SB Nation - Marlon Williams

The Defensive Revolution Begins

Seth C — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 11:43:28 -0000

More photos » by Duane A. Laverty - AP

Let the revolution begin. LAJ's Don Williams writes this morning that redshirt freshman S Daniel Cobb (who was also from Killeen, but his mother and family are safe from the Fort Hood tragedy) will hopefully replace current weak-side linebacker Marlon Williams, who will play his last game for the Red Raiders in January. Read the article first, as Williams goes through a couple of different scenarios regarding who will play where, including going through the motions of eliminating Sam Fehoko (will play middle linebacker), Julius Howard (will continue to play safety) and Tyrone Sonier (will play strong-side linebacker).

Per defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill, the solution is going to be moving Daniel Cobb:

"I think he can handle it," McNeill said this week. "He’s been doing a pretty good job for us. When you move a DB down, it’s the run game he has to get used to. But he’s got athleticism and a really good mentality about him. The pass-coverage part, he’s been a safety and that helps him in pass coverage quite a bit. The run game is the phase he’ll have to learn."
Snip

"There’s a certain type of guy that I want at (weak-side linebacker)," McNeill said. "I’m looking for that guy that can cover down more on wide receivers. He has to cover down on wide receivers more than a (strong-side linebacker) normally. People are spreading us out."

For those of us who have wondered why McNeill continually puts a linebacker, who we all know cannot cover a slot receiver, on a slot receiver, then this move, as admitted by McNeill, that it's time for a change. And it's not just the slot receiver, but it's also the running quarterback that simply plagued this year's squad (Houston, TAMU and Oklahoma St.) in terms of being able to run out of the pocket and pick up incredibly easy first downs.

When Leach, McNeill & Co. recruited and signed 6 defensive backs in the 2009 recruiting class, there were some of us that were curious as to why McNeill would sign so many defensive backs, but the potential signing of another large group of defensive backs will continue in 2010:

2009: Terrance Bullitt, Daniel Cobb, Will Ford, Yahshua William, D.J. Johnson and Jarvis Phillips
2010: Urell Johnson, Desmond Martin, Russell Polk, Tre'Vante Porter and Brandon Smith

The 2009 list doesn't account for LB Brandon Mahoney, who apparently had a shoulder injury all year while redshirting, but has quite a bit of explosiveness and LB Dion Chidozie, who according to McNeill, hasn't played with confidence while redshirting, but is getting more comfortable later. Both Mahoney and Chidozie are speed guys, but McNeill is looking elsewhere. I have no idea if McNeill has the same type of thought with the 2010 class and if I had to guess, Carter S Russell Polk might be the most likely candidate to eventually make the move.

Without looking ahead, it's comforting that McNeill sees the same thing we see when DTN discusses a game and one of the flaws of the defense. And for those of us that aren't in the locker room or in staff meetings, I think this is confirmation that the team understands it's defensive limitations, but the staff understands that it's foolish to throw out a player out on the field that doesn't have some experience, and despite physical limitations, that experience plays into how this staff makes personnel decisions.

Personally, this makes me truly excited about the future. I think this staff is trying ot adjust, but adjusting during the middle of the season isn't always easy, especially when the potential options available don't have the speed that a true freshman has, like Cobb. It was one thing to get Will Ford and D.J. Johnson early playing time, but that may have been out of necessity, with such little returning depth in the secondary, especially safety. I don't think it's any sort of heresy to suggest that McNeill sees the exact same thing that we all see, whether it be a linebacker struggling to keep pace with a slot receiver or that same linebacker being unable to contain a quarterback on the run. Implementing change, especially during a season can be difficult, but the fact that the staff recognizes the problem and is actively trying to address the issue is encouraging . . . very encouraging.

I also like the idea that McNeill isn't completely selling out to only recruit speed linebackers as there have been years that McNeill converts high school defensive ends to linebacker (Fehoko and Sonier come to mind immediately) and McNeill also has a commitment from Fred Harvey, a 5-11/230 middle linebacker type of player and Zac Winbush, who already has a 6-2/200 frame that will eventually fill out nicely.

