of hashed over it a little bit. Got the opportunity to see Coach Dykes in the locker room. One of the greatest coaches of all time in my opinion, and who really was instrumental in building this program and being a part of his legacy is a real honor for me.

Defensive Takeaways: I found the statistic that Texas Tech has the nation's longest takeaway streak at 26 (or 28, I can't remember) and it's no coincidence that Ruffin McNeill has been in charge of the defense for 31 games. This is a short storyline, but it's a shout-out to McNeill and the job he's done. I always get the feeling that McNeill knows exactly how he wants to play, but he's got to have the players to do it first. Give him time and I think he's going to be pretty damned good.

The Offensive Co-MVP's :: QB Taylor Potts and RB Baron Batch: You could probably have quite a few candidates and not be wrong for an MVP, but the way that Potts threw the ball (35-53 : 388 yards : 1 INT : 2 TD) and the way that Batch ran and caught the ball (25 carries : 136 yards : 2 TD // 7 receptions : 68 yards) was something special.

The Defensive Co-MVP's :: CB Jamar Wall and DE Brandon Sharpe: The pass defense again looks outstanding and lots of credit goes to both Sharpe for the pressure on the quarterback and for Wall for his pressure on receivers. Sharpe finished with 4 tackles, 2.5 sacks and 1 forced fumble. Wall had 4 tackles, 4 passes-broken-up and 1 interception.

The Special Teams Co-MVP's :: PK Matthew Williams and Donnie Carona: Carona had 8 kickoffs and put 5 of them back for touchbacks. Texas Tech needs more of this because to not even give the offense the ability to return puts the offense in a hole. Williams is going unnoticed, me included, because he's doing his job. They were short field goals, but he made them both, along with his extra points.

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 :: 10.21.09

Seth C — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:03:14 -0000

Selling Stuff: After thinking about it for a few days I've made a decision regarding those that want to sell their wares on DTN. If there are any additional FanPosts where someone is trying to sell something, no matter the product, they're going to get deleted. If you email me and you have a good cause, i.e. proceeds are going to charity, then I think the best thing is to run it by me first and then I'll give you the green light to post. I'm sure this makes me a look poorly to some, but I've worked very hard on DTN becoming a somewhat popular place and if you want to advertise to make a profit or get noticed by 3,000 people a day, then I'll get you hooked up with the right people.

It's Going to Be Potts: Thanks to the djollie111 FanShot last night and it's being reported by multiple sources, including LAJ's Don Williams, FWST's Dwain Price, DT's Alex Ybarra, that QB Steven Sheffield will be out 2 to 3 weeks and QB Taylor Potts has been cleared to play Saturday against the Aggies. Price's article has a source (that sounds so mysterious) that was quoted as saying that the controversy as to whether or not Potts would be cleared to play was "blown out of proportion":

However, of Potts' status for the A&M game, the source said: "He's fine.''

Asked about the controversy on whether Potts hasn't recovered from the concussion, the source said: "That's completely been blown out of proportion.''

There you have it, straight from an unnamed source's mouth.

Other Injuries and Notes: Also in the previously linked LAJ's Don Williams article, there's a run down of other injuries and other than Sheffield, LT Terry McDaniel, C Shawn Byrnes, and S Will Ford remain out for Saturday's game. Think a good thought for all of these guys today to get back on the field as quickly as possible . . . special teams Coach Russell is also concerned about Donnie Carona's lack of ability to kick the ball deep, despite having a strong leg, and had this to say about the situation:

Asked if he’d consider kickers Matt Williams or Brad Hicks, Russell said, "If anybody else would show they could do any better. We’re going to always go with the best guy. We’re also trying to work and get it fixed with Donnie.

"We’re just not striking it right. I don’t know what the issues are, whether our eyes are coming off the ball or what.’’

. . . and if the general public doesn't buy up the extra seats, the administration is prepared to fill those spots with students . . .

Seniors Want to Keep Streak Alive: LAJ's Don Williams writes that the current group of seniors do not want to be the class that loses to the Aggies (currently 4). RT Marlon Winn (again, becoming one of my favorite players) recounts his early games against the Aggies:

"That’s a very big deal,’’ said Winn, Tech’s three-year starter at right tackle. "My redshirt (freshman) year, the first year we traveled down there, I remember the touchdown catch Robert Johnson made in the end zone to seal the game (31-27). I felt the rivalry between the two teams and how we just snatched the air out of the stadium. I enjoyed the feeling.

"They come here the next year, and kind of the same thing happens,’’ Winn went on. "It’s something that, when you go into practice that week, you remember those kind of things, and you don’t want to be the team that ends up losing to Texas A&M, who of course is a great team.’’

And TAMU coach Mike Sherman knows the Texas Tech crowd and students can be "threatening":

"Playing at nighttime out in Lubbock, the crowd’s going to be right behind our bench, and it’s going to be very threatening,’’ Sherman said. "Our kids have to rise to that challenge. I’m not so sure we did a good job of that last week.’’

Offensive Line to be Tested by Miller: DT's Adam Coleman writes that the offensive line will be tested by talented TAMU DE Von Miller. Offensive line Coach Moore had this to say about the challenge:

"We’re not going to change anything in what we do, but they definitely have a little pep in their step," he said. "That’s the reason they came here. That’s the reason they came to the Big 12. If they wanted to go play against someone they could beat every time, they’d go play in a different conference.

