SB Nation - Daniel Howard

Alamo Bowl Preview :: Texas Tech Defensive Matchups

Seth C — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:30:23 -0000

about 1 month ago: Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones, left, passes under pressure from Texas Tech defender Colby Whitlock, center, in the first quarter of an NCAA college football game in Lubbock, Texas, Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009. Oklahoma's Stephen Good is at right. Texas Tech won the game 41-13. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

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SS Cody Davis vs. QB Kirk Cousins:

Cody Davis (Strong Safety / 6-2 / 200 / RS FR) :: There were a ton of question marks regarding how the Texas Tech secondary would perform, especially after the loss of three-fourths of the defensive backfield. In stepped Davis and FS Franklin Mitchem and although the numbers may not be too terribly impressive, 72nd in the nation in pass defense, but in comparison to the rest of the Big 12, the Red Raiders are better than average, good for fifth in the conference. Davis is tited for second, along with CB LaRon Moore and CB D.J. Johnson, with six passes broken up and is second on the team in tackles with 72. The general thought that when your safety is leading the team or near the top of tackles made, something is wrong with the defense, but I would guess that most Big 12 defenses suffer the same fate and the nice thing about Davis, and the entire secondary, is that he will hit. Davis was recently named to the second team All-Freshman Defense by CFN, an honor that is well deserved.

Kirk Cousins (Quarterback / 6-3 / 202 / SO) :: Cousins is only 6th in the Big Ten in passing, but he helped the Spartans lead the Big Ten overall. There's a lot to be said about the receiver situation, but Cousins still has his favorite receiving target in WR Blair White, while WR Keshawn Martin was Cousins' fourth favorite target. Cousins completed 61.5% of his passes, averaged, 8.2 yards per attempt and had a touchdown to interception ration of 2.57 : 1.00. There's this thought that the Spartans are purely a passing team, or perhaps pass a majority of the time, and the truth is that Michigan St. is about as close to even in terms of run to pass as you can get (387 runs and 393 passes). Cousins has only had two multiple interception games (two against Michigan and two against Penn St.) which means that he's not prone to having awful games and throwing multiple interceptions. Counsins best game of the year came against Minnesota where he completed 22 of 25 passes for 353 yards and two touchdowns.

So-So Running Attack: Despite rushing the ball almost fifty percent of the time, the Spartans don't necessarily struggle to rush the ball, but aren't running down opponents either. MSU ranks 79th in the nation in rushing offense and are 7th in the Big Ten at 135.92 YPG (for comparison purposes Michigan St. would rank seventh in the Big 12). The running game is really a committee approach in that the Spartans have 5 players that average more than 20 yards a game, including Edwin Baker (47.14), Larry Caper (40.27), Glenn Winston (34.00), Caulton Ray (22.29) and Ashton Leggett (20.83). The MSU suspensions play a part here as Winston and Leggett are suspended for the bowl game. I'm sure that this will have some effect on the role of the running game, but I'd imagine that the other three players will be more than capable of picking up any slack. The truth of the matter is that MSU is their absolute best when they run as the Spartans average 172 yards rushing in their wins and only 99 yards in their losses and as you would guess, the Red Raiders are their best when they limit the opponent rushing the ball, allowing only 82 yards in Texas Tech's wins and over 210 yards in Texas Tech losses.

Solid O-Line: The MSU offensive line is actually pretty solid, especially from the sense that they allow Cousins to stay upright for most of the game as the unit has only allowed 1.08 per game. This is a fairly veteran bunch as LT Rocco Cironi, C Joel Nitchman and RG Brendon Moss are all seniors while RT D.J. Young is a junior. Texas Tech fans know that one of the keys to a successful season is keeping your quarterback up and having a fairly decent running game and the Spartan offensive line has certainly done that. This will be a pretty interesting matchup as the Texas Tech defense (detailed more below) is second in the country in total sacks and thirtieth in the nation in tackles for a loss. When we look back at the results of this game, it wouldn't surprise me in the least to think that how these two lines play will decide the game.