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)

View full size photo »

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.

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 :: 11.19.09

Seth C — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:08:12 -0000

McCarthy Interview: As always, I try not to push off-topic articles on you guys, but if you enjoy Cormac McCarthy then you'll enjoy this interview in the Wall Street Journal.

Wall and Williams Back: LAJ's Don Williams writes that seniors CB Jamar Wall and LB Marlon Williams returned to practice yesterday and QB Taylor Potts took a majority of the snaps. Also, RB Aaron Crawford and IR Cornelius Douglas were out during yesterday's practice.

Tough OU Defense: DT's Alex Ybarra writes that the Oklahoma defense is still incredibly tough and head captain Mike Leach believes that it is because the Sooners are fundamentally sound:

"The biggest thing they do is the basic sound defense, the ultimate basic fundamental defense," Tech coach Mike Leach said. "They go out there with great fundamentals and energy. I think they do that as good as anybody."

And OU DT Gerald McCoy has this about the Texas Tech offense:

"Tech offense is Tech offense," he said. "It doesn’t really change much. You gotta be ready for it. They’re gonna get numbers. They’re gonna get a lot of points. We just gotta prepare for it. We’ve been playing pretty well on defense, so we’re just gonna try and continue to do that this week."

Oklahoma Sooner and Big 12 Links: Oread Boom Kings (Kansas Jayhawk blog) has some of the backstory between KU head coach Mark Mangino and the athletic director . . . TR's dedfischer with an gameplan for the Texas Tech offense . . . Tulsa World's John Hoover writes his OU notebook and DT Gerald McCoy has a suggestion for Texas Tech fans:

"They throw tortillas?" McCoy said. "They better not throw me one. I'll be hungry. I'll eat it."

Actually, if Red Raider fans want to throw food, McCoy has a menu suggestion.

"They need to throw chicken," he said. "Hey, if they threw fried chicken — shoot, I'll provoke 'em on purpose. Aaahhh! Chomp!"

. . . Ha! . . . The Tulsa World also has a know the foe feature . . . NewsOK's David Ubben writes his OU football notebook as Bob Stoops stands by his former assistant, Mark Mangino . . . NewsOK's Jake Trotter writes that Big 12 spread offenses have taken quite a hit by the Oklahoma Sooner defense . . . LAJ's Adam Zuvanich features OU QB Landry Jones . . .

Game Tonight: Northwestern St. Demons vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders
Time: 7:00 p.m. :: Location: United Spirit Arena
Preview and Game Day Thread: Scheduled for 3:00 p.m. post

Cohadarevic Answers Critics: LAJ's Courtney Linehan sits down with PF Darko Cohadarevic who hopes to answer his critics with better play this year. As an aside, after reading this article, I'm not real sure what to make of Darko. I see him as a bit defensive and hard-headed. Here's a bit from the article:

That’s where the bad reputation began. He admits he didn’t really understand or care about the system coach Pat Knight drilled in practice. On rare occasions when he did pay attention, he says he got conflicting messages from different coaches, became frustrated and never quite understood what they were asking of him. By the time he settled into the Red Raider program, the season was wrapping up.

I'm trying to process all of this and for those of you who question signing JUCO players, this is certainly a feather in your cap. But then Darko wins me back with this:

"I’ve got to buy into this motion offense more," Cohadarevic said. "I’ve got to do other little stuff besides scoring: setting screens, rebounding, having deflections, helping people get open."

I really want to see all guys succeed and I hope like hell that Darko does "buy into" the motion offense and man-to-man defense, but it seems like a shame that we're even having this conversation.

Demons Hit the Road: DT's Mike Graham writes that the Northwestern St. Demons left from Natchitoche, LA on Tuesday and arrived in Lubbock on Wednesday (layover in Arlington). G Nick Okorie expects that the Demons will be very athletic:

"I expect for them to be really athletic," Okorie said. "We just have to stay focussed, the thing that can beat us is ourselves. The single thing we pretty much have to do is play defense and if we play defense we’ll win the game."