"They come here for the challenge, and I feel like we stepped up to it last week."

And Miller had this to say about what they intend on doing this week:

"Our secondary — I know our guys are gonna bear down, hold the receivers up a little bit, give us a couple chances, a couple of opportunities to get back there and make a couple of plays," Miller said during A&M’s weekly press conference Monday. "Our secondary and our linebackers, I’m 100 percent positive that we’re gonna have a really good week."

Texas A&M Aggie Links: the B/CS Eagle's Robert Cessna writes that the Texas Tech vs. Texas A&M game is always interesting . . . the Chron's Brent Zwerneman recounts the Aggies' struggles in Lubbock . . .

Big 12 Links: Barking Carnival's srr50 with an interesting take as to why we (Big 12 schools) should all pay attention to Comcast's proposed takeover of NBC . . . FanHouse's Terrance Harris with a Big 12 notebook . . .

Media Days: The Big 12 Basketball Media Days are today in Kansas City, Missouri, and PG John Roberson and SF Mike Singletary will join coach Pat Knight today.

Roberson to Take Control: LAJ's Courtney Linehan writes that junior PG John Roberson is looking to take a bigger leadership role this year:

"It’s tough, especially when things aren’t going well, but you grow up a lot quicker than you would if you weren’t a captain," Roberson, now a junior, said. "It helped me a lot to grow up and actually learn how to be a leader."

And coach Pat Knight had this to say about Roberson:

"I just want him to carry on what he did from an offensive standpoint last year," Knight said, "but he’s got to have less turnovers and he’s got to start guarding somebody."

Snip.

"Roberson’s got to be able to defend on the ball, cause problems without his hand on the ball, create deflections, steals," Knight said. "He’s got to be able to cause turnovers."

Post Game Thoughts :: Nebraska Cornhuskers Edition

Seth C — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 21:56:27 -0000

More photos » by Nati Harnik - AP

about 1 month ago: Texas Tech's Daniel Howard, center, with teammates LaRon Moore, left, and Bront Bird, carries the ball for a touchdown against Nebraska in the first half of their NCAA college football game in Lincoln, Neb., Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009. Texas Tech beat Nebraska 31-10.(AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

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

The Result :: Not What I Expected: I'll be honest, I thought that the Nebraska offense would show up just a bit and that never happened. You can certainly credit the Texas Tech defense, as this group made plays all day long, but the Nebraska offense needs some help. In terms of the offense, I never expected Nebraska to out-gain the Red Raiders (259 to 285), again, credit needs to go to that Nebraska defensive line that was simply unbelievable. The offensive line continues to be decimated by injury and will need to improve moving forward, but they held it together, especially when I thought that the Red Raiders needed a touchdown to secure the win. Taking 5:00 minutes off the clock.

Let's get to the storylines and the MVP's after the jump.

The Storylines ::

Making Big Plays: The very first drive was a microcosm of the entire game. QB Steven Sheffield completed 18 yards worth of passes to WR Alexander Torres and then bad things started to happen. A false start and Sheffield taking a sack led Texas Tech to have to make a play on 3rd and 13. Sheffield completes one of the highlight catches of my life to WR Lyle Leong for 34 yards. The Red Raiders now have a first down and Sheffield promptly gets sacked for 10 yards and Texas Tech then faces a 3rd and 17 only to have WR Detron Lewis catch a pass for 22 yards. What looked to be a simple screen pass to RB Baron Batch sealed the drive (his skip into the endzone reminded me a bit of Eric Morris - shoutout) as the Nebraska defenders just could get around to catching Batch get to the pylon.

This team faced adversity almost the entire game, or at least it looked that way from where I was watching the game, but responded at just about each and every call. It may have been the offense at times, it may have been the defense at times, and it may have been the special teams at times.

At the end of the day, this team is a team of hard-working individuals and they are a team . . . collectively, they work together.

This was probably expressed better than I've ever seen this before in LAJ's Don Williams post-game discussion with defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill:

"One night during fall camp,’’ defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill said, "(running back) Baron Batch got up and he says, ‘We had some great players last year — Graham Harrell, Michael Crabtree, Louis Vasquez, Brandon Williams. This year, it’s more about the Double-T — what’s on our chest and not necessarily the names on our back. Nothing against those guys. We love those guys. But this team is more worried about not letting the other guy down.’’
The Raiders are working all the angles.

The last couple of weeks, they’ve voted on captains based on what have you done for me lately?

This week, you watch, they’re going to elect a sideline captain.

"If you participated in sports, having your teammates cheer for you is a big, big deal, and we make a big deal out of it,’’ McNeill said. "Our kids take pride in it. We travel some guys right now who, they know they’re not going to play one second. They know their job is to come, go through pre-game and cheer the team on.’’

So McNeill’s eyes lit up when I asked if that means he’s going to arrange a vote for a sideline captain.

"That’s a good idea,’’ he said. "I’m going to take it to the boss.’’

Who would be some leading candidates? McNeill mentioned players such as true freshmen Pearlie Graves and Jacob Karam and veteran backups such as Britton Barbee and Brik Brinker.

