SB Nation - Texas Tech Red Raiders

Recruiting on the High Seas :: DE Dartwan Bush

Seth C — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 12:30:23 -0000

Recruiting is truly heating up as Brazoswood HS (Freeport, TX) DE Dartwan Bush (6-1/245) gave the Texas Tech coaching staff a verbal commitment yesterday.

The Measurables:

via media.scout.com

Dartwan Bush
Position: DE
Rivals Profile
Scout Profile
ESPN Profile 77 Grade
Ht: 6'1"
Wt: 245 lbs
Forty: 4.89
High School: Brazoswood (Freeport, TX)

Follow me after the jump for a more on Dartwan, including a link to some free film and just to tease you a bit, Dartwan may be the quickest defensive end I've seen get down the line of scrimmage, especially considering his size.

The Player Speaks

Bush wasn't available for comment, but his high school coach, Dean DeAtley, was available and had some very complimentary things to say about Texas Tech and what type of player Bush is. Per LAJ's Don Williams:

"A couple of (reasons) he said were he liked his host, and he really felt at ease with the players,’’ DeAtley said. "And there’s a quarterback from Friendswood (Tech freshman Jacob Karam) who we’ve played from this area, and he said he was a real upbeat, positive guy. That helped a little bit, too.’’

Snip

"I think he liked coach Leach,’’ DeAtley said. "He spoke with him a week or so ago, and it wasn’t a hard sell. It was a pretty enjoyable conversation. I don’t think it was too much of a hard sell on the recruiting visit. It was real enjoyable, all the conversations he had. There wasn’t a whole lot of pressure on him.’’

The Scouting Report

Brazoswood has a website with a player page for Dartwan and there is some free film available. The other interesting thing is that on Bush's high school page, he's listed as running a 4.60 40-yard dash. The recruiting websites say differently, but watching that film, I think he's closer to 4.60 than 4.89. Bush gets down the line of scrimmage incredibly quick, one of the quickest accelerations for a defensive end that I've seen.

I'm just a tad bit excited.

The article linked above has a bit on Bush from his coaches and from the Brazoria County's The Facts' Joel Luna. DeAtley had this to say about the type of player that Bush is:

"He’s a real speed guy — a lot of quickness, a lot of explosiveness,’’ DeAtley said. "He really works with his hands well. I think he’ll be successful on the next level, and he’s a great kid, too, a high character kid and a lot of fun to be around.’’

And in the Luna article, DeAtley said that if Bush was just a bit taller, he would have had offers from all over the place:

"We knew he was a great talent and I am very happy for him," DeAtley said. "I know that he is a good kid with great character and good things happen to good people. I also know that if he would have been 6-foot-3 or 6-foot-4, somebody would have picked him up a year ago.

"He did all the little things and was a great pass rusher for us," DeAtley said. "He used his hands real well and we hope he continues to grow."

Sometimes, it's not about the height or weight, but rather about production on the field, and Bush had this stat line for his senior season:

81 tackles
30 tackles for loss
15 sacks
5 forced fumbles
1 fumble recovery

The 2010 Recruiting Class

Position	Commitment
QB	Scotty Young (6-3/185)
RB	Aaron Spikes (5-10/185) Delans Griffin (5-10/180)
WR	Shawn Corker (6-1/189) Kadron Boone (6-1/197) Ben McRoy (5-9/165)
OL	Beau Carpenter (6-7/260) James Polk (6-7/290) Denton Simek (6-4/260) Javius Townsend (6-2/300) Eric Lawson (6-6/320)
DL	Kedrick Dial (6-5/215) Jackson Richards (6-4/240) Coby Coleman (6-3/280) Lawrence Rumph (6-4/270) Donald Langley (6-2/295) Scott Smith (6-7/275) Dartwan Bush (6-1/245)
LB	Zac Winbush (6-2/200) Fred Harvey (5-11/230)
DB	Desmond Martin (6-0/173) Russell Polk (5-11/200) Brandon Smith (6-1/175) Urell Johnson (6-0/180) Tre'Vante Porter (6-1/185)

Dartwan, welcome to Texas Tech and Git Your Guns Up!!

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 12.23.09

Seth C — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 11:20:28 -0000

Lots to Get To: There's lots to get to this morning (including post game thoughts on the Stanford win and if I have the time, a look at the football team's newest recruit), but this will probably be my last DTN DD until this weekend or Monday. I certainly want to wish you guys and gals a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holidays. Travel safe and you'll have to tell me about all of the great Texas Tech gifts that you received.