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 11.18.09

Seth C — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:07:16 -0000

Clogged Pipes: Remember when I said that I was busier than normal this week? I am, and now I've got a clogged kitchen sink. The night before last, I spent a couple hours after work trying to unclog the damned thing and then I called a plumber, who then spent a couple of hours trying to unclog the thing. No dice. Our only options are for the plumber to crawl under the house and cut some pipe to find the clog or use some sort of fancy machine that produces 3,000 p.s.i. of water that will blast any clog a few miles away. Pray for me.

Leach to ________: I refuse to post to any link regarding any coaching vaccancy and Captain Mike Leach. I would love it if Leach just made a statement regarding the fact that he has no interest in __________ University. I understand that all of the "sources close to the program" is mainly B.S. What this really means is that high profile booster at _________ University got drunk, started talking about who he would like and thought that Leach would like it too. There's nothing concrete nor is there any actual quote from said source. Besides this entire situation gave me tremendous tired-head last year and I'm not going to feed the rumors unless there's actually something to report.

Sooners Want Win in Lubbock: LAJ's Don Williams writes that the Sooners would love to get a win in Lubbock. Here's CB Dominique Franks on wanting to play well:

"We haven’t played too well in the past in Lubbock,’’ Franks said. "We know this year also, we haven’t played too good on the road. We want to make sure we go out there and give them our best shot on Saturday.’’

Not the Same Sooners: DT's Adam Coleman writes that this year's version of the Sooners are not the Sooners of previous year, but head coach Mike Leach knows that the Sooners still have talent at every position:

"The biggest thing is they don’t have any serious holes," Tech coach Mike Leach said. "They are a team that would like to have some games back, but they don’t have any serious holes. They have good talent and good coaches. They played together really well last year."

And RT Marlon Winn talks about DT Gerald McCoy:

"Very athletic, very strong, fast around the edges. He can work inside as well, good with his hands and he is always focused," Winn said. "I think he is an awesome athlete really."

Texas Tech Notebook: LAJ's Don Williams writes that WR Jacoby Franks has been demoted to the scout team this week and Williams has this from WR coach Dennis Simmons and where players played in practice yesterday:

Simmons said Lyle Leong divided his time between split end and flanker in Tuesday’s workout, so it was starter Alex Torres and Leong at flanker, and Edward Britton, Leong and Brik Brinker at split end.

Snip

"I fault myself, because they’re a direct reflection of me,’’ Simmons said. "If they’re not playing well, then obviously I’m not doing something right. I need to fix me in order to make sure that they’re fixed. That’s what we’re doing. We’re fixing each other right now.’’

. . . LB Marlon Williams and CB Jamar Wall did not practice yesterday, which means there is a good chance that they will not play on Saturday. If Wall doesn't play, then CB Brent Nickerson will get the start and in place for Williams, you could see LB Brian Duncan move over to the weakside and LB Sam Fehoko to middle linebacker or move S/LB Julius Howard to Williams spot . . . the Baylor vs. Texas Tech game is almost completely sold out . . . DE Brandon Sharpe has been added to the Hendricks Watch List, a post-season award that goes to the nation's top defensive end (huge congrats to Brandon!)

Oklahoma Sooner and Big 12 Links: TulsaWorld's Dave Sittler writes that the Sooners need to be ready for strange happenings in Lubbock . . . NewsOK's Jake Trotter with an extensive OU notebook, including WR Brandon Caleb and OG Brian Simmons should be back for this weekend's game . . . TulsaWorld's Guerin Emig also has a notebook . . .

Its Official on 3 Signings: The official site finally announced that all of the paperwork has been returned on the 3 players who have signed with Pat Knight's Red Raiders.