Brandon Sharpe
Position	DE
Year	SR
Height/Weight	6-3/254
Stats	32 tackles; 16.0 TFL; 15.0 sacks; 3 forced fumbles

I honestly had no idea that Sharpe had this in him. In 2008, Sharpe played 10 games, had 1.0 sacks, 4 tackles and was virtually non-existent. Sharpe didn't have a ton of opportunities in 2008, but he certainly made the most of them in 2009. Sharpe, paired with fellow defensive ends Daniel Howard and Rajon Henley, has had a monster year terrorizing opposing quarterbacks, good for second in the country. In fact, Sharpe really didn't get going until conference play and I believe that he completely missed or played only a handful (maybe 5 or so) plays against TAMU. Of Sharpe's 15.0 sacks, 13.0 came against conference opponents, and although he was shut-out a few games, the defensive line as a whole had at least 1.0 sack every game and during conference play, the defense averaged 3.75 sacks per game.

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 11.30.09

Seth C — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 12:14:16 -0000

More photos » by Jerry Larson - AP

24 days ago: Texas Tech's Taylor Potts (15) hugs teammate Baron Batch after Tech defeated Baylor 20-13 in an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 28, 2009, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Waco Tribune Herald, Jerry Larson)

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Big Thanks, Part I: First and foremost, I need to give a huge shout-out to DTN reader RAIDERDOC, who just offered to send me tickets to Saturday's game, sent them by overnight mail so that I could have them in plenty of time for Saturday's game. A huge tip of the hat to RAIDERDOC it was and is much appreciated.

Big Thanks, Part II: Last, but not least, you'll note that I didn't get to the Post Game Thoughts as originally thought. I decided to spend the entire Sunday with the wife and not work on DTN, but rather help her out with Christmas decorations. I figured that since Texas Tech didn't have any sort of game this week, I didn't necessarily have to spend time writing previews, putting together tables, etc. I've ignored her for most Saturdays and Sundays for the better part of the year and she willingly gives me a kitchen-pass when it comes to DTN most, if not all of the time. I'll be working on Post Game Thoughts tonight and probably post sometime tomorrow.

Potts is the Worst Evah: I get that QB Taylor Potts didn't have a great game on Saturday night, even the most staunch Potts supporter could agree that he wasn't great. It was an awful first half, reminiscent of performances like this, this or this (damn straight I'm cherry-picking). But in the second half, after being down 10-3, Potts was pretty good. I'll have more on this tomorrow, but Potts finished the 2nd half going 17 for 24 for 145 yards and 2 touchdowns. I got up yesterday morning, read all of the comments about how Potts didn't hit any receiver in stride the entire game, thought that I had seen a different game, perhaps under the influence, watched the game again and thought that this was a crazy notion. Did he miss receivers? Sure, find a quarterback that doesn't. Did he throw behind some receivers? Sure, find a quarterback that doesn't.

Not only that, I think credit needs to be given to Potts for continuing to believe in the running game, as he (or someone) called 12 rushing plays in the 2nd half good for 55 yards, that's 4.58 yards per attempt. It would have been real easy to simply pass every play considering how the team was down, but I thought the mix of running plays was a big part of the 2nd half success.

I get the feeling that this is probably a losing battle with most of you guys, in that my efforts to give Potts just a bit of a break will always fail. Potts isn't perfect, I think we can all agree on that, and he had a bad first half, but he's not the worst quarterback in the history of Texas Tech. In Graham Harrell's first year quarterbacking this team, Harrell led this team to 8 wins with losses to TCU, Missouri, Colorado, Texas and Oklahoma. Harrell finished the year with 38 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, while Potts sits at 20 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. No one will ever win an argument that Potts is the best quarterback, but I just have a hard time agreeing with some of the sentiments that every pass was an abomination.

One other thought that's creeped in my mind, and I don't like talking about injuries, but QB Steven Sheffield is listed at 190 pounds, but would be willing to be that he may not weigh a pound over 180. The fact that Sheffield is a skinny guy who may not be able to take the pounding that a Big 12 season has to offer is a very real possibility next year.

Not only that, the picture above is visual proof that Potts teammates absolutely hate him.

At the end of the day, I think we all want the same thing, which is for the best quarterback to play, but some of the Potts-critiques seem harsh or perhaps I'm too soft, not mean enough, need to have a take and rip a player for not being better than he actually is or crap on a player despite getting a win.

