LUBBOCK, TX — The Texas Tech Red Raiders finish their 3-game home stand on Saturday, September 28, when the Red Raiders host the Cincinnati Bearcats at Jones AT&T Stadium. Off an impressive Big 12 opening victory over Arizona State, Texas Tech looks to extend its winning streak to three games under the lights on Saturday night. The question is, how do the Red Raiders accomplish this?
There are three factors facing the Red Raiders within their own program headed into Saturday. The first is turnovers. Over the past two weeks, the Red Raiders are +4 in the turnover margin with the burgeoning ball-hawk secondary hungry for another game filled with takeaways. The young Tech defense held Arizona State’s impressive running game to a non-factor while forcing the Sun Devils to rely solely on their quarterback’s arm to get the job done. Spoiler alert: he didn’t.
Tech’s defense held the Sundevils to 16 points until the final two minutes of regulation and won handily after the Red Raiders recovered a desperation onside kick. Morton kneeled out the remainder of the clock, and Texas Tech claimed victory 30-22. To achieve a similar result on Saturday, the defense needs to continue this high level of play against the run game.
Cincinnati enters this weekend with a fairly balanced offensive attack, with the scale tilting slightly to the run-heavy side (35 attempts per game) over passing (31 attempts per game). This means that, like Arizona State, Cincinnati likes to run the ball. Tech’s game plan should include a way to duplicate the success the Red Raiders had against the Sun Devils last weekend. Force Cincinnati to throw it, and the Red Raiders’ young secondary has a chance to garner more interceptions. The more one-dimensional the Bearcats become on offense, the more likely that mistakes will happen.
Second on the list is Texas Tech’s problem with penalties. In one drive in the first half alone, Arizona State advanced the football more than 45 yards due to penalties. Texas Tech straightened up after that but still killed more than one drive due to a holding call here or a false start there. Cincinnati will not let Texas Tech get away with a penalty-riddled performance if the Red Raiders want to win. The Bearcats have already proved that they can handle the Big 12 competition with a 34-0 win over Houston last Saturday.
Finally, the Red Raiders need to produce on offense, even with a lead. Texas Tech led the Sun Devils 30-16 midway through the 4th quarter with the opportunity to slam the door shut but failed to produce on offense. After a huge defensive stand where Texas Tech forced a turnover on downs inside Tech territory, Tech managed a 3-and-out on offense before punting the ball away. It wasn’t short gains, either. It was three negative plays, then a punt. Arizona State used their limited timeouts on the drive, but Tech used virtually no time on the clock. Even with one first down, Arizona State would not have scored that final touchdown.
Texas Tech might not even play with the lead, but at some point in the game, they will have momentum. The Red Raiders need to find a way to take advantage of that momentum every time the opportunity arises. Either through Brooks, who had another 100-yard game on Saturday (17 attempts for 117 yards), or through the arm of Behren Morton. Offensive Coordinator Zach Kittley called a brilliant game overall against Arizona State and can maintain a commanding scheme even with a lead.
Texas Tech's Jalin Conyers scores a touchdown against Arizona State
(Credit: x.com/TexasTechFB)
Regardless of what comes from the matchup on Saturday, the excitement is back in Red Raider Nation. Another promising performance should finally garner the right kind of national attention this team deserves. A 2-0 start to Big 12 should also go a long way in cooling down some of the more irate Tech fans after the loss to Washington State three weeks ago.
Kickoff on Saturday is scheduled for 7 p.m. for a primetime matchup under the lights. The game is a “Black Out” game, and fans are encouraged to wear black.
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