Pre-Game Analysis: Texas Tech @ TEXAS

Ahoy, maties! This be the week we skirmish with them curs--

Sorry. I keep forgetting The Pirate set sail awhile back. Now we face Pretty Boy in his team's final season game.



For the year, Tech has averaged 46½ PPG in going 6-5 while facing OOC foes Sam Houston, UTEP, and Piggy (one of their W's). They've also given up 42½ PPG, so I guess you could call them balanced?

Expect the field to be sprayed with TT's aerial assault; however, you can't ignore the ~200 YPG rushing attack they'll bring. Kingsbury has done a decent job of utilizing his speedy RBs, DeAndre Washington and Justin Stockton who have combined for 16 TDs and over 1,600 yards.

Both teams are coming off of a bye week. The 'Horns have had some major healing issues we hope have been resolved with Jefferson (stomach), DFore (finger), JGray (foot/ankle), Vahe (knee), etc. Texas has to attack Tech's weakest link by pounding the ground game. If our 1 and 2 RBs are out or limited, Warren and Johnson need to really step it up.

Predictions:

• My man, KJ, rocks the rock for over 85 yards
• Jason Hall makes a form tackle
• Texas wins in OT
• We don't see this:

As @EDT pointed out [LINK], there's a 60% chance of rain in the mix. Yuck!

 

I am down with this prediction. Immediately following the fine display of technique Hall rises and makes bodily gestures indicating satisfaction with the result of the play. Teammates pat his helmet and other areas, suggesting overall agreement.

 

We should pass the ball less than 10 times and every time we pass it we go deep, very deep.....

 

The gameplan used against OU would lead to a nice victory. I would use Burt to stretch the field just to lossen things up but then just pound it 60+ times. Tech's speed is maybe the best in Big 12 amd Kliff knows how to exploit it. Washington, Grant and Stockton will provide serious problems.

Kliff needs a defense like Charlie needs offense.

 

By Chris Hall:

From my experience, there are at least three keys to winning on Thanksgiving. Hopefully for the Longhorns and their lingering bowl hopes, they’ll execute in each area against Texas Tech.

1. Thrive in the Bye Week

This bye week, in particular, was always so difficult for me. Unless your team is injured and needs time to heal, coaching staffs want everything to be the same. The team gets in a rhythm week to week and you don’t want anything to mess that up, especially if you’re winning.

Each individual player, and the team collectively, has to find a way to stay engaged throughout the extra week of practice.

Football is mainly a mental sport. This is where coaching and team leadership can make or break your squad. The staff and upperclassmen have to find a way to keep everyone honed in on one goal. If they fail to do that, the team can show up flat to one of the biggest games of the year.​

2. Manage the Emotion

It’s hard to explain how much emotion can be involved in playing on Thanksgiving... For most of my years at Texas, all except ’08 and ’09, we would have a special team meeting that was unlike any we’d have the rest of the year... Anyone, from any position, from any class or rank within the program, could stand up and share what they were thankful for to the rest of the staff and team.

There’s so much emotion to that time of the year already, it didn’t help to have an outpouring of it the day before we played (healthy as it was for everyone involved). We needed every drop of emotion we had for the game itself.

Part of the struggle at Thanksgiving is managing all of that emotion well, and winning.​

3. Expect A Dogfight (Rivalry Game)

Thanksgiving means rivalry games. For Texas, that always meant beating the Texas A&M Aggies.

Unfortunately, college football has changed for the people of Texas in more ways than one. The state’s best rivalry is no longer a thing Texans are allowed to enjoy with their families over Thanksgiving dinner. That’s a shame.

Regardless of whether the Aggies are involved, playing an in-state team on a special day makes for a dogfight the Longhorns better be ready for... Hopefully for the entire program, and Longhorn Nation at large, Texas can celebrate a Happy Thanksgiving with its 5th win of the year.​

[Full IT article]

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Yeah, well, it ain't OUR fault. They left.

 

But when you are losing, it might be a good idea to get out of that rhythm. When both UT and Iowa State changed OC's they immediately came out with a whole new mind set and beat stronger opponents in the following week.

Maybe UT needs to change OC's every week. That would certainly make play calling unpredictable.

 

The line on this game has been acting oddly
Started as Horns -1
Money went to Tech
Then the news hit about Foreman, Gray and Vahe
Yet its now Horns -1.5
Not sure what is going on here

 

Freshman offensive guard Patrick Vahe... was still using a crutch on Monday and head coach Charlie Strong said that he likely won't play. Texas could opt to move junior Kent Perkins inside to guard and then insert sophomore Tristan Nickelson into the starting lineup at right tackle or redshirt freshman Elijah Rodrguez could see the most extended playing time of his career at guard.

Strong said [D'Onta Foreman] is also unlikely to play. Senior running back Johnathan Gray may have turf toe and his availability won't be known until Thursday, but the team is preparing for him to be out.

"[W]e're gonna go with [Warren], and then (Kirk) Johnson and (Roderick) Bernard," Strong said. "Right now, [Warren] will be our key guy."

Bernard, who has seen limited action this year after an ACL injury ended his freshman campaign, moved to the running back position last week for depth purposes.

[Warren] has been a little bit tentative with his running style this year and will need to lower his pads and be more physical and decisive this week...

[Full BON article]

 

Strong in the presser said Foreman is likely not to play and that Vahe is out.

I didn't hear him say anything about Gray, but last I heard was that he was day to day.

May see more of Swoopes to run the ball.

 

Turf toe is a tough injury for a running back, no push off and hard to cut. Gray might be used in passing down.

Jefferson has been sick for an extended period of time. Some are speculating that he has mono, but it's just speculation.

 

Unfortunately Charlie needs an offense and a defense.

 

Kinda strange...

 

Do not miss the start of history. Horns are tired of getting mud holed, tired of the ISU talk, tired of getting blindsided by tortillas, and most importantly tired of Baylor's crap. This my friend's is the beginning of a 26 game win streak!

 

I'm with you, pour me another glass of that!

 

Texas Tech will be playing on Thanksgiving Day for only the second time in program history. The Red Raiders played their first game on Thanksgiving in 2013 at Texas.

This will be the 65th all-time meeting between in-state rivals Tech and Texas. The Longhorns lead the all-time series, 49