I've noticed Karam and Barbee being involved on the sidelines, which is a surprise since Barbee has seen little to no time this year and Karam can be expected not to see a snap all year. But I have no doubt that these guys love their school, and despite not participating, they may be this team's biggest cheerleaders and there's something about that sort of attitude that makes me love this team even more.

Dominating Defense: As mentioned above, Nebraska had their own problems on offense, but to simply point to that would not be fair to the Texas Tech defensive unit. Ruffin McNeill and his unit kept Nebraska to 70 yards rushing and 215 yards passing. When the game was still relatively close the Red Raider defense allowed only 37 yards in their first 4 possessions (one of those being the fumble return for a touchdown). The next possession was Nebraska's best possession as they drove 11 plays and 74 yards, only to be limited to a field goal. With first and goal from the Texas Tech 10 yard line, Nebraska could only manage 3 plays to get to the Texas Tech 4 yard line. Perhaps this was a situation where the defense was a bit tired, but truthfully, limiting Nebraska to a field goal on their first 5 possessions is success.

This is a successful day: 5 tackles for a loss (all being sacks), 1 fumble return for a touchdown, 1 interception, and 7 pass break-ups. That's making plays all over the field. From the defensive line that was able to pressure QB Zac Lee to the defensive backs that were able to cause 7 Nebraska incompletions to a return for the touchdown.

DE's Brandon Sharpe and Rajon Henley (we'll get to D. Howard below) were huge yesterday and I still go back to the ideal that Sharpe, Henley and Howard may not be the most talented bunch, but they'll sure as hell out-work you. And for those of you who complain about McNeill not blitzing and being creative enough, I'd suggest that you watch Howard for the game as he was all over the place prior to the snap in the Joker position and the defensive line as a whole did a tremendous job of creating a pocket and containing Lee. Howard was instrumental in ensuring that there were few gaps for Lee to run after the ball was snapped. McNeill deserves a ton of credit for turning around a defense in such a short period of time after Setencich was let go. That's not to say that this Texas Tech defense has arrived, but I do think it's appropriate to say that this defense is leaps and bounds better than where it was in 2007.

Captain Mike Leach acknowledged the defense in his post-game thoughts:

On if the defensive performance on the day ranks high in his career coaching at Texas Tech: "I think so. I think it does for a couple reasons, and I think one reason it does is because, like I said, when things weren't really going our way, we were losing yards on offense as quick as we were gaining them for a period of time out there, and our defense just stepped up over and over. We tested them in about every way we could. Bad field position, good return on the punt or the kickoff, offense gets a three and out, then another three and out, when you think of this defense when you've got to make it happen, they just kept stepping up. I thought it was a real credit to our D-line, which is a real quick unit. Really I thought both D-lines had a pretty big day."

Offensive Line Woes: When LT Terry McDaniel went down with an apparent knee injury I became incredibly nervous. McDaniel has been a steadying influence along the offensive lines and you guys talked about it in the game-day and post-game threads. Perhaps all of the injuries and suspension along the offensive lines create a situation where this unit will be much better off in 2010 as guys have to pick each other up, but as woeful as Nebraska was on offense in the 1st half, the Texas Tech offense wasn't good in the 2nd half, sans 1 drive. Other than the touchdown drive, Texas Tech managed only 46 yards on 5 drives and time of possession of only 4:22 in the 3rd quarter. Credit the Nebraska pressure defense that rattled Sheffield early and often in the second half. For the day, Nebraska had 8 quarterback hurries and 5 sacks for the day, in addition to 13 tackles for a loss. Whether or not the offensive line wasn't 100% or not, this must change and I'm sure that OL coach Moore will address this issue during the week.

The Nebraska defense looked a lot like the Texas Tech defense in that they rushed their front 4 almost all day. The biggest difference between what I saw against Nebraska and what Oklahoma did against Texas, was that the Sooners were stunting and blitzing all over the place. I don't know that this line will see another line as talented and strong as Nebraksa, but OU is going to be incredibly tough.

Leach Thoughts: I'm guessing that Leach was in a good mood after yesterday's win and it showed in some of his comments after the game. There's really no point to any of this other than to highlight some of the more quotable portions.

When Leach was asked about how whether there was any doubt the team would respond in the second half, he had this to say about his defense:

"We have blackshirts there at Texas Tech too. Every one of our guys is wearing a black shirt underneath their pads. I'm proud to say the blackshirts won this one."

I'm not sure if Leach knew before the game that Pelini gave out the blackshirts to 13 of his defensive players yesterday, but if he did, then this was both smart and thoughtful way to convey to his team that they play pretty damned good defense too.

When asked about Sheffield's performance and some of the pressure he faced on Saturday:

"He got a lot of pressure,’’ Leach said. "He generated some for himself, too. There were a couple of them where he’d go back there and run in a circle, run in a circle and look up and then there’s two guys there. I wasn’t real cranked about that. 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.’’

What percentage of college coaches use the word "cranked"?

When asked about whether or not it was important to score on Texas Tech's first possession, Leach launches into a bit about Sheffield and the money quote is at the end:

"I think it's really important, and I think (Sheffield) was really instrumental in that. I think he does a great job just with the whole team. He is one of our captains this week. He was really instrumental in having all of our guys excited to play. Then he went over there and kind of put his money where his mouth is or whatever. That's basically one of the worst cliches I've used in a long time, I'm usually better at making them up."

