Wyoming Football: First Look At The Texas Tech Red Raiders

The Cowboys get a chance to make a big statement when they open 2023 against the Red Raiders. Here’s a first look at Texas Tech.

Wyoming Football: First Look at the Texas Tech Red Raiders

The Cowboys get a chance to make a big statement when they open 2023 against the Red Raiders. Here’s a first look at Texas Tech.

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Wyoming Football: First Look at 2023 Non-conference Opponents

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The Wyoming Cowboys have a big 2023 football season ahead of them, beginning with a big home test in Week 1 against the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

As it happens, the visitors are aiming high headed into the fall, as well: After winning eight games for the first time since 2013, Texas Tech has its eyes on competing for a conference championship and won’t take anything for granted.

Location: Lubbock, Texas

Conference: Big 12

Series History: Wyoming leads the all-time series against Texas Tech, 3-2.

2022 Record: 8-5 (5-4 Big 12)

Head Coach: Joey McGuire (second year, 8-5 overall). Former Utah State head coach Matt Wells got the axe near the end of the 2021 season and was ultimately replaced by McGuire, a Texas native intimately familiar with football in the state as both a former high school coach and former assistant at Baylor. His first year at the helm certainly didn’t lack for drama, as the Red Raiders beat both Texas and Oklahoma in the same year for the first time ever and finished 4-0 in games decided by eight points or fewer.

Key Players

Jaylon Hutchings, DT

Wyoming fans certainly appreciate a quality defensive tackle, so they’ll be keenly aware of how Hutchings can change the tenor of a game in a hurry. Last season, he posted a Pro Football Focus overall grade of 84.5 which ranked fifth among all Big 12 defenders, collecting 50 total tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss with four quarterback hurries, all of which are reasons why he was recently named a preseason all-conference selection.

Tyler Shough, QB

Shough missed about half of the 2022 season when he suffered an injury in Texas Tech’s first game, but he made his eventual return to the field count. He started the last four contests and won all of them, finishing the year with a 59.9% completion rate, 1,304 passing yards, and seven touchdowns against a 2.3% interception rate. Should he win the job in fall camp and stay healthy this fall, he could be a big reason why the Red Raiders exceed expectations again.

Jerand Bradley, WR

Like Hutchings, Bradley also earned a preseason all-Big 12 nod after emerging as Texas Tech’s top receiving yards as a redshirt freshman last fall. He tied for the team lead with 51 receptions and stood alone with 744 yards and six touchdowns, so with more consistent quarterback play, his ceiling might be considerable.

Malik Dunlap, CB

Following an injury-plagued 2021 season, Dunlap made his presence known early and often in 2022. He finished in a tie for second among Big 12 defenders with 12 pass breakups and, according to PFF, allowed a 50.8% completion rate on 65 targets, so he’ll be prepared to lock up any pass catcher lined up against him.

Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, S

Taylor-Demerson broke into the starting lineup late in 2021 and made good on that opportunity by becoming one of the top safeties anywhere in the Big 12 last fall. He returns for 2023 as Texas Tech’s top tackler from a year ago, having tallied 74 altogether to pair with five pass breakups, 5.5 tackles for loss, three interceptions, and two forced fumbles.

Overview:

Offense

Despite some unexpected shuffling at quarterback, the Red Raiders held their own on offense in the first year under McGuire and offensive coordinator Zack Kittley, ranking just outside the top 50 nationally by points per drive (2.34, 54th) and available yards percentage earned per drive (48.3%, 52nd). Now, they have the benefit of being one of the more experienced offenses anywhere in college football by returning 80% of last year’s production.

Will one quarterback be able to earn the job and keep it, though? Shough’s injury opened the door for Behren Morton (56.8% completion rate, 1,117 yards, 7:6 touchdowns-to-interceptions) to start a handful of games and Morton might be the better long-term play heading into his sophomore season.

Whoever wins that job will have plenty of weapons at their disposal. Running back Tahj Brooks (855 all-purpose yards, eight total touchdowns) is a seasoned operator who’s led the Red Raiders in rushing over the past two years, while Cam’ron Valdez flashed explosiveness in the second half of 2022 once he was sufficiently recovered from injury. Bradley, meanwhile, is one of five Tech receivers who had at least 30 catches a year ago and that group adds Drae McCray from Austin Peay, where he twice earned all-conference honors and set a program record by averaging 85.8 receiving yards per game in his career there.

The offensive line also happens to be one of the most experienced in the FBS ranks as well, with Dennis Wilburn and Caleb Rogers leading the veteran contingent while Rusty Staats (27 starts at Western Kentucky) arrives from the transfer portal and Cole Spencer, who previously made 36 starts for WKU before his 2022 season was wiped out by injury, figures to be 100%.

Defense

Defensive improvement is what really enabled Texas Tech to defy expectations last season. Under the tutelage of former Fresno State head coach Tim DeRuyter, the Red Raiders finished 70th among FBS defenses in points per drive allowed and 88th in available yards percentage allowed per drive after having finished 110th and 99th, respectively, by those metrics the year prior. They also led the Big 12 in allowing a touchdown on just 46.6% of opponent red zone opportunities and boasted a downright nasty pass rush on standard downs), so there are reasons to think Tech could be even better in 2023.

That starts with the defensive tackle tandem of Hutchings and Tony Bradford (32 total tackles, nine tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks) up front, though finding more help from the edge can only help. Joseph Adedire (six starts, 3.5 TFLs, one sack) earned a lot of trust after playing well as a true freshman, however, and an incoming transfer like Steve Linton (Syracuse) might be the answer they need.

Linebacker might have the most questions on this side of the ball since Tech will need to replace its top two tacklers from 2022. Jesiah Pierre (40 tackles, seven TFLs, 4.5 sacks) could be in line for a big year as a result, but one interesting name to keep an eye on is Mike Dingle, who’s already opened some eyes as a true freshman and a dual-sport athlete.

The secondary, meanwhile, is very well stocked beyond Dunlap and Taylor-Demerson, boasting other returning starters like Rayshad Williams (37 tackles, seven pass breakups) and bringing in some familiar names from the transfer portal like Bralyn Lux (three TFLs, two sacks, seven PBUs at Fresno State) and CJ Baskerville (36 tackles, 1.5 TFLs, three PBUs at San Diego State). Though they allowed 7.9 yards per attempt last season, they should be much tougher to throw against this fall.

Early Prediction

Wyoming isn’t an easy place for Power 5 teams to visit — just ask Missouri — but it seems likely that Texas Tech will have the athletes on defense to match wits with a Cowboys team inclined to turn the game into a slog. Combined with much more reliable contributors on offense, an upset just doesn’t seem like it’ll be in the cards this time around.

Texas Tech 34, Wyoming 17

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