Baylor's Best: LAJ's Don Williams writes that the Baylor Bears brought their best on Saturday. Head captain Mike Leach seems proud of the effort:

"Baylor was more ready to play than we were,’’ Tech coach Mike Leach said, "and Baylor came in and gave us their best shot. It’s the best game I’ve seen them play all year and we (won), and for that, I’m very proud of our guys. Sometimes, you’ve just got to find a way.’’

Sharpe's Record: LAJ's Don Williams with a small notebook, but does have the note that the quarterback hurry that resulted in the Baylor QB throwing the ball away was officially changed to a sack, giving DE Brandon Sharpe 15.0 for the year. Leach had this to say about Sharpe:

"The last three-quarters of the season, he got on a tear,’’ Tech coach Mike Leach said. "Just think if the first four games were like that.’’ Leach said some credit should go to defensive end Daniel Howard, who has been credited with eight sacks this season.

"I think what makes it really difficult (for blockers) and really makes (Sharpe’s) job easier is the fact there’s a lot of heat on that other side with Daniel Howard,’’ Leach said. "We had a situation like that a few years back when we had Aaron Hunt and Adell Duckett on either side. It’s a lot different than just having one.’’

. . . Williams also mentions how IR Austin Zouzalik has slowly but surely replaced fellow IR Detron Lewis . . .

Texas Tech vs. Baylor Leftovers: DT's Alex Ybarra writes that the Red Raiders survived the Baylor scare, with the defense coming up big against the Bears, and fellow-writer Adam Coleman focuses on freshman RB Eric Stephens goat-to-hero game . . . WacoTrib's John Werner writes that moving the game to Cowboys Stadium was the right move . . .

Five Reasons Texas Tech Will Win :: Baylor Bears Edition

Seth C — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:00:24 -0000

by Sue Ogrocki - AP

about 1 month ago: Texas Tech defensive end Brandon Sharpe, left, moves in to sack Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones, right, during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game in Lubbock, Texas, Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

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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 :: Baylor Bears Edition.

Reason #1 :: Clicking Offense: It's tough to say that 1 game is a trend, but perhaps you can take a look at the last 3 games. Against Kansas, the Texas Tech offense rushed for 105 yards (usually an indicator of a win) and passed for 253. Against Oklahoma St. the offense sputtered, mostly in part because the rushing offense only managed 50 yards for the entire game. Last but not least, last week against Oklahoma, the offense simply busted out offensively as the rushing offense accounted for 161 yards and 388 through the air. I use these 3 games as a indicator of what worked (Kansas); what this team didn't do right (Oklahoma St.); and what worked to perfection (Oklahoma). We need to see more of what happened against Oklahoma this week.

Reason #2 :: Quarterback Stability: There's something to be said for the stability of the team when there's stability at quarterback. Leach mentioned the week before the Oklahoma game that he regretted the pulling of QB Taylor "Nick" Potts against Oklahoma St., and wanted to simply stick with a guy. Perhaps its that sort of confidence that Potts needed. Just a pat on the back and telling Potts that through thick or thin, he's the guy unless there's an injury. Potts has taken the right attitude and perhaps this is a sign of his maturity (I'd also like to add that I'm in the camp that a player should never have to deal with booing fans at his home stadium) and willingness to also be a team player:

"If I’m not starting," he said, "coach pulls me or whatever — It’s my responsibility to this team to stay focused and to stay with it and keep my head in the game and not just lose it."

Reason #3 :: Defensive Line Pressure: We're going to keep talking about the pressure that the defense brings until it stops becoming a factor. The Bears have a passing oriented offense and again there's no doubt that defensive ends Brandon Sharpe, Daniel Howard and Rajon Henley will need to have a big impact on Saturday's outcome. The Bears are 85th in the country in sacks allowed, at 2.45 per game. The Texas Tech defense is registering 3.27 sacks a game, sitting atop the Big 12 and when Texas Tech wins, the Red Raiders get to the quarterback 4.14 times and in losses, it's only 1.75 per game.

Reason #4 :: Renewed Running Game: I mentioned above that it's tough to call one game a trend, but I hope like heck it is. It's not just about RB Baron Batch, but I think it's also about consistency on the offensive line. The Baylor game will mark the 4th game that the current configuration of the offensive line will be playing together. There's something to be said for the offensive line having the opportunity to play together for these 4 games and develop a little chemistry. If there's a reason for the return of the running game, this is a pretty good place to start. The line-play certainly isn't perfect, but it's not a coincidence that the running game has looked better recently.