Things to Think About, Part I: This is to add a bit to the question of whether or Missouri's possible move to the Big Ten would affect recruiting in Texas, as a large number of players come from Texas and CT's Dave Matter asked this question of Missouri's LB Sean Weatherspoon (who is from Texas):

I posed that question — Could Missouri recruit Texas kids to play in the Big Ten? — to Tigers linebacker Sean Weatherspoon, a native of Jasper, Texas. He leaned toward doubtful for two reasons. "If you look at that conference, you think of it as being cold all the time," he said. "And you think of never really getting the chance to come down south so your parents can see you play or family members that you want to see you play."

Things to Think About, Part II: Have you ever thought that ESPN college football analyst Todd McShay has no idea what he's talking about? Well, the NFL Advisory Committee (the folks that let underclassmen know if where they will be drafted) agrees, per ProFootballTalk:

"That's the problem," the source opined. "McShay is clueless. Up until three weeks before the 2008 draft, he said that [Kentucky's] Andre Woodson would be a first-round pick. He went in the sixth and is out of the league."

Snip

"The problem I have with people like McShay saying stupid things is parents and others who 'advise' these kids think McShay knows what he is talking about," the source said. "And they believe him before they believe the Advisory Committee. Then, when the kids go a lot lower than projected they are pissed and/or depressed. . . . This stuff happens every year and we have to deal with the broken hearts because people who don't know what they are talking about put visions of grandeur into young players' heads."

Red Raiders Take Down Cardinal: LAJ's Courtney Linehan has the story from last night in Texas Tech's 100-87 win over Stanford. Head coach Pat Knight had this to say about the team at halftime:

"They weren’t happy at halftime, they know we weren’t playing well, but I told them you have to feed off that last play," Knight said. "I didn’t think we played with good energy, we played lethargic the first half, with no emotion. We didn’t play athletic. They got it going the last play when Brad made the block, and they really fed off that. It got us going the second half."

I was able to watch almost all of the second half and the team did tend to take care of business after a somewhat close first half. SF Mike Singletary agrees:

"It was good to come back here, take care of business and get the win," Singletary said, "even though it was kind of ugly."

Notebook: LAJ's Courtney Linehan's notebook has additional info about last night's game . . . G Nick Okorie injured his shoulder last night, MRI is scheduled for today . . . PG John Roberson scored his 1,000th point last night and PK had this to say about his point guard:

"The kid’s going to leave here being one of the best guards who ever played at Texas Tech," Knight said, "and we still have him another year and a half."

. . . over 13,000 fans showed up last night (good for the folks at the game) . . .

Moving to San Antonio: LAJ's Don Williams writes that the team and staff had one last practice yesterday in Lubbock and then after the holiday, the team will start working in San Antonio. We've already been down this road, but Leach talked about starting QB Taylor Potts:

"He’s played well, and at some point we need to get consistent at that position," Leach said. "He’s played real well down the stretch, so we’re going to put the reps in him and let him play the best he can. He played real good against Oklahoma, and I thought he played well against Baylor.

"I don’t think we played well as an offense against Baylor (in a 20-13 win). I thought he did. He didn’t have a lot of help."

Wideout Wave: LAJ's Don Williams writes that the coaching staff is excited about the next wave of redshirt freshmen receivers (Aaron Fisher, E.J. Celestie, Derrick Mays and Eric Ward) and captain Mike Leach is excited:

"We’ll find out,’’ Leach said this week, "but we have a young group that’s enthusiastic, that works extremely hard and works well together. I don’t see all those (returnees) holding them off. I really don’t. We’ll play the best eight, but I don’t see all the faces that played this year holding off all the young guys.’’

Williams also mentions where these guys are lining up offensively:

Since they came aboard in the summer, split end Eric Ward, flanker Derrick Mays, "Y’’ inside receiver Aaron Fisher and "H’’ inside receiver Ernest Celestie have built coaches’ anticipation.

And wide receivers coach Lincoln Riley likes what he sees:

"Mays and Fisher both can really run,’’ inside receivers coach Lincoln Riley said this week. "They run better than anybody we’re playing with right now. Fisher does it as a big body. Mays is the fastest person on this team.

"Ward is the most physical receiver right now in the program, more than anybody we’re playing with. As much as we emphasize blocking in playing at (split end) … that’s going to give him a chance.

"Celestie’s probably the most steady of all of them. He shows up every day and does what he needs to do. Guys like that have always had success here, especially at that position.’’

You'll want to go read the whole thing.

Finishing Strong: SAEN's Jerry Briggs writes that the Red Raiders are wanting to finish strong and CB Jamar Wall thinks the team is focused:

"I personally think we have worked harder for bowl preparation than we have in any of my four years here," Tech senior cornerback Jamar Wall said.

