Abilene Christian (0-0) vs. Texas Tech (0-0)
When: Saturday, August 31st @ 6:30 pm
Where: Jones AT&T Stadium | Lubbock, TX
TV & Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: TuneIn Radio
The Line: Texas Tech -33
Weather: 83-65, Scattered Thunderstorms
Keys to the Game
- I think we need to see a more open and free flowing offense that makes big plays, utilizes the talents of Josh Kelly and Micah Hudson and heavy doses of Tahj Brooks. I think the offense has to be more big-play oriented and it starts with a healthy Behren Morton slingin’ that ball down the field and throwin’ touchdowns.
- The inexperienced and Joey McGuire guys are going to have to make plays because there’s really no one else to do it on defense. The young defensive backfield and defensive line will be baptized somewhat on Saturday, but truthfully we should see a fully functional two-deep making plays all day and we should be trying to figure out who is who with the roster. The defense will play a spread-type of offense, the OC being Rick Bowie, who arrived from Valdosta State and averaged 37 points a game last year and was top 25 in rushing and passing. There’s definitely Group 5 talent on the ACU roster.
- It was clear when quarterbacks (Shough and Morton) were injured that they pulled the reins and didn’t let the quarterbacks do what they could do best. They got another quarterback in the room in Cameran Brown who will play every game, but will also be the back-up. As long as the quarterbacks are healthy, McGuire has to the offense fly and I think that’s going to be key for the rest of the season, which is to let these playmakers make plays.
Players to Watch
- Maverick McIvor (6-2/210): McIvor is the 3-year starter for the Wildcats, the old Texas Tech commit and he completed 56% of his passes for 1,972 yards, 17 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. That’s decent and he doesn’t have a huge arm and I’m guessing that Texas Tech will game-plan for that.
- Darius Moore (5-11/230): The strength of the defense is in Moore, a linebacker who amassed 78 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss and a forced fumble.
- Cirby Coheley (6-4/220): Another linebacker who was right behind Moore, earning 61 tackles, but he had 5.5 sacks and 8 tackles for a loss. A bit of a different skillset for sure, but he also had 3 interceptions and 5 quarterback hurries, so he’ll get after the quarterback.
- Former Red Raiders: Aside from Maverick McIvor, there are a handful of former Red Raider footballers on the ACU Roster: WR Trey Cleveland (6-4/195); WR Hut Graham (6-1/200); WR Nehemiah Martinez (5-9/200); P Grant Nickel (6-1/185); OL Tay Yanta (6-5/330); and TE Jed Catles (6-7/235).
One Big Idea
Thinking of one original big idea each week is hard. Really hard so if this section gets deleted, you’ll know why that I gave up. The one big idea this week is that based on the results of the Staking the Plains fan survey, you all really like Joey McGuire. You think he’s done a good job, and I agree. I don’t want to see turnover at the head coaching position and I don’t want to see him fail. And this isn’t even about seeing his success be Texas Tech’s success, I’m legitimately cheering for him to succeed because I think he’s a good football coach. He’s assessed the team’s weaknesses. He’s watched the losses to figure out what went wrong. He’s done the things to try to get this team better. Go wreck ’em Joey.
Opponent Intel
Not the best opponent, but I wanted you to see Abilene Christian in a good light. ACU took care of business in week one. We won’t know totally what the offense will look like, but this offense in this particular game was horizontal, with a tight end.
News:
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal’s Nathan Giese on 5 bold predictions for the 2024 season and here’s one of them:
Tahj Brooks won’t become Texas Tech football’s all-time leading rusher
We’ll start with one that might be considered the biggest hot take among Tech fans — and maybe coaches, too.
Tech has devoted an entire marketing campaign around Tahj Brooks’ chase to become the program’s all-time leading rusher. He needs 1,168 yards to achieve this feat, an average of just under 100 yards per game for the regular season. Seems reasonable for someone who averaged 118.3 yards/game in 2023.
However, last year’s offensive line was much more experienced than this year’s group will be. Tech is projected to have multiple first-time starters up front. Will that unit be able to sustain the same kind of run blocking for Brooks as last year’s group?
Red Raider Sports’ Jarrett Ramirez on Abilene Christian:
The recurring storyline surrounding the contest is the prevalence of Texas Tech ties that will be present on the opposing sideline– the Wildcats feature seven former Red Raiders. Maverick McIvor, now in his sixth season and third in Abilene, will be given the keys to Bowie’s Air Raid offense.
Dallas Morning News’ Justin Aodaca predicts the game:
Tech will have the opportunity to show off the revamped offense, alongside a healthy quarterback Morton, and it should be a celebration inside of the newly renovated Jones AT&T Stadium on Saturday night.
Threads for Saturday.
⚫️🔴⚫️ pic.twitter.com/IiGKgOgWsA
— Texas Tech Football (@TexasTechFB) August 29, 2024
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal’s Nathan Giese: Texas Tech football hosts Abilene Christian: Scouting report, predictions for 2024 opener
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal’s Don Williams: With cow-manure critique, Tyler Shough steps in it with Lubbock folks
Tyler Shough, in a clip that surfaced Thursday, jabbed at the place he just left. Asked by Louisville radio host Paul Rogers to describe Lubbock for people who haven’t been here, Shough said, “It smells like cow (manure) and wind. There’s not much else out there than drinkin’ beer and doin’ nothin’. But really, it’s just the university.
“So it’s kind of nice being out here (in Louisville) where there’s a lot of great food spots, there’s a lot of really cool people and there’s a lot more stuff to do, so me and my wife have really enjoyed it.”
Here’s my take on Tyler Shough: I do not care about him. At all.
Stats
Abilene Christian’s stats aren’t available so we’re just taking a look at the preseason rankings in the first graphic and then the offensive and defensive stats from last year.
Place Your Bets
I never like betting in these sorts of games because 30+ points is a lot and the 2nd and 3rd team guys may not keep the same distance that the 1st team guys produce. I’d probably take ACU in this game, Keith Patterson does a good job of keeping these games close and 34 points is a ton of points.
At the Finish
Give me Texas Tech 42-17 as the final score. I think that ACU will be able to score and I think the defense will eventually give up points, but I don’t think this will be a particularly close game.