Reason #5 :: Harassing Secondary: I also do not think it's a coincidence that when S Will Ford and S Brett Dewhurst got healthy, so did the pass defense again. The TAMU game was not the pass defense's best performance, but since Ford's and Dewhurst's returns, the pass defense has improved fairly dramatically. Against TAMU, the pass defense had a passer-rating of 151.04, the worst of the season (and keep in mind that Sharpe was sick for most of this game) but against Kansas: 108.13; Oklahoma St.: 94.57; and Oklahoma: 109.20. That's the best 3-game stretch for any part of the season. There's talent in the defensive backfield, and it's finally healthy.

Post Game Thoughts :: Oklahoma Sooners Edition

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

by Sue Ogrocki - AP

about 1 month 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.

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 11.21.09

Seth C — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:20:20 -0000

Let's hope this happens. ~~I'd love to give credit to whoever did this, if you know, leave a comment.~~ Texas Tech alum Brian Crowell gets credit for the photoshop skills. Thanks to Brian for the foreshadowing.

Senior Day: LAJ's Don Williams writes that on previous senior days, the Red Raiders have made it count. The first 2 paragraphs were pretty good:

Texas Tech tackle Marlon Winn started the week reminding teammates the added significance of today’s regular-season home finale against Oklahoma. It’ll be the last trip down the tunnel at Jones AT&T Stadium for 19 Red Raiders seniors.

"He said it (Sunday) night: ‘How would you want to be sent out when you’re a senior?’’’ Tech linebacker Bront Bird said. "’We have a lot of freshmen and sophomores playing right now. Think about whenever it’s your time, how you want your legacy to be left in the Jones.’ So I think the team’s going to rally around that.’’

Injuries Hurt Red Raiders and Sooners: LAJ's Don Williams runs down the injury situation for both teams and reminds me that the only significant injuries that Texas Tech suffered that year was DT Rajon Henley for 3 games and G Louis Vasquez and CB L.A. Reed for 2 games. I could spend quite a bit of time going over the injury situation this year, but it's certainly been significant.

Howard Has No Limits: FWST's Dwain Price features DE Daniel Howard, who fellow teammate LB Bront Bird feels that Howard isn't as known and opposing linemen should know about him:

"Maybe he’s not as tall as the other guys, or as strong, or maybe not even as fast, but he makes up for that in effort, that’s for sure," Red Raiders linebacker Bront Bird said.

"I’m not sure what [opposing offensive linemen] think of him, but I know they better respect him. He causes havoc off the edge, I know that much."

Here's Howard on coming to Texas Tech:

"I got recruited by the rest of the schools around here to play linebacker, and Tech was the one that came in and told me, 'You’re going to play defensive end.’ I said, 'OK,’ because everybody else told me I was too small [to play defensive end], I wasn’t fast enough and I wasn’t tall enough, and I think as a defense we’re making statements because we’re all those guys."

Go read the whole thing, it's worth your time.

Oklahoma Sooner and Big 12 Links: Crimson and Cream Machine with 5 keys to beating Texas Tech . . . NewsOK's David Ubben with the weekly blitz package . . . NewsOK's Jake Trotter writes that the Sooners might need some magic today . . . NewsOK's Berry Tramel writes that the Sooners have struggled on the road . . . the Tulsa World with 3 storylines for today's game . . . FWST's Mike Jones with a look at RB DeMarco Murray and WR Ryan Broyles are playmakers . . . LAJ's Adam Zuvanich wirtes that the OU defense is one of the best in the Stoops era . . .

Game Tonight: Lamar Cardinals vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders
Time: 7:00 p.m. :: Location: United Spirit Arena, Lubbock, Texas
Preview and Game Day Thread: Scheduled for 6:00 p.m. post

Stressing Defense: LAJ's Courtney Linehan writes that head coach Pat Knight is stressing defense:

Skeletons dance across the backs of the Texas Tech men’s basketball players. The frightful figures are printed on their T-shirts, but they carry a message coach Pat Knight hopes rattles his team this season: Play to the bone.

