We’re back from the bye with this week’s “By the Numbers.” Simply stated, the analytical models are extremely bearish on Texas Tech following the close call against Houston Baptist. Here’s what they have to say about the Red Raiders and the rest of the Big 12. ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI) Team National Rank […]
Are First Downs the Key to Texas Tech’s Offense?
Texas Tech’s season opener against Houston Baptist left a lot to be desired. On the defensive side of the ball, the secondary was torched repeatedly, allowing big plays that kept Houston Baptist in the game until the bitter end. On the offensive side of the ball, things were a little bit more hit or miss […]
By the Numbers: Texas Tech Season Outlook (Week 1)
In many ways, it feels like college football season has been a long time coming following the sports hiatus brought on by COVID-19. As Coach Wells pointed out, kickoff on Saturday will be six months to the day from when the Red Raiders were called off the court and the Big 12 basketball tournament was […]
Matt Wells and Staff Proving They Can Acquire Power 5 Talent
“It’s not about X’s and O’s, it’s about Jimmies and Joes.” Philosophy varies on the extent to which player talent vs. coaching and other aspects impact the ultimate outcome for a college football program. Regardless, I think we can all agree LSU was better off with Joe Burrow last year instead of me slinging the […]
Who Will Texas Tech Play if Arizona and the Pac-12 Cancel Football?
At the time of writing this, we have little more than conjecture about the 2020 football season. What we do know is that the state of California announced it does not have plans for in-person college classes until 2021. Does this mean schools in California won’t play sports until then either? If California can’t play, […]
What if Texas Tech had beaten TCU in 2015?
I apologize for the abrupt delay in this offseason “what if?” series. Simply stated, life and work got in the way. But we’re back now and hoping to keep you entertained with hypotheticals during this sports hiatus. Let’s turn to one of the potentially more gut-wrenching “what ifs” in recent Texas Tech history; the 2015 […]
What if Jarrett Stidham Enrolled at Texas Tech in 2015?
I touched on this possibility in our last “what if”, as I hypothesize that if Michael Brewer had never been injured then Jarrett Stidham would have enrolled at Texas Tech. Let’s assume the highly-touted quarterback prospect never changed his mind and hadn’t enrolled at Baylor. Let’s say he joins Texas Tech for spring practice in […]
What if Michael Brewer Had Never Been Injured in 2013?
I remember the beginning of the Kliff Kingsbury era vividly. I was excited to see what such a great offensive mind could do here in Lubbock, especially with the weapons he had; Kenny Williams and DeAndre Washington in the backfield, Jace Amaro and Eric Ward catching passes, and the heralded Michael Brewer at quarterback. Brewer […]
What if Texas Tech hired Chad Morris instead of Kliff Kingsbury?
So far, we’ve asked what would have happened if Texas Tech had been left out of the Big 12 back in the 1990s or if they’d bolted to the Pac-16 in 2010. We also wondered what might have been if Rich Rodriguez was Spike Dykes’ replacement instead of Mike Leach, as well as if Leach’s […]
What if Texas Tech hired Ruffin McNeill to replace Mike Leach?
One of the more realistic “what if” scenarios we’ll explore is the possibility that Ruffin McNeill could have been hired as Mike Leach’s replacement after The Pirate’s dismissal in late 2009. The way I remember it, there was a sizeable segment of the fan base that wanted McNeill to be promoted to the full-time head […]