Post Game Thoughts :: Oklahoma St. Cowboys Edition

Seth C — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:00:39 -0000

by Brody Schmidt - AP

about 1 month ago: Texas Tech's Detron Lewis (17), fends off Oklahoma State's Andre Sexton (20), and Markelle Martin (10), during the second half of an NCAA college football game in Stillwater, Okla. Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009. Oklahoma State defeated Texas Tech 24-17. Lewis had 6 receptions for 75 yards in the 24-17 loss to Oklahoma State. (AP Photo/Brody Schmidt)

View full size photo »

SBN Box Score :: Post Game Quotes

The Result :: Not Good Enough: That may be the meme for the entire season, "just not good enough." Every loss is frustrating, but as I watched the game last night I couldn't help but think that the defense played good enough, the offense was slow, but played good enough, etc. There are always plenty of plays during a game to point to that evidence the loss, but I thought the difference in the game was the pick-6 that Sheffield throws that puts Oklahoma St. up by 2 touchdowns. If that doesn't happen, then I'm not sure we're talking about a loss this morning, although it was certainly the motivation that Leach needed to sit Sheffield down for the remainder of the game. That's not to say that I put the loss on Sheffield's shoulders. If the receivers catch a few more passes, I also think the result is a bit different. I will say that the resiliancy of this team is remarkable and my season long meme may not be palatable to most, but my summer-meme will be that this team will be hell on wheels in 2010.

And I don't know if it's just me, and I hate to lose, but the fact that the team gave good effort for the entire game gives me solace. It doesn't make it right, but at the very least, it gives makes me sleep better at night.

The Storylines ::

Sheffield Is Not the Best Ever and Potts Is Not the Worst Ever: I think we've all heard the phrase that the truth is somewhere in the middle between 2 opposing viewpoints and I think this applies to the quarterback situation. I think Tech92 mentioned this earlier in the week (giving credit, but not linking) that Leach is just as confused about the quarterback situation as the fanbase is. Sheffield's 2nd interception for the night, the pick-6, had nothing to do with his ankle and everything to do with making the assumption that this pass that's been there all game was going to get jumped and returned for a touchdown. I'm not pinning the loss on Sheffield and Potts had plenty of moments where he didn't appear to make all of the right decisions, but I think the key here is that both quarterbacks have their pros and cons and as great as Sheffield looked previously, he's not perfect. And to add to that, he's obviously not the same with the ankle injury. I think it's also unfair to Potts not to mention that his spark in the 2nd half, the same type of spark that Sheffield gets credit for, was the reason why Texas Tech as able to come back into the game so quickly. That arm that we've all heard about was on display during that second to last drive. All-in-all, each have their issues and as Captain Mike Leach said after the game, it's more about consistency:

On Taylor Potts and the Texas Tech offense:
"I thought he was OK, but it just wasn’t real dynamic and we turned the ball over and were close to others. Hit a few of our opponents with a couple too many footballs, so I figured we’d put Sheffield in and see how that went and he kind of sparked things. That basically went pretty well other than a turnover when we put them on the two or something. They’re both inconsistent and at some point we’ve got to just be consistent; and be consistent at other positions. We dropped too many balls. We missed some holes at running back. Up front I thought we had great protection at times and then there’d be key times when we weren’t so great."

Sheffield's ankle isn't right, Potts had to come back too quick from a concussion and QB Seth Doege's future looks bright, but just isn't ready this year. What I can say definatively is that there will be an epic quarterback battle in 2010.

Bane of My Existance -- The Running Quarterback: Perhaps "bane of my existance" is a bit harsh, but this is the defensive conundrum that Ruffin McNeill faces is tricky. With the running quarterback, or perhaps the quarterback that can run if necessary, there's not point in putting a defensive lineman as a spy because the QB can out run the lineman. I would also say that right now, I feel the same way about the linebackers at Texas Tech, sans Marlon Williams. He seems like he could keep pace, but even then I'm not completely sold that he could keep pace with a QB. If McNeill brings a safety up then the team runs the risk of giving up a big play over the top, although I'd truly have to wonder if Robinson could hit a receiver in stride more than twice in a game. If McNeill puts 8 players up front, then Gundy goes 4 wide, a linebacker is forced to cover a slot receiver, and we've all seen what that entails. McNeill has always played it safe in the secondary and much of the success that the secondary has had this year and the previous years can be attributed to that philosophy. Bringing up a safety leaves the defense vulnerable, but at the very least it hopefully stops the QB from running. I think the eventual answer is that with the increased speed of the linebackers this option for an offense becomes less and less likely. If McNeill's recruiting trends are any indication, then speed at the linebacker position is a high priority. Right now, it's a question of having the right personnel and that may take at least 1 more season for McNeill to get the guys where he wants them.