Snip

"We usually take it kind of easy," Wall said. "But, I mean, seeing that we took it kind of easy last year and weren't successful, the (coaches) kind of changed things up."

Notebook: LAJ's Don Williams has a notebook of information . . . offensive line coach Matt Moore will be keeping the same starting lineup, although LT Terry McDaniel is close to returning and will be a backup against Michigan St. . . . Moore also talks about how he wants Mickey Okafor and Deveric Gallington to win the right guard spot next year and more on Joel Gray's move to center. . . seven players graduated in December: CB Brent Nickerson, CB Nathan Stone, LT Chris Olson (graduated early), RG Brandon Carter, C Shawn Byrnes, DT Victor Hunter and S LaShawn Vation, congrats to all seven gentlemen!

Miscellaneous Links: The Rivalry Esq.'s Graham Filler with Air Raid basics . . . FWST's Jimmy Burch with post season awards . . .

MSU v TT in the Alamo Bowl: Air Raid basics and how Leach will attack MSU

grahamfiller10 — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 01:00:19 -0000

I'd like to start this post by saying Stride chewing gum is, by far, the longest lasting gum out there. I chew gum constantly and I've been through Orbit, Five, classic Wrigley...and there is just no comparison. I'm happily chewing a piece of Stride right now and I guarantee it makes it to the conclusion of this article. And no, I'm not being paid by Stride (I wish) or auditioning for Mad Men...though I wouldn't mind meeting January Jones.

Mike Leach began his education in and around the pass-giddy BYU program. He's made the "Air Raid" principles successful wherever he's been. So although I claim no special knowledge of the Air Raid (i.e. played against it in high school or...something), I love watching the ease in which yards are picked up and the way Leach tosses out "typical" thoughts about offensive balance or success.

I want to go over the misconceptions and strengths of the Air Raid, what Leach has been able to do this year, and what we can expect Texas Tech to attack MSU with.

Air Raid Basics

One of the things you'll hear about TT's "O" is that it's "complicated" and takes a lot of repetitions. While any great offense takes a great amount of practice to be successful, the playbook for Leach's O will be relatively light against MSU, I'm guessing no more than 15 passing plays. However, these plays will be full of many different options, making the offense seem extremely complicated.

Here's an excerpt from a 2005 WashingtonPost article:

Two years ago, a high school senior watched Texas Tech on television thinking its freewheeling offense looked awfully confounding. Now a quarterback in the program, Graham Harrell knows better, even pointing out, "Coach never handed out a playbook."

...

In all, Hodges said, there are no more than 25 primary passing plays, but each can be run using five different formations. The challenge is for the quarterback to know when to switch plays at the line of scrimmage.

Here is a typical progression read by a quarterback from the original BYU concepts:

62 MESH

5 step drop. Take a peek at F/S - if he's up hit Z on post. Otherwise watch X-Y mesh occur - somebody will pop open - let him have ball. Vs. zone - throw to Fullback.

Now I won't put these in order of importance, but the Air Raid demands knowledge of defense, quick read progressions, and great chemistry between WR and QB. Texas Tech has been able to harness these.

The Air Raid in 2009

The Red Raidaa's (say it like Barbara Streisand combined with John Madden, it's more fun) have kept their offensive torch burning this year, sporting the nation's 2nd best pass offense at 380 ypg while scoring 37 ppg (9th best nationally). They also average 25 first downs per game - the third most in the nation and very symptomatic of a team excelling at short passes.

This success offensively came in spite of losing starting QB Taylor Potts for a few games thanks to a mid-season injury and a general "feeling out" process toward who the starting quarterback will be. This can be easily witnessed in the 142.6 quarterback rating of Texas Tech's quarterbacks - the teams lowest since 2004. Even though quarterbacks and wide receivers are sometimes regarded as interchangeable in the Air Raid, the lack of experience was shown this year during a turnover-laden perfomance by Potts against TAMU and during a 3 point first half versus Baylor. The Red Raiders have also allowed 30 sacks, again symptomatic of passing offenses but by far the most allowed by Leach's O-line during the last 4 years.

The wide receivers are bigger than I would have expected (an image of 5' 7'' waterbug Wes Welker pinballing through secondaries is stuck in my head). The six receivers we'll see the most of against MSU average 6' 1'' 183 lbs - if anything, that's lanky.

What will Leach try against MSU?

The same thing he always tries, of course. Quick passes to wide receivers in space, slants into open grass, dump offs to running backs. On film, Leach will see the same things that have driven TRE and Spartan fans everywhere crazy, namely MSU's inability to keep their zone intact against crosses, no jamming wide receivers at the LOS, and a lack of pass rush from the front 4. Obviously the numbers don't lie:

Penn State's Spread HD (lots of moving parts, Daryll Clark)...310 yards passing, 4 td's...

