Texas Tech College Football Preview 2021: Keys To The Season
Texas Tech Biggest Key: Offense
Get that passing groove back. The offense wasn’t bad, but it’s Texas Tech – three 300-yard passing days in ten games and just one in the last eight isn’t acceptable.
Enter Sonny Cumbie as the offensive coordinator, and that should change. However, the running game was working late last year, and now the offense needs to find the right blend to be on brand and explode again.
Offensive balance is nice, but it doesn’t always help to run for 200 yards if you’re not able to control games and the clock. Texas Tech will never win the time of possession battle on a regular basis, it has the veteran receivers in place, and it’s got the high-end quarterback in Tyler Shough to make it all go.
This doesn’t have the be the high-flying 400-yard air show of the Mike Leach days, but it needs to have the ability to do that.
Texas Tech Biggest Key: Defense
Stop the run. Stop the run. Stop the run. For a team that doesn’t control the clock and would prefer to make games high-octane shootouts than grinding battles, getting bowled over is a huge issue.
Texas Tech was 1-6 when allowing 170 rushing yards or more, and it’s 2-14 in the last 16 games when allowing that many or more. It’s not like the D wore down late – the 78 points in the fourth were the fewest allowed in any quarter last season – but the team could never seem to get control or comfortable when it was getting hammered on.
To flip this around, the program is 23-3 since 2013 when allowing 130 rushing yards or fewer.
That’s why …
Texas Tech Key Player To A Successful Season
DT Jayon Hutchings, Jr.
And throw in sophomore Tony Bradford in there, too. These two aren’t massive – Bradford goes 6-1, 290 and Hutchings is 6-0, 300 – but they’re veterans for the defensive interior who have to hold up better. The Red Raider linebacking corps is terrific and should clean everything up, but if the line can be more disruptive and consistent, everything changes for the D.
Texas Tech Key Game To The 2021 Season
TCU, Oct. 9
If this is going to be any sort of a strong year, Texas Tech has to be good enough to beat Houston in the opener. That would mean a 3-0 start with Stephen F. Austin and FIU to follow, and then comes the Big 12 season with three road games in the first four. However, one of those road dates is at Kansas, with Texas and West Virginia the others.
The Red Raiders lost to TCU 34-18 last season and is 1-3 in the last four. Win this, and they should get through the first half of the season with a winning record. Lose, and there will be a whole lot of fighting to do down the back stretch to get bowl eligible.
– Texas Tech Schedule Analysis
2020 Texas Tech Fun Stats
– Time of Possession: Opponents 32:56 – Texas Tech 27:03
– 2nd Quarter Scoring: Opponents 105 – Texas Tech 51
– Fumbles: Texas Tech 20 (lost 8) – Opponents 12 (lost 5)