Tired Defense: Can I just be the first one to say that I really don't think the defense was really tired. I think this was more of a situation of Oklahoma St. doing what they do really well, which is eat up the clock and run the ball. I really didn't think the defense looked overly taxed the 2nd half, but I did think that the quarterback draw play plagued the Red Raiders, which wasn't a function of a tired defense, but rather not having the personnel. There's a lot of depth on this defense. The announcers (particularly the play-by-play guy) really played up the tired excuse, which I found to be convenient and lazy assumptions. And if the defense is tired, wouldn't the offense be conversely tired too? Perhaps I'm just being a bit sore about the entire thing, but the offense is out there working and I'm waiting for an announcer to be a bit bold and talk about how tired the offense is after going on an 8 minute drive.

Someone Really Asked This Question: I'm not real sure how to respond to this, but it appears that some reporter actually asked Leach if Zac Robinson, who was pretty good running the ball, but was 9-21 for 90 yards and a touchdown if Leach thought Robinson was the best quarterback he's seen.

On if Robinson is the best quarterback he’s seen:
"I think he’s a good one. I wouldn’t go that far, I think he’s a good one. We’ve seen some pretty good ones. The fella from Houston; Texas and so it goes. I’ve liked him from early on. I liked him just back when they had that little deal when they were splitting time between the two of them. I thought he was pretty good then."

Rebuilding: Am I a bad fan if I've resigned myself to think that the 2010 version of Texas Tech is going to be much better than the 2009 version? Of course, I'd love to see this team finish with 2 wins to finish out the year and I think that playing well is a spring-board to the next season, but I think this team next year will be much more prepared to battle for a Big 12 Championship. Other than the defensive end position, almost every position returns a starter or player with significant playing time. The rough spots that this team has encountered and battled back from, which include early suspensions, numerous injuries to key positions, quarterbacck uncertainty, etc. But this team is pretty damned close I think to something really special next year. I'm going to enjoy what's going on now, but I think this year, as tough as it's been will serve the team well next year.

The Offensive MVP :: WR Detron Lewis: He showed how special he can be and physically he's a dominant player, or perhaps has the ability to be a dominant player. I'd love to see Lewis get the ball 3 or 4 more times during a game in open space.

The Defensive MVP :: CB Jamar Wall: For the hit alone, he gave the offense at the very least an opportunity to score in the last 2 minutes. Wall sacrificed his body on that hit on Zac Robinson for the team. I'm going to remember that play for a long time. Wall did give up a touchdown, but I think he was sure that the help would be there in plenty of time, which it was, but Franklin Mitchem just didn't make the play.

The Special Teams MVP :: PR Austin Zouzalik: We finally saw a little bit of breakout from Zouzalik, and although Zouzalik has been solid most of the year, he's been quiet. Not to mention, Matthew Williams going 1-2 and Ryan Erxleben having to punt 4 times, for a 43 yard average, although good, didn't necessarily inspire me.

Crunching the Numbers :: Oklahoma St. Cowboys Edition

Seth C — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:00:36 -0000

Texas Tech Red Raiders
(6-3, 3-2)

vs.

Oklahoma St. Cowboys
(7-2, 4-1)

Game Information:
Date: November 14, 2009 :: Time: 7:00 p.m. CST :: Weather: Stillwater, OK
TV: ABC :: Radio: Affiliates :: Game Cast: Fox Sports

I'm going to be pressed for time this week. I was able to have a preview of the numbers between the two teams and rather than give my 5 thoughts, I'd love to hear any thoughts that you may have about these two teams based on the statistics. You can find additional statistics on both teams here: Texas Tech and Oklahoma St.