Minnesota's play-action (which had minor success all year)...416 yards, 5 td's...

Notre Dame (New England Patriot infused pro-form)...300 yards, 2 td's...

NW's Spread (Narduzzi said of all the opponents, this was closest to TT)...291 yards, 2 td's..

I will eventually take a look at the TT defense, but the Air Raid system has always been one of my favorite to watch. It's this kind of "flavor" that makes college football so intriguing, as one Big Ten team will face a triple option attack this Holiday season, while another will face the maestro of wide splits and quick passing.

Game Preview :: Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. Wichita St. Shockers

Seth C — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:00:27 -0000

INFORMATION:	Detail
OPPONENT:	Wichita State Shockers (9-1, 0-0)
LOCATION:	Charles Koch Arena : Wichita, Kansas
DATE:	December 19, 2009
TIME:	7:00 p.m. CST
TV:	None
RADIO:	Affiliates
GAME CAST:	Fox Sports

Wichita State: The Shockers haven't really played anyone other that Pitt, where they lost on a neutral court, 55-68, and creamed Iowa, 74-57. That's not a knock (Texas Tech has only played Washington and Oregon St.) so it's hard to determine what exactly the Shockers actually are. What we do know is that the Shockers have been fantastic defensively, ranking 37th in the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency and have held opponents to 43.8% eFG% (anything below 50% is pretty good). That's really good. One other note, the Shockers and Red Raiders have both played TCU. WSU handled the Frogs 80-68, a 12 point win at home, and the Red Raiders beat the Frogs by 10, 80-70, on the road.

Texas Tech: The focus of the team has been an improved defense and that's certainly been true for the best part of the year. And despite the improved defense, the Red Raiders are also playing at a decent level offensively, shooting 51% eFG%. Leading the way are Texas Tech's most important players as John Roberson (51.7%), Mike Singletary (48.3%) and D`Walyn Roberts (61.2%) are all shooting at fairly high rates.

Wichita State: Much like Texas Tech, the Shockers are a fairly balanced team, but sophomore G Toure` Murry (6-4/194) is averaging 13.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.8 steals a game. Murry is doing a ton for the Shockers this year, but junior F/C J.T. Durley (6-7/240) is second on the team in scoring and averages 11.0 points and 3.9 rebounds. Just keep in mind that the Shockers have seven players who average at least 7 points a game this year. Just think balance.

Texas Tech: PG John Roberson has been on a bit of a roll the last two games where he's averaged 23 points on 61.9% shooting. Roberson's shooting percentage overall, 44%, isn't outstanding, but it is an improvement on past years where his shots have seemed questionable and typically not in the flow of the offense. Seems like the Washington game (doesn't that seem like ages ago?) and the TCU game, Roberson took what the defense was giving him. That's a good sign for Roberson and the entire offense.

Wichita State: Pretty tough to find much fault with either team here, but in WSU's only loss of the year, against Pitt, the Shockers were out-shot at the free throw line 30-18. Other than the free throws and the fact that Pitt shot slightly better from the field, I think it may have been the fact that Pitt simply wore down the Shockers.

Texas Tech: In these early games against non-conference opponents that may not have quality big men, PK has reduced the minutes given to Darko Cohadarevic and Robert Lewandowski (only about 8 minutes a game, compared with 2008 where Lew had almost 16 minutes a game). I know that PK is playing the guys that he thinks can and will get the "W" but I also tend to think that PK has to be somewhat careful not to eliminate the big guys prior to Big 12 play. The conference has quality post players and Darko and Lew need to be ready to play.

Ranking the Big Ten Bowls by Difficulty

Law Buckeye — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:48:55 -0000

It appears the mainstream consensus is that the Big Ten will suffer another disastrous bowl season. Just yesterday, ESPN's Pat Forde predicted we would match last year's 1-6 performance. A single win is a long way away from the four wins necessary to escape with a winning record. That got me thinking, just how high of a mountain do we have to climb? Let's look at how the seven bowls stack up against each other in degree of difficulty (easiest to hardest), and the likelihood of a Big Ten win in each one.

Don't forget to go back and submit your Bowl Prediction sheet for another chance to win a prize. For winning the regular season OPC, Seattle Hawkeye won...a hat. You may win...something cooler. Hardest bowls to pick so far are Stanford-Oklahoma and PSU-LSU.