Kickoff Woes: No one takes more special teams grief than K Donnie Carona, and I'd be more than happy to learn that the short kickoffs were part of the game play, but for the game, Carona only averaged 54 yards a kickoff. That's about kicking it off to the 15 to 20 yard line. I'm surprised that Special Teams coach Russell has been so forgiving of Carona and it took one punt for Carona to get the boot as the punter, but field position is a big part of the game and I'd really just like to see Carona be more consistent.

Contrarian MVP's :: Due to the strange nature of this game, I thought that this week's MVP's should be a little different too.

The Offensive MVP :: DE Daniel Howard: The conventional offensive MVP would have been WR Detron Lewis, who had 5 catches for 100 yards or Steven Sheffield for leading the Red Raiders to a win on the road against a ranked opponent. But these are contrarian MVP's. Howard had the longest play of the game, 82 yards, returning a fumble and putting Texas Tech ahead for the game. Who would have thought that Howard's play would have been the one to put Nebraska away for he game, but it was.

The Defensive Co-MVP's :: FS Franklin Mitchem and SS Cody Davis: The convention defensive MVP would have to be DE Brandon Sharpe, who had 7 tackles, 4 sacks and broke up 1 pass. Incredible game, just absolutely incredible. But the contrarian MVP goes to the two safety-mates in Davis and Mitchem. I thought Mitchem's support in and around the line of scrimmage was absolutely tremendous, and then to top it off, he snagged an interception. Davis' hit on that 3rd down that caused the Nebraska player to drop a sure catch was tremendous. That kid can play. One last thing about Mitchem and Davis, and someone please tell me if I'm wrong, but has Texas Tech been burned deep thus far this year? It's a testament to DB coach Mainord, but it's also a testament to the guys in the program.

The Special Teams MVP :: SS Brett Dewhurst: In addition to getting a ton of playing time as the nickel and dime defensive back, he also had 4 special teams tackles for the day. A convention MVP would have been K Matthew Williams, who hit a field goal for 32 yards and all of his extra points, or P Ryan Erxleben, who has no idea he's a freshman, punting in a hostile environment.

Big 12 Cob Of The Weak - Rout 66, Iowa State PAT's and Dan Hawkins Continues As Conference Idiot

Jon Johnston — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:36:09 -0000

More photos » by Charlie Riedel - AP

Kansas State's Bill Snyder asks an official if they can do "two hand touch" during the second quarter of a game against Texas Tech. During the fourth quarter, he rescinded the request with another. "One Hand Touch, then? Okay? No????"

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It's that time of the week again! Time to vote for your candidate for the worst performance in the Big 12 last week.

There are times at which it's hard to come up with nominations... like the non-conference season when everyone plays a blind high school team on the same weekend. Now that we're in Big 12 conference play, there's no need to fear the lack of nominations!

I especially can't wait for next week! Will the mighty Sooners or Longhorns be amongst the candidates? After all that hype, you know something stupid is going to happen!

Corn Blight:

I really really really don't want to do this. I don't, but I don't feel like I have a choice because Dan Hawkins continues to be such an idiot that he cannot be ignored.

Not only does Dan Hawkins burn Tyler Hansen's redshirt mid-way for the second year in a row, but he throws Hansen into a game where the Buffs are behind to the second-ranked team in the nation. In the fourth quarter. Apparently so that Colorado will only lose ten games this season instead of 11.

Sad thing is, it's so bad in Colorado that this news has excited the Buff fan base.

My fear is that Colorado is going to dominate the Big 12 COTW every week for the rest of the season. Should we give them a break from nominations at some point, or does that ruin the reason for having an award in the first place?

JLew:

My cob of the week goes to the K-State defensive effort against Texas Tech, hereby called Rout 66. The loss left TB at Bring on the Cats with nothing to point to positively and the KSU college paper, The Collegian, to wonder if Snyder should have stayed retired, rather than tarnish his legacy.

Snyder commented that he'd never seen anything like it, and it was the third worst loss for a Snyder-coached team. One telling stat, considering the changes in defense as the Red Raiders' margin became more pronounced, kicker Donnie Carona tied for Tech's team lead in tackles with five, playing merely on the kickoff team. Hold on wait, I think Tech just scored again....

Husker Mike:

I'm thinking Iowa State's special teams. Missing three straight extra points cost you two games this season; the Clones could actually be leading the North. Maybe special teams coaching comes in year two of a new coaching staff?

Poll

Your vote for the Big 12 Cob of the Week?

Dan Hawkins quarterback quandary of his own making.

95 votes

Kansas State's defense for being historically bad. Is that possible?

46 votes

Iowa State's inability to make PAT's.

35 votes

176 votes | Poll has closed

Matchups :: Nebraska Cornhuskers Edition

Seth C — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:00:55 -0000

Texas Tech Red Raiders (4-2, 1-1)

vs.