"It’s a fighting term: it means you have to fight to the end, until that final bell goes off," Knight said after the Raiders’ 94-75 win against Northwestern State on Thursday. "Look at boxing, how many guys lose it in the 12th round, get knocked out because they’re playing it safe or just think they have the fight won."

And Knight was not happy with the first the first half of the game against Northwestern St.:

"It was going back to the same old BS as last year: not guarding people, trying to out-gun the other team. You might be able to do that against some teams in the preseason, but you’re not going to be able to out-gun Texas and Kansas."

Quarterbacks, Defenses, Intangibles And Other Stuff About Texas Tech

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

More photos » by Mike Fuentes - AP

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Five Reasons Texas Tech Will Win ::Oklahoma Sooners Edition

Seth C — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:00:21 -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 ::Oklahoma Sooners Edition.

Reason #1 :: Desperation: I try hard not to claim that a particular team is any more desperate than the other, but I do believe, or perhaps I hope to believe that the Red Raiders realize the road in front of them. Win on Saturday and your team has quieted quite a few critics, your team becomes bowl eligible and you go into the last game of the season not playing desperate football. I would guess that the Sooners are playing desperate football too, but there's this hopeful thought that the fact that it's the seniors last game, that this team will make it happen.

Reason #2 :: Stopping the Run: I pointed out the other day that the Sooners are highly successful when they run the ball, but when they cannot get the ground game going, the Sooners tend to lose. I'm sure that Jones has the potential to be Texas Tech, but if it were me, I'd make him win the game. If the Red Raiders can stack to stop the run, limiting DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown to the type of yardage that they get in losses, which is about 100 yards a game, then consider that a success. In fact, the stats tell the same story for the Red Raiders. In wins, the defense only gives up 84 yards a game, but in losses, it's 210 yards on the ground. If there was ever a clear statistic to a Texas Tech victory, this might be it.

Reason #3 :: Despite the Offense: Despite all of the issues with the offense, whether it be inconsistent quarterback play, receivers dropping passes, the offensive line ushering defenders to the quarterback or running backs that may not run as hard as we'd like, but you're still talking about the #2 passing offense in the country and the #6 offense overall. I'll certainly grant you that the offense would be significantly better if the quarterbacks cut down all of the turnovers, but that's the key here. Despite certain parts of the offense, it's still getting done. The lowest point total for the year was last week against Oklahoma St. with 17 points. I'd be willing to be quit a bit of money that there's no way that the Sooners could or would really want to pull off the same type of gut-punching drives that the Cowboys did last week. Leach hardly cares about time of possession, but when your down close to 15 minutes to the opponent, you tend to think that if the Red Raiders had the ball more, Texas Tech would have scored.

Reason #4 :: Pressuring Jones: Sometimes when the Red Raiders do well in a certain category, I tend to discount that success and consider it an anomaly. I somewhat feel that way about the fact that the Red Raiders are 2nd in the nation in sacks. Perhaps I discounted the importance of having Brandon Sharpe, who if you recall wasn't available for the Texas game and was a shadow of himself during the Texas A&M game. That's 2 losses that you would think would have been closer had the Red Raiders had Sharpe's contributions. That's not to say that the workman-like effort produced by Daniel Howard isn't wholly appreciated and the pressure by Rajon Henley (1 sack last week) should create some true match-up problems for the Oklahoma offensive line. It's one thing to plan for just one defensive play-maker, but there should be plenty of contributions for Howard, Henley, Colby Whitlock, Richard Jones and possibly Bront Bird on Saturday.

Reason #5 :: Thank You: Edward Britton :: Austin Burns :: Shawn Byrnes :: Brandon Carter :: Ryan Hale :: Rajon Henley :: Daniel Howard :: Victor Hunter :: Richard Jones :: Jake Myatt :: Brent Nickerson :: Sandy Riley :: De'Shon Sanders :: Brandon Sharpe :: Jamar Wall :: Chris Wallace :: Marlon Williams :: Marlon Winn.

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:

Five Reasons Texas Tech Will Win :: Oklahoma St. Cowboys Edition

Seth C — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:00:42 -0000

by Mike Fuentes - AP

about 1 month ago: Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach talks with his team in the second quarter of an NCAA college football game against Texas A&M in Lubbock, Texas, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009. (AP Photo/Mike Fuentes)

View full size photo »

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 :: Oklahoma St. Cowboys Edition Edition.