7. Insight Bowl (Minnesota v. Iowa State) December 31st, Tempe, AZ

It's hard to get excited about two 6-6 squads going mano a mano on the NFL Network. It's also hard for Minnesota fans to shake the stigma that Purdue would have been a better Big Ten representative on the national stage. Although the Golden Gopher's offense is sometimes been less visible than the Emperor's New Clothes, Iowa State is the epitome of mediocre. It ranked 8th in the Big 12 in total offense, and 11th in total defense during the regular season. Minnesota ranked last in the Big 10 in total offense, but finished sixth in defense. Sadly, I think this is the Big Ten's "easiest" matchup.

Big Ten's Chances of a Win: 70%

6. Champs Sports Bowl (Wisconsin v. Miami) December 29th, Orlando, FL

Four games into the season it looked the "The U" had restored its swagger and was predestined to win the ACC. The Canes held Georgia Tech to 95 rushing yards, before giving up 287 to Virginia Tech. Wisconsin's offense is beautifully balanced (206 ypg rushing, 209 ypg passing), which makes me think they can do to Miami what they couldn't do to Florida State last year: sustain consistent drives. The potential for John Clay to run downhill makes this game the second most manageable for the Big Ten.

Big Ten's Chances of a Win: 55%

5. Capital One Bowl (Penn State v. LSU) January 1st, Orlando, FL

Although neither team has a quality win, I have to give a slight edge to Penn State here because of its defense. On the other hand, LSU has swapped helmet paint with a tougher slate of opponents, and might be battle tested. It's clear that Les Miles has had issues focusing this team, and the pressure on him to win might compromise his preparations.

Big Ten's Chances of a Win: 52%

4. Outback Bowl (Northwestern v. Auburn) January 1st, Tampa, FL

Northwestern's defense has had plenty of opportunities to prepare for the spread. They also have a more than functional offense, and a coach that's as meticulous as anyone in his preparations. Auburn's defense has been MIA since August. Still, the Tigers led No. 1 Alabama for three and a half quarters, and if their performance in the Outback Bowl comes anywhere close to matching that effort, Northwestern gets bruised.

Big Ten's Chances of a Win: 45%

3. Fed Ex Orange Bowl (Iowa v. Georgia Tech) January 5th, Miami, FL

Some people might be surprised to see me place a BCS bowl in the middle of the rankings, but I think Iowa matches up nicely against the Yellow Jackets. If the Hawk's come up with a defense that contends with Tech's vaunted triple option (and that's a big "if"), the physicality of Iowa's offensive line can steal the show. I've got faith in you, Norm Parker.

Big Ten's Chances of a Win: 44%

2. Rose Bowl Game Presented by Citi (Ohio State v. Oregon) January 1st, Pasadena, CA

All eyes will be on Pasadena when the unstoppable Oregon Ducks meet the immovable Ohio State Buckeyes. But beneath the strength-versus-strength storyline there's the reality that Ohio State might not be able to finish drives against a surprisingly fast Oregon defense. So, the Buckeyes move the ball 60 yards and stall. What about Oregon? They'll be forced to to punt or settle for field goals through three and a half quarters. The difference here, is Oregon's quick-strike capability A few missed tackles in space and the Ducks can put the game out of reach. Moreover they score on any play. Ohio State can't.

Big Ten's Chances of a Win: 40%

1. Valero Alamo Bowl (Michigan State v. Texas Tech) January 2nd, San Antonio, TX

Michigan State's porous secondary spelled disaster against the Red Air-Raiders, and that was before Mark Dantonio suspended eight players. Without receivers Mark Dell and B.J. Cunningham, and defensive back Chris L. Rucker, the deck is stacked against the Spartans.

Big Ten's Chances of a Win: 25%

BLACK HEART GOLD PODCAST 17: SWINDLED

Hawkeye State — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 23:32:48 -0000

You'll need this for later. Trust us.

Episode 17, in the calm before the storm of bowl season, is a perfect opportunity to preview the Big Ten bowl slate with the only man who could compare LSU playcalling to a French absurdist play. That's right: It's Spencer Hall, the Artist Occasionally Known as Orson Swindle, joining your hosts to discuss Auburn's Island of Misfit Quarterbacks, how the Alamo Bowl resembles the opening scene from Monty Python's Meaning of Life, and things to do in Orlando when you're from Wisconsin.

Listen below or on iTunes.