Nebraska Cornhuskers (4-1, 1-0)

Game Information:
October 17, 2009 :: 2:30 p.m. CST :: Weather: Lincoln, NE
TV: FSN :: 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. Nebraska Passing Defense

Texas Tech (443.50 / 2 / 1): QB Steven Sheffield has been electric in two games for Texas Tech, albeit he's done it against two teams that aren't top 25 teams, like Nebraska. In 1.5 games for the Red Raiders, Sheffield is 53-70 for 780 yards, 11 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Not to be too critical, but Sheffield's interception on Saturday night seemed like a play where Sheffield had determined where he was going to go as the play was snapped. That cannot happen against Nebraska. Tramain Swindall has become this team's playmaker amongst the receivers, averaging 92.8 yards a game and 19.33 yards per catch. The rest of the group is rounding out their roles. I think I mentioned last week that Texas Tech would need at least 1 receiver to step up their game, and right now, Swindall is in a zone. The bigger the threat that Swindall is, the easier it becomes for Detron Lewis, Alexander Torres and Lyle Leong. And this doesn't even take into account Jacoby Franks big night (3 receptions, 99 yards and 1 touchdown) against KSU. Quite simply, there's a lot of receiving threats out there and Sheffield is finding them. There's no doubt that the offensive line has looked better in the last two games, in part because Sheffield's mobility has allowed him additional time, but this unit still leads the conference in sacks allowed at 13 and must play like a cohesive unit. Perhaps the matchup of the night will be RG Brandon Carter and the below-mentioned Suh.

Nebraska (162.60 / 14 / 1): The Cornhusker pass defends begins and ends with DT Ndamukong Suh, who may be the best player in college football right now, and has an unbelievable stat line: 32 tackles (leads team), 5.5 TFL (leads team), 3 sacks (leads team), 7 passes broken up (leads team) and an interception. Suh is an absolute dominate interior defender and to think that Texas Tech's offensive line is going to control Suh to an extent would be wishful thinking. The pass defense is 14th in the nation and have played prolific passing teams such as . . . Missouri, in a rain-storm. In other words, much like Kansas St. last week, the Cornhuskers haven't really played a team that's truly proficient passing the ball other than the Tigers. And to give Nebraska credit, they held Blaine Gabbert to 17-43 for 134 yards and 2 interceptions. I think you'll see a lineup of Prince Amukamara and Alfonzo Dennard at cornerback and Matt O'Hanlon and Larry Asante at safety. Keep in mind that Nebraska has a distinct advantage that other Texas Tech opponents haven't had, which is a dominant player up front. Nebraska has broken up 25 passes during the year and had 17 quarterback hurries. That's 42 pass plays that have been affected by the secondary or the defensive line.

Verdict: This is the strength of the Texas Tech offense and the offense is clicking.

Texas Tech Rushing Offense vs. Nebraska Rushing Defense

Texas Tech (78.00 / 114 / 12): Baby steps. The Red Raiders went from the worst rushing offense in the NCAA to the 114th worst rushing offense, all in one week. But there's progress there to those of us who watch closely. I mentioned after the game on Sunday that the running backs rushed for 182 yards on 21 carries. That's an 8.67 yard per carry average and for a team that's absolutely struggled to garner any sort of run game, the fact that this team has pulled itself up a bit, especially after having such a tough time establishing anything resembling a running game is encouraging. The truth be told though is that the Red Raiders hae steadily improved the rushing game after a somewhat slow start (73 and 60 yards in their first 2 games). It's still tough to be sure what offensive line coach Matt Moore will do, although you would expect that unless something drastic happened, he would settle on the offensive line that would be the most successful against Nebraska, which was to start Lonnie Edwards at LG rather than Chris Olson, who Moore may be figuring will need to give multiple positions a break against the Cornhuskers. The more I think about this idea, the more I like it.

Nebraska (110.80 / 33 / 5): Nebraska is sitting 5th in the conference, although Nebraska has been a team that you could run on (i.e. there's yards to be gained), but the difference is that they are yielding few points on the ground and allowing less than 5 yards a rush. In addition to all-world Suh, the defensive line is rounded out by Barry Turner and Pierre Allen at defensive end and Jared Crick joins Suh up front. I'm not sure how much the linebackers will play on Saturday and would guess that Pelini will adjust with an additional defensive back, which should, in theory, open things up for the Texas Tech running game. When Nebraska is in their base package, I think you'll see Phillip Dillard, Will Compton and Sean Fisher. This is a stout run defense, and last year, I think you might see a defense more focused on the run as Texas Tech and Baron Batch ran for 137 yards on 23 carries and 3 touchdowns.

Verdict: Nebraska, hands down.

Nebraska Passing Offense vs. Texas Tech Passing Defense

Nebraska (236.60 / 44 / 7): I'll be the first to admit that I'm pleasantly surprised by Zac Lee's passing efficiency thus far this year. Lee's been very effective and probably most important to a Pelini offense, he doesn't turn the ball over, with only 3 interceptions this year to 10 touchdowns. Lee's not prolific as his biggest game this year was 340 yards against Arkansas St. A very balanced group of receivers lead the way for Nebraska, including receivers Paul Niles, Curenski Gilleylen, and Chris Brooks. TE Mike McNeill is a receiving threat as he's caught a pass every game thus far this year, but the truth is that the 3 receivers mentioned above are the main threats for Nebraska. Nebraska is 10th in the country in sacks allowed, giving up only 4 all year. Other than RT Marcel Jones, the Nebraska offensive line is a veteran group, including LT Mike Smith, LG Keith Williams, C Jacob Hickman and RG Ricky Henry. We're looking a the short passing game, keeping the Texas Tech offense off of the field and that can be so painful to watch.

