Since there's not much going on football-wise on DTN, I thought it may be interesting to try and find out what some former Red Raiders are up to these days. I don't have any contacts that know too much about the comings and goings of past greats, but maybe some of you guys do. The interwebs offers some good stuff from time to time, though.

Anyone know what some of these guys are up to these days?

Tracy Saul

Tyrone Thurman

Lloyd Hill

Zebbie Lethridge

Feel free to add your own info on other players if you know something interesting.

Texas Tech and Pat Knight are experiencing a level of success not seen on the South Plains in quite some time. They made the largest jump this week in the AP Poll, up to #16. Kudos!

Rankings

This is not really Tech related, beyond the fact that we play Kansas, but this article about Mangino's alleged abuse of KU players is probably the most tangible evidence I've seen to date. The hole in this kids palm is huge and that thing had to hurt for two months!

The fact two named players corroborated what this kid had to say lends even more credibility to it. I don't really know how common this sort of thing is (physical wounds vs. discipline without) in college sports, but I am guessing it's a lot more common than we'll ever know. These kids are lorded over wth threats of reduced playing time or revocation of a scholarship on a regular basis, no doubt. I can easily see how a 20-year-old feels powerless to do or say anything since the HC holds the key to their athletic future.

So. Does he stay or go?

A weird regular season closes on Saturday in Dallas. Who all from the DTN world will be at the Death Star for this one? Not sure if there's already a movement afloat to possibly connect for a tailgate or not, but here's a good place to start one...If you've got a tailgate planned, and are open to semi-known visitors, let us know what your set up looks like and what lot you're in. Maybe some of the DTN family can connect. I'll be there, but didn't purchase a tailgate parking spot.

And the nominee for the dumbest, stupidest coaching move of the year must go, HAS to go to Les Miles at LSU. A Hail Mary pass puts them on the Ole Miss 6 yd line, with one sec left and no timeouts. Clock starts when sticks are marked. He runs the offense down there and has them...spike the ball? Excellent decision Les. No throw to the end zone, no field goal try...just...a game ending spike into the turf. Solid, Les, solid.

Disjointed first half...Tech up 10-7.

So, does Doege make the adjustments to the speed of the game? Can the defense keep the awesome pace up? Discuss...

Okay, so are at the 2/3 pole on this season. Four games to play, so we have a large enough body of work to look at where we stand in the NCAA and assess how good or not we really are. We lost two fairly close games early on then we had Saturday, which I'm completely through thinking about. Time to move past that.

But really, where are we and how far can we go with the status quo? Take a look at the rankings in various categories. Have we made the progress everyone wants to see after 10 years? Now, please know that last statement is not a call to replace Leach - I'm over that, too, unless he keeps flirting with every school that calls (granted, I think his phone will stay silent this off season). I'm okay with him as our head guy. It's clear defense has not shown much abject improvement. Is that the players or the coaching or the scheme or the calls? Or bad luck?

Bear in mind there are 120 teams in D-IA

OFFENSE:

Passing Efficiency Offense: #11 (2 in the Bix II)

Passing Offense: #1 (1)

Rushing Offense: #118 (12)*

Total Offense: #4 (2)

Scoring Offense: #5 (2)

Sacks Allowed: #93 (11)*

DEFENSE

Passing Efficiency Defense: #46 (6)

Pass Defense: #91 (8)*

Rushing Defense: #57 (8)

Total Defense: #73 (8)*

Scoring Defense: #62 (9)*

Sacks Earned: #11 (2)

Tackle for Loss: #39 (6)

SPECIAL TEAMS

Net Punting: #97 (10)*

Punt Returns: #53 (7)

Kickoff Returns: #21 (3)

MISC

Turnover Margin: #103 (12)*

Nothing really startling in any of these numbers. The results are so-so on the field, so you'd expect so-so statistics which is what we have here. What suggestions - if you had a say - to fix the areas of concern (those with an *)?

Well, in less than three quarters of football, Michael Crabtree has exceeded the production of Darius Heyward-Bey who has played six full games. Take that for what it's worth as Jamarcus Russell may be the worst starting NFL QB in the last 10 years. Shaun Hill for SF is not much better, but Al Davis proves once again that he's a master of drafting failure.

This was ugly...our defense just didn't come out to play. Ruffin has his work cut out. Taylor Potts didn't help with three turnovers inside Aggie territory. Now, the best we can do is play spoiler and hope for a mid level bowl.