BHGPodcast 17

Alamo Bowl Preview :: Texas Tech Defensive Matchups

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

More photos » by Sue Ogrocki - AP

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)

Browse more photos »

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 :: 12.17.09

Seth C — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:32:43 -0000

Not So Fast My Friend: LAJ's Don Williams wrote last night that although some of the recruiting services have reported that DE Scott Smith (4* / 6-7 / 275) has signed his letter of intent, as of 10:30 p.m. last night, the coaching staff has not yet received those letters of intent from Smith or from DT Donald Langley. If Smith and Langley sign and send in the letters of intent, both would start school in January and participate in spring practices. I don't subscribe to any recruiting services so I have no idea as to the actual status of either player. If something happens and it's free information, please feel free to throw up a FanPost or FanShot.

The good news is that the Red Raiders did receive a letter of intent from Sulphur Spring's OL Beau Carpenter (6-7 / 275) who will also participate in spring practices. Here's Carpenter on his commitment and the type of player he is:

"It’s definitely the place I’ve wanted to go ever since I started getting recruited,’’ Carpenter said. "It’s a similar offense, and when I visited I fell in love with it. It’s a great place with an amazing fan base, and I really love the town.’’

Snip

"I’ve been told I have a lot of good natural (traits) for an offensive lineman,’’ he said. "I have a good low pad level, I have real good feet and quick feet, and they like how I get after people. I’m really aggressive on the field.’’

Beau, welcome to Texas Tech.

Davis Q&A: The SAEN has a Q&A with S Cody Davis and Davis talks about what a win against Michigan St. would mean:

What would a victory against Michigan State mean to the Red Raiders as you transition into next year? It’s a springboard ... It really means a lot for the offseason and jump-starting into next year. You really want to start it off right and have something to build off of, instead of having a bad taste in your mouth the whole offseason, so we look forward to ending it the right way, and sending the seniors off with a win.

Young 4-A Offensive Player of the Year: Texas Tech commit QB Scotty Young was named as the 4-A offensive player of the year and first-team quarterback. Here's Young on the honor:

He finishes his high school career with 8,964 passing yards and 129 touchdowns in two years at the helm of an explosive Ryan offense and remains a verbal commit to play at Texas Tech next year. The 129 career touchdowns is fourth all-time in the state of Texas.

"It’s exciting," Young said. "It’s a really cool award for the whole team. It’s great to be thought of like that. We had a really good offense last year, and we were able to take that as a foundation and make it even better this year."

Grabbing the Spotlight: IndyStar's Terry Hutchens writes that Pat Knight and the Texas Tech Red Raiders are off to the Red Raiders best start in 80 years. PK talks about what the national recognition means:

"The national exposure is great for the community, the university and the players' confidence, especially after coming off a down year last year," Knight said. "It just gives these kids some confidence that they can play with some of the better teams in the country, and it really helps us get prepared for the Big 12."

And PK believes that the Big 12 may be the best conference in the country:

"We've talked about this before, but we've got to publicize this league as a basketball league," Knight said. "I think we've always had one of the top two leagues in the country every year, but sometimes we get overlooked. We shouldn't be sitting there on (NCAA Tournament) Selection Sunday worried if we're going to get six teams in. We should always get six teams and maybe seven in a year like we have this year."I think, hands down, you could argue that this is the best league in the country."

KenPom's Scouting Report: For those of you who don't visit KenPom, you should, especially if your a stats guy or gal, and yesterday, KenPom released their predicted record and player tempo-free stats. Right now, KenPom's computer models have the Red Raiders winning 20 games, including 8 conference games. I think I could live with that.

What Big 10 Expansion Could Mean For BYU

Layton — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 04:14:37 -0000

The Big 10 (really 11, but who's counting?) came out with word recently that they're seriously looking into expanding the league to 12 teams, even as soon as 2011. And while we think about the prospects, let me put a quick end to the excitement you're feeling on behalf of Bronco and Co.: BYU would not be invited to join that league, the Big 12 or the Pac-10 as a result of the Big 10 expanding. However, that doesn't mean the Cougars won't be seriously affected by what may happen after next season. Here's why 1) BYU won't be invited, and 2) why they may be feeling the brunt of such actions by the already big Big 10.

Before I examine the reasons of leaving BYU out, here's what the expected plan is: when the Big 10 (11) expands to 12, Missouri jumps ship and joins the Big 10, or Notre Dame flees its independent status and joins. The latter is less likely as Notre Dame enjoys being able to play anybody, at any time of the season, and not splitting any possible earnings. A "conference" schedule's not really their style.

As for BYU...

1. As an avid college football fan, and obvious BYU fan, I'd love nothing more than to see some of the Baylor's, Arkansas's, and Colorado's, be relegated to mid-major status, and have BYU (or other "worthy" teams) take their place much like what happens in England's Premier League (yes, that's a soccer reference). Without question there are few teams in the power conferences that should be demoted (Baylor, Colorado and Texas Tech, first and foremost).