Texas Tech (242.50 / 92 / 11): Texas Tech has really struggled here, and this may be an indication that Texas Tech played some proficient passing teams early in Texas and Houston (although the killer game was 316 to New Mexico). Still, this unit has been a little up and down, giving up yards, but not necessarily points. Despite the yardage given up, Texas Tech leads the conference in passes defended, including 33 passes broken up and 4 interceptions. Perhaps part of the reason is that the secondary hasn't been healthy in weeks, as SS Franklin Mitchem was out early in the season, FS Cody Davis was out last week, and LaRon Moore missed almost the entire game last week. This has forced two freshmen, S Will Ford and CB D.J. Johnson to step up their game. Also sitting a-top the conference is Texas Tech (along with Oklahoma) with 18 sacks for the year. Same as the secondary, much of this has been done with players that no on else in the conference would recognize. I've said it before, but it bears repeating, this group isn't as physically gifted as others, but they will out-work out and it seems that this unit gets more sacks late in the game. It's constant pressure.

Verdict: Statistically, I feel like I have to give this to Nebraska.

Nebraska Rushing Offense vs. Texas Tech Rushing Defense

Nebraska (168.00 / 43 / 8): When I first started to look at the numbers, I was surprised that Nebraska was only 8th in the conference in rushing. I was expecting a bit more. RB Roy Helu, Jr. is 13th in the nation in rushing, and was a bit under the weather against Missouri last week. Helu had a monster game against Virginia Tech (169 yards on 28 carries) and that's the sort of thing that bothers me about what Nebraska is capable of on any given night. There's not much behind Helu as true freshman, and DFW guy, Rex Burkhead is seeing the most significant carries behind Helu. Right now, Burkhead is a change of pace sort of back, getting 5 or 6 carries a game, although he's fairly effective.

Texas Tech (107.17 / 28 / 4): I'm shocked by those numbers and I'll keep repeating this and hope that it becomes true, but one of the hallmarks of a team that does well is a good to great rush defense. Much like most other things this early in the season, you can partially blame opponents, but thus far, the Red Raiders have only allowed a little over 100 yards a game. The DT's Colby Whitlock and Richard Jones have quietly been very solid and give plenty of credit to a linebacking corp of Brian Duncan, Bront Bird and Marlon Williams that seem to be getting better game by game. You would think that Duncan and Bird would be tailor made for Nebraska and it will be interesting to see if Whitlock, Jones and Victor Hunter, to an extent, will be able to allow the linebackers to scrape and make plays.

Verdict: Seems strange, but the stats play the winner out here.

Texas Tech Special Teams vs. Nebraska Special Teams

Texas Tech: Freshman P Ryan Erxleben has been a breath of fresh air, handling 14 punts on the year, but being able to pin a few inside the opponents 20 yard line is a nice weapon have, especially in a game that could come down to field position. You'd like to see more consistency from K Donnie Carona kicking off, but he's still 6th in the conference and Matthew Williams hasn't had to kick a lot of field goals, but he has been solid in PAT's (34/35) ending the horror that was 2008. Texas Tech hasn't been spectacular returning punts and tried WR Austin Zouzalik for a number of games, but switched to CB Jamar Wall last week. Wall might be a bit more daring, but Zouzalik is solid. The Red Raiders are 2nd in the conference in kickoff returns, led by true freshman RB Eric Stephens.

Nebraska: P Alex Henry is 6th in the conference in punting. Much like Texas Tech, there's nothing really spectacular there. PK Alex Henery is clutch, making 8 of 9 field goals this year and making all of his PAT's. WR Niles Paul is returning punts, and again, like Texas Tech, aren't lighting the world on fire and as far as kickoff returns, Niles is again, mediocre (59th in the county and 9th in the conference).

Verdict: These teams are about as even as you could be for the most part, with slight advantages in one category over another. PUSH

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.

Post Game Thoughts :: Kansas St. Wildcats Edition

Seth C — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 14:16:41 -0000

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The Result :: Stunning: There were only a few of us who predicted this outcome and to be quite frank, I never expected this and as a result, the outcome is simply stunning. In a game where there's a route, it's hard to be critical and hard to see where the team may need to work on some things before an incredibly tough opponent in the Nebraska Cornhuskers. I'd still contend that last night's K-State team isn't as bad as the final score indicated, but they are a team that can't score in bunches and by not keeping the contest within 2 touchdowns the Wildcats just couldn't keep pace.

But I'd be lying if I didn't say that this type of performance, where the team clicked on all 3 sides of the ball, is what the fanbase has been craving and I think that helps going into next week, on the road, against an incredibly tough and resilient Nebraska team.

The Storylines ::

Best Possible Scenario: To have QB Steven Sheffield play as well as he did was the absolute best possible scenario. There's never been a quarterback controversy at Texas Tech under Coach Leach and I wouldn't expect that to start now. I don't mean to say that Sheffield isn't pushing QB Taylor Potts right now, and he is, and I think that's absolutely wonderful, but if Potts hasn't so much as practiced all of last week, then the expectation that Potts could return this week doesn't seem conceivable. For the next week, the job seems to be Sheffield's, and with good reason.

Maybe the best course of action is to take this fluid situation week-by-week. I keep thinking that Leach named Potts the starter for a reason or two and he's not going to dismiss those reasons after a game and a half. That's not to discredit Sheffield, but Leach thought that Potts was the best player to lead his team from the spring game forward. Things change and I'm as excited as the next guy, but don't be surprised if Leach eventually goes back to Potts in the near future.