Reason #1 :: Bye Week Rest: It's rare that a team gets a entire week to get healthy this late in the year. I can't be totally sure, but perhaps this season more than others, the team needed a break. I do not want to try to exaggerate the strain of a collegiate football player and his studies, but I'm sure it's not easy. Couple that with the fact that there's a certain level of focus that's required each and every week (some weeks more than other -- ahem). There's no doubt that the actual time away from the field helped heal those nagging injuries that kept out Brett Dewhurst, Will Ford, Brandon Carter, and getting Steven Sheffield back to a point where he's practicing with the team. And hopefully this week, the team is anxious and excited to get back on the field. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, or somesuch. All I know is that there's no excuse for this team not to be 100% ready to play on Saturday.

Reason #2 :: Deferring to the Run: After the Kansas game, there was quite a bit of credit given to QB Taylor Potts making the right call at the line of scrimmage to simply give the ball to RB Baron Batch for huge gains and essentially breaking that game open. I think it was great to see the team give credit where credit was due, and if there was any situation where the team may have suffered some discension amongst it's players, I got the feeling that the team rallied for Potts. If there was ever a case where the entire offense must work together in order to make the right calls and reads, it was the 2nd half against Kansas. If one part of that process fails, then the plays don't happen, the blocks do not get blocked and the offense forces plays where it's not necessary. I don't think anyone could have guessed that the arrival of Potts in the 2nd half of the Kansas may have been the seminal moment where the team decided to come together, but I'd be pretty happy if it was.

Reason #3 :: Wearing Them Down: I'm going out on a limb here, but this is an optimistic look, right? In any event, one of the biggest issues that this team has had all year is the health of the defensive line, in particular the defensive ends. If it's not one of the 3 of Daniel Howard, Brandon Sharpe or Rajon Henley, it's sometimes been 2 of them. But this week, all 3 players are healthy, along with LB Bront Bird, who will and could see plenty of time in the hybrid/joker position, you've got at the very least an opportunity to wear down the Cowboys offensive line. I haven't watched enough Oklahoma St. football to know if they've faced 3 very solid pass rushers in the Texas Tech trio. I've said it 100 times on DTN, but this group may not make an immediate impact, but I think that at some point they'll out-work the OSU offensive line. I'm hoping like hell that there's still a bit of chip on their shoulder for the TAMU performance and they constantly work and force OSU into some mistakes.

Reason #4 :: Big Time Playmakers: The Oklahoma St. team seems to me to be a bunch of grinders, which can be both blessing and a curse. The Cowboys were robbed of the two offensive players that were going to be difference makers for them this year, although it appears that RB Kendall Hunter is becoming more healthy by the minute. The thing about both units is that I don't think that there's a player on either side of the ball, sans Okung, who I think can dominate a game or who scares the piss out of me from a big play perspective. If you make a comparison with the Texas Tech offense or defnese, I think you could make the case that the Texas Tech offense has a handful of potential playmakers and the defense has their stalwarts as well. That's not to say that the Cowboys don't have players that can't or won't make play, but with the loss of Bryant and the loss of Hunter for most of the year, I think the OSU offense has lacked a certain punch and that lack of punch has me feeling confident.

Reason #5 :: Tough Losses at Home: Oklahoma St. has had a rough go at it at home against ranked teams this year. The 2 OSU losses were to both Houston and Texas. You'd think that perhaps this trend is to say that OSU doesn't want to lose at home again, but perhaps the truth of the matter might be that OSU might not be as tough at home as other Big 12 opponents. Obviously, these 2 losses were to 2 very talented teams, the Red Raiders can certainly attest to that, but OSU lost 3 fumbles and threw another interception against Houston and had 1 lost fumble and 4 interceptions against Texas. Not surprisingly, OSU lost 2 of the 3 games where the Cowboys had a negative turnover margin (the lone win was against Grambling). Perhaps most of all, the worrisome part for Pokes is that in those big games, you've got to value the ball and every possession. I'm not completely convinced that Oklahoma St. has figured this out.

Post Game Thoughts :: Kansas Jayhawks Edition

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

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

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

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

The Storylines ::

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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