Unfortunately, relegating these teams, or expanding conferences, doesn't open the door for BYU to join them; TCU and Utah? Perhaps, but not BYU. Though the Cougars have tradition, high-powered offenses and a national following, they're still the odd man out in these scenarios. Why? For starters, they can't compete on a national recruiting stage with Utah or TCU, not to mention Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio St., etc. I know they get the likes of Jake Heaps, Kyle Van Noy, Zac Stout and others, absolutely terrific talent, but they're more scheme players (maybe with the exception of Heaps) than superior athletes with speed and strength. As long as the program focuses their attention on players who will live by the Honor Code (which I whole-heartedly support and agree with), they will be left with mostly second-tier talent.

As for Utah and TCU...

TCU absolutely makes the most sense of joining a BCS conference when you consider recruiting demographic, geographic positioning and natural rivalries (Texas, Oklahoma, etc.). They've been one of the most consistent (and winning) teams over the last decade, and with this year's success, they're a very sexy pick to join. The only thing that may hold them back is a very fickle fan base and a terrible basketball program.

Next up, after TCU, would have to be Utah. With their success in 2004 and 2008, great recruiting channels, a known basketball program, and a very zealous fan base, they've got all the ingredients to make an impact and land the coveted spot. The only thing holding them back might be their lack of sustained success/history, and the fact they play in Utah (it's kinda out of the way...just sayin').

In any event, with either of those teams leaving the MWC, BYU suffers big time. All of the sudden the MWC becomes an average league at best. The best hope is to expand the MWC very, very soon by adding Boise St., Houston, Tulsa, Nevada, and Fresno St., and dump a couple cellar-dwellers, and then get an automatic BCS bid (by addition or elimination). If the MWC were to obtain such a bid, TCU, Utah nor BYU would have any inclination to leave the conference for greener pastures because they'd be feeding where the cows are fat and happy, and this whole argument becomes unimportant, much like the climate talks in Copenhagen.

Poll

What's the best scenario for BYU?

Why It's Not the System

Seth C — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:00:32 -0000

by Mike Fuentes - AP

2 months 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 »

I'm not sure why this hasn't been written or maybe it has and I just haven't read it: It's not the system.

While eating dinner with my wife last night I realized or figured out or finally put two and two together that it's not the system. I'm guessing that my brain was subconsciously mulling this concept over while I was ignoring the Heisman Ceremony last week. In any event, I thought back to last year's supposed Heisman snub as both Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree couldn't even get as much as an invite despite having incredible careers that may not have been deserving of a Heisman Trophy, but at the very least a Heisman invite. I've moved passed any resentment that I might have had and the truth of the matter is that it's really the uninformed Heisman voters, some of whom admitted that they didn't even watch some of the Heisman candidates. As a personal aside, this is the same moral dilemma that I have when voting in the BlogPoll, which I started to do at the beginning of the season, but I quickly realized that I wasn't watching enough games to truly be informed. I could watch some scores and see some highlights, but I could never vote with a good conscious if I knew that I had watched one game that weekend, that game being the Red Raiders.

In any event, I started thinking about Harrell and Crabtree's careers and how truly spectacular each of their individual and team accomplishments last year actually were. When the question of whether or not Harrell or Crabtree were even worthy of Heisman consideration last year, there were many that thought that they weren't worthy because they were merely products of the system. I wish I could go back and find those thoughts (I believe there is sufficient interwebs evidence that would point to this general perception) and it's easy to say that Harrell and Crabtree's success was not a matter of their mental or physical talents, but rather some goofy little system that that lovable and quotable Mike Leach scratched out on some notebook paper and told both of them to just go out and play.

If there was ever a year that Texas Tech fans all need to ingrain in your memories, it is the year of 2009, where the Red Raiders did still have offensive success (the second best passing offense in the country and the seventh best offense in the country), but to those that watched the games closely, it just wasn't the same.

About a year and a half ago, I had just finished up reading Malcolm Gladwell's Blink and I was truly inspired. Inspired so much as to write up what I thought was a fantastic post about Blink, and in particular, rapid cognition, i.e. the ability to make correct decisions in a very short period of time and how this related to quarterback play (I apologize for the video no longer working, it's not my fault). For those of you too lazy to click on over (you should, because I spent a lot of time writing that post and I think it's good) there are three main tenants that I took from the book:

When talking about rapid cognition, experience may be the biggest reason for success, however, like anything else in life, that experience can fail you.

Sometimes experiences and circumstances can keep you from making what are typically good decisions.

Sometimes you can succeed more because you know less about your opponent, i.e. knowing too much information can impair understanding.