Sheffield was incredibly efficient, averaging 11.95 yards per attempt (excellent is 9 YPA), and finding 10 different receivers for 2 or more catches. That's really unbelievable in terms of what Sheffield did on the field. Let's not forget the 80% completion rate and the 7 touchdowns to 1 interception.

This week, Sheffield thought he played better:

Probably an A-minus, yeah. I mean, I made some stupid decisions, and I didn't need to. It was like I threw one that they took to the house that was me not making a good decision and not making a routine play. That's what I need to let go. At the same time I'm not going to beat myself up about it. You know, Coach Leach always preaches on play the next play, and that's what you've got to do. Forget about that one and go on to the next one.

There's really not much else you can say about Sheffield's performance other than it was simply superb. I'm sure there are other performances in the Leach era that equal Sheffield's of last night, but it's right up there in terms of efficiency.

Stifling Defense: Perhaps this was the story of the game for me, i.e., the fact that the defense was so dominant. Through the first half, the Kansas St. offense managed 77 yards on 6 possessions, 39 of those yards came in the first drive and of those 39 yards, 24 came on 1 play, a RB Daniel Thomas rush up the middle. To say that the defensive effort was a collective effort may be the understatement of the year. No player had mre than 5 tackles for the game, SS Franklin Mitchem, K Donnie Carona and CB D.J. Johnson. That's right, Corona had 5 tackles on kickoffs alone, which tied for the team lead. There were 4 players that had 3 tackles and the rest of the team had no more than 1 or 2 tackles.

Even Leach paid attention:

Thought it was really good. Wish we would have gotten out of the blocks the first drive a little bit better. But after that I thought they played really tough. We came close to getting even more turnovers. Would like to have seen him get those, but got some and I thought that was good. I thought where we kept them out in four downs down there. I thought that was really impressive. That was something else.

In fact, as I'm sitting here typing this, I'm not sure who deserves the defensive MVP. The team allowed K-State 116 yards on the ground and 168 through the air. That's a dominant performance all the way around.

Freshman Focus: Perhaps the best part about the rash of injuries and players having to step up their game is that these freshmen, both redshirt and true freshmen, are learning how to play quickly and significantly. We've already mentioned that CB/S D.J. Johnson is seeing significant time in the secondary and because CB LaRon Moore went out early with an injury, Johnson was superb. Johnson is a versatile player who might be the best overall defensive back (I think he's playing both cornerback and safety in different packages) this program has had in quite some time. And he's only a freshman.

Fellow S Will Ford had a relatively quiet game and I think the reason may be is that the Big 12 is already figuring out very quickly that he can play and there may be other players that opposing offenses can pick on.

The freshmen running backs are simply dynamic. RB Harrison Jeffers doesn't look like a running back that Texas Tech usually gets, he looks like a running back that the Sooners usually get or the Longhorns. I think Jeffers has elite talent. I'd also add that true freshman Eric Stephens didn't get a ton of playing time last week, but this week, he closed out the game with some late game carries.

And last, but certainly not least, QB Seth Doege, led this team almost the entire 4th quarter, and you're always happy for a guy to get his first completion of his career and his first touchdown reception. After the Texas Tech spring game, a lot of people wrote off Doege and were automatically passing QB Jacob Karam or high school QB Scotty Young over Doege as the heir apparent to the Texas Tech quarterback position. I'm all about letting competition work itself out and proclaiming anyone an heir apparent at any position is premature.

Perhaps this is a testament to Leach and the entire program in general, but there's talent at just about every position, and not the kind of wishful thinking sort of talent that you hope and pray develops, but the sort of talent that makes you wonder who should be the starter.

Doege, the forgotten one, finished the game 6 of 8 for 64 yards and a touchdown. Congrats to Doege on a job well done.

Credit Up Front: I thought the defensive line, despite not having much show up in terms of statistics, played about as well as a team could play. The Red Raiders were without DE Daniel Howard, who's been the most consistent pass-rusher all year and DE Brandon Sharpe, despite not worrying about containment at all in the 24 yard Thomas run mentioned above, had an excellent game. Sharpe finished with 2 sacks, while DE Rajon Henley, who's been too quiet, had 1 sack and 2 TFL. I thought from a philosophical standpoint, the front guys did exactly what they were supposed to do, and certainly credit goes to the linebackers as well, which is stop the run at all costs and make Kansas St. beat you through the air. The pressure that the Texas Tech offense put on K-State had something to do with it, but make no mistake, stopping the run was a priority and I think it was good for this unit with the Cornhuskers looming.

Resurgent Running Backs: For the past 2 weeks, excluding the quarterbacks, the running game has certainly made a big appearance. The collective efforts of Baron Batch, Harrison Jeffers and Eric Stephens on the ground against K-State yeilded 182 yards on a mere 21 carries. And despite Jeffers getting most of the touchdowns last week, it was Batch who led the way with 87 yards, a 9.6 YPC average, and a touchdown. Add another 77 receiving yards to the total and you've got 259 yards of production, on 33 just touches, from the running back position. Last week, it was 200 yards of production from the running backs on 24 touches.