CATEGORY	STATISTIC (NCAA RANK, CONF. RANK)	WINNER
TTU Pass Offense vs. OSU Pass Defense	400.44 (2, 1) 237.33 (87, 10)
TTU Rush Offense vs. OSU Rush Defense	73.56 (116, 12) 94.00 (9, 3)
OSU Pass Offense vs. TTU Pass Defense	212.11 (71, 9) 232.78 (77, 6)
OSU Rush Offense vs. TTU Rush Defense	196.00 (20, 1) 122.78 (44, 8)
TTU Scoring Offense vs. OSU Scoring Defense	40.22 (4, 2) 21.00 (33, 4)
OSU Scoring Offense vs. TTU Scoring Defense	34.11 (17, 4) 23.44 (55, 7)

Team Leaders


STATISTIC	TEXAS TECH	OKLAHOMA ST.
Passing	Taylor Potts :: 195-290 : 2,221 : 15 : 9	Zac Robinson :: 149-228 : 1,832 : 14 : 7
Rushing	Baron Batch :: 93 : 531 : 10	Keith Toston :: 155 : 882 : 9
Receiving	Detron Lewis :: 46 : 625 : 5	Hubert Anyiam :: 35 : 416 : 2
Punt Returns	Austin Zouzalik :: 16 : 161 : 0	Perrish Cox :: 9 : 75 : 0
Kickoff Returns	Eric Stephens :: 21 : 543 : 0	Perrish Cox :: 20 : 474 : 0
Tackles	Brian Duncan :: 62	Donald Booker :: 63
Sacks	Brandon Sharpe :: 10.5 : 63	Donald Booker :: 4.0 : 27
Tackles for Loss	Brandon Sharpe :: 11.5 : 65	Lucien Antoine :: 6.0 : 17
Interceptions	Will Ford :: 1 : 0 : 0 D.J. Johnson :: 1 : 7 : 0 Franklin Mitchem :: 1 : 7 : 0 Marlon Williams :: 1 : 0 : 0 LaRon Moore :: 1 : 3 : 0	Patrick Lavine :: 4 : 4 : 0

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

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

by Dave Weaver - AP

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

View full size photo »

THE DEFENSE

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

Who Returns (2010 Projected 2-Deep)

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

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

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

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

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

Lots more after the jump.

Don't Sleep On

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

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

Recruiting

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

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

Recruit Trending

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

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

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

Post Game Thoughts :: Kansas Jayhawks Edition

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

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

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

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

The Storylines ::

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Exposed! - Mike Leach Intends to Use Two Quarterbacks, One As "Suh Bait"

Cobby — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 22:21:20 -0000

Using Corn Nation's vast and elaborate network of spies, we have obtained information about a new offensive information that the diabolical (quirky) offensive genius Mike Leach (code name "Captain Weiner") intends to unveil against Nebraska.

The formation is specifically designed to counter the ferocious, unstoppable, force otherwise known as Ndamukong Suh (code name "House of Spears").

The formation, known as "Suh-Bait" will feature two quarterbacks lined up in shotgun formation. At the start of the play, QB2 will receive the snap and move away from the line of scrimmage in an erratic, flailing manner specifically designed to attract defensive linemen who like to break quarterbacks in half, (severing their spine, rendering them incapable of passing, running, or eating with their hands).

QB1 will move away from QB2, making sure to be behind him, then stay motionless so as not to attract attention. When QB2 reaches the "squash point", he will turn and throw the ball back to QB1 who will then calmly throw it downfield to an open receiver, resulting in big yardage and much happiness for the Red Raiders, who will respond by will respond by jumping up and down repeatedly while yelling "YARRRR, Touchdown, YARRR!"

Should QB2 be injured or killed by House of Spears during the play, Captain Weiner has established the following line of succession, indicating that the play will not be run more than five times, as that's the maximum amount of collateral damage that will be tolerated.

Here's the line of succession:

- Taylor Potts

- Marlon "twitter bitch" Williams

- Some redshirt freshman who pisses me off during the game

- That dork who rides the horse at home games

- A girl scout with big hands

A simulation of said play has been put together by our extremely adept tech crew to give fans a better idea of what Leach has in store. Blood, gore and extreme violence have been removed to protect the children.