I could write and talk for hours about how I thought, and still think for the most part, that Gladwell thoughts regarding success of a player is highly dependent upon the repetition and physical ability that any certain player has. In fact, I think if you were to corner Leach prior to the season about his decision regarding Potts, I think he'd tell you that Sheffield, despite being a huge part of the program, that he didn't have the repetitions in the offense in order to be successful. It was no secret that Leach had been grooming Potts for the past three years to be Harrell's eventual successor and despite the fact that Sheffield having somewhat limited repetitions in practices, due to the fact that he was a walk-on, that he was playing better than Potts, which was on full display during the spring game. And this may be something to write about in another post, but Sheffield's ability to essentially take Leach's formula, repetition, repetition, repetition and more repetition (if you haven't read Hal Mumme's practice plan, then you need to do so to realize how true the fact that repetition is important to Leach and the Air Raid offense) and perform at a very high level is something that Leach hasn't experienced thus far in his coaching career. To say that Sheffield was an anomaly is an understatement. If Sheffield is given the reins next year, you might say that Sheffield's ability to recognize defenses without the hundred and hundreds of repetitions would make Sheffield a Leach-offense prodigy (again, this is probably a great off-season post).

This is the delicate balance in those three items listed above and to get back to the original point of this post, it's that 2008 was a culmination of those three factors from Blink coming together for Harrell and Crabtree (I do think it's humorous to look back what I wrote about Harrell in reviewing those Rice highlights, "In the Rice video, Harrell cannot throw off of his back foot. It's a disaster waiting to happen for any quarterback." Sound familiar?). As stated above, despite still being successful in 2009, it wasn't the same.

Perhaps Texas Tech fans are a bit spoiled, especially after what Harrell and Crabtree did in 2008, but maybe more than that I hope that writers, bloggers, and television commentators realize that the "system" is more than the system. Harrell wasn't blessed with a wicked arm or the ability to make every throw, but what he did have and what I think he perfected, was the ability to make very quick decisions and those decisions were right, especially in 2008, at an incredibly high rate. And for those that discount what Crabtree did on an almost every game basis for two years straight is undermining what an absolutely exceptional player and maybe even once in a generation type of player he actually was. Both gentlemen had physical gifts, but it was Harrell's ability to make accurate throws, but even more than that make very quick decisions that made him successful, and as much as Crabtree was a physically dominant receiver, Leach has always maintained that Crabtree's recognition of space on the field was unmatched by any player he's ever coached.

Texas Tech fans can sometimes get caught in their own webs of whether to credit or blame the system. Was Crabtree a product of the system? Sure, he was, but being the product of a system and being a productive NFL player (at least thus far) are two completely separate questions. Was Harrell a product of the system? Again, yes, but it was probably those physical limitations that made it difficult for him to spend any real time in the NFL. Were Crabtree and Harrell in the same system? Again yes, each did things the other could not do and made the whole thing work and sometimes, credit needs to go to the incredible athletic and mental abilities of both.

Now we bring ourselves full-circle and we ask ourselves, where is Potts in this equation. I know that some Texas Tech fans will not go to games or support the team or support the player if Potts continues to start. Fine, whatever, you're entitled to your opinion and the right to support or not support the team, but I think the tough part, the part that none of us get to see is that Leach has probably always, and I mean always based his decision on those hundreds and hundreds of repetitions that a player takes during practice on who he thinks should start. Despite what we're seeing this year, Potts' performance during those three years he practiced the system, he was probably outstanding and the repetitions warranted him being the starter in 2009.

But things changed when the lights went on and the opponents were live.

If it was the system, then Potts would have been an All-American with 5,000 yards passing, 50 touchdowns and 10 interceptions because Mike Leach's system would have dictated that every quarterback be as successful as the last quarterback.

Again, this is something that Leach was truly unfamiliar with from the standpoint that his quarterbacks had almost always overcome those mistakes with stellar performances because of Leach's reliance on repetition in practice. Potts may be the exception to the rule and that's your problem with the quarterback position. Leach's system is nothing more than Leach trusting his eyes, and he did trust his eyes leading up to 2009, but the problem was that Potts' performance didn't match the repetitions he had in 3 years of practice. Meanwhile, Sheffield's lack of repetition in practice didn't match what Leach could have dreamed about in terms of production on the field.

And Texas Tech's 2008 and 2009 seasons are why either giving credit to or discrediting the "system" is not fair, either for writers, bloggers or fans . . . because it's just not true. Sometimes it's the player and sometimes it's good and sometimes it's not as good as other years.

As I read this past, I realize that it's a rambling mess. For those of you who were able to stick through this entire post, thanks a ton.