Notebook: I think that LAJ's Don Williams football notebook has some things that need to be mentioned, which included the fact that neither DE Daniel Howard or C Shawn Byrnes played at all last night. I think the staff was gambling that they weren't going to be needed this week, and I would expect that they would be ready to play next week. I was surprised to see LG Lonnie Edwards get the start against Kansas St. (despite what the graphic at the beginning of the game said). I thought Olson has played well all season and Edwards has struggled. That's not what I was expecting, but I didn't notice too much of a drop-off. I think I still prefer Olson over Edwards right now, but Edwards didn't have a bad game. With CB LaRon Moore going down at cornerback last night (which we saw the return of SS Franklin Mitchem, which was good considering FS Cody Davis was out), you had the aforementioned D.J. Johnson and CB Taylor Charbonnet stepping up their games last night.

The Offensive MVP :: QB Steven Sheffield: Not bad for a guy getting his first start of his career. I still think it's good to temper the excitement a bit, but the fact that the backup quarterback has a full game of experience and is pushing the starting quarterback is good for the program.

The Defensive Co-MVP's :: SS Franklin Mitchem and CB/S D.J. Johnson: Saturday night was a collective effort and I don't think you can spin this any other way than to have a few players receive this honor. You could credit the whole defensive line or the linebackers or the defensive backs, but the fact that Mitchem, coming off an injury that had him out 2 weeks, and Johnson, a freshman defensive back from a small Episcopal school in Austin who wasn't expected to even sniff the field and forced his way into the lineup, leads this team in tackles speaks about the strength of this team.

The Special Teams MVP :: K Donnie Carona: The guy had 5 tackles on special teams and kicked off 11 times. Corona's biggest issue is consistency and that was evident on Saturday night (kickoffs ranging from 45 to 70), but let's him credit for getting his nose in on some tackles, but let's hope he gets things on track with his kickoffs.

Five Reasons Texas Tech Will Lose :: Kansas St. Wildcats Edition

Seth C — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:08:24 -0000

This weekly feature considers five reasons why Texas Tech will win and five reasons Texas Tech will lose to each opponent. Check back tomorrow for "Five Reasons Texas Tech Will Win :: Kansas St. Wildcats Edition".

Reason #1 :: Turnovers and Penalties: Too many turnovers for the Red Raiders and other than the Aggies, Texas Tech is 11th in the conference in number of penalties, but luckily for the Aggies, Texas Tech is last in the conference (or best) in yards. That's right, there's been 13 turnovers in just 5 games and the Red Raiders are in the hole one turnover for every game. And the interceptions are bothersome, but the rate that Potts was throwing picks was at an acceptable rate (1 INT for every 44 passes (for comparison purposes, Harrell was at a 50 attempts for every INT in 2007). At some point (although I think it has caught up to the Red Raiders to some extent) it's going to be an avalanche rather than losing a close game.

Reason #2 :: K-State Controls the Clock: We've talked a bit the last two days about KSU's running game and with the insertion of Grant Gregory there's the fear that K-State will control the clock and just pick away at the Texas Tech defense. I know that K-State isn't as talented as Nebraska, but I could see Snyder game-planning to just constantly pick at a Texas Tech defense that is looking not to give up the deep ball to WR Brandon Banks, QB Grant Gregory completing passes over the middle for short gains and RB Daniel Thomas grinding it on the ground.

Reason #3 :: Banks is Special: Brandon Banks can not only beat teams catching the ball, but he's been just spectacular returning kickoffs and right now the Red Raiders are 8th in the conference in allowing 21.45 yards a return. You'd like to see that average a little closer to 20 yards, but the easy way to avoid all of this is to have K Donnie Carona kick the ball out the endzone, which he can do with some regularity some of the time, but that touchback average has really regressed and currently sits at 25.81%. Carona's biggest flaw is consistency in kicking and it's clearly evident here. I really don't want Carona to get cute and try a bunch of directional kicking and would much prefer to simply just kick it out of the endzone if possible and remove the possibility of a Banks return.

Reason #4 :: Injuries Mounting: To say that this is a concern is an understatement and to be truthful, there's a lot of teams that cannot recover from losing a starting center, starting strong safety, starting defensive end and starting quarterback, and still win by 21. That's a lot of attrition for a season, much less just one game. There was talk this morning that KSU's defensive tackle/end Brandon Harold may return and he is the type of player that could give LT Terry McDaniel trouble on the outside or give C Justin Keown and LG Chris Olson trouble on the inside. The Texas Tech secondary is also taking quite a hit with the loss of FS Cody Davis who has been absolutely spectacular thus far this year and has made sure that the defense doesn't get beat for a long touchdown. If he's still in a protective boot yesterday, it's likely he doesn't play. He's the type of player that you don't necessarily notice is gone until KSU gets a touchdown deep. And we haven't even talked about replacing Taylor Potts for Steven Sheffield.

Reason #5 :: Solid Coaching: Bill Snyder is in the process of rebuilding Kansas St. and back in his heyday, he was one of the best in the coaching fraternity. To say that Leach has made some coaching mistakes this year might be an understatement and there may not be a more solid game-day coach that Snyder, who isn't likely to make a mistake on the field. His team may not be able to perform, but it won't be because of his coaching decisions. I've already mentioned the fact that KSU could have a similar game-plan to Nebraska of 2008. With a solid coach making right decisions and a solid game-plan the potential for an upset is quite prevelent.