This one felt good. You saw a Texas Tech team come out and strike early and often. There was no sleep walking; which we’ve seen in 11 a.m. starts, especially in Lawrence. Tech put up the third most points in the week, second most in games that didn’t go to 7 OTs.

344

Texas Tech was dominant on the ground. They were able to rush for 344 yards (excluding sack yards and kneel downs). This was accomplished on 45 carries, which was good for 7.6 yards per carry. Tech was also able to score 5 rushing TDs, Nisby scoring 4 of those. The offensive line was able to open running lanes and it was good to see Kingsbury and staff stay on what was working. The QBs only combined for 27 pass attempts, more then 20 fewer attempts than rushes.

4-17

The Tech defense was superb again. They were able to hold Kansas to 4 of 17 on third down conversions. Getting an offense to 17 third downs is impressive enough, but stopping them on 13 is even more so. They also held KU to 1 of 3 on 4th down. Those two 4th down stops were on back-to-back drives to open the game and really helped establish momentum and set the tone for the game.

4

The Tech defense was able to force 4 more turnovers this week. It was noted in the broadcast that this team through 5 games has already eclipsed the total number of interceptions from 2016. Dakota Allen grabbed another INT with a great read in a zone assignment, leaping into the passing lane almost as soon as the QB started his throwing motion. His instincts are incredibly well tuned. Tech is +9 in turnover margin so far this season, good for 4th in the country.

2-21

I’m not 100% sure this is accurate, but Tech is on the record for committing only 2 penalties in this game. I seem to remember at least 2 kicks out of bounds, and but not much else. In terms of discipline, this was a very clean game for the Red Raiders. The combination of forcing multiple turnovers while limiting penalties is what can really help propel a team to win games, especially when not everything else is working.

5(?)

Another stat I’m not 100% sure on because I’m not sure how it’s all tracked, but Tech had at least 4 kicks against KU that something bad happened on. There was a near blocked punt (no block on a rusher, bobbled snap and terrible shank), a missed FG, a missed XP, and at least two kicks out of bounds. This was the glaring issue in an otherwise clean game. Fortunately, this was a game where Tech could eat some of these special teams mistakes, but have this many against basically anyone else and it will be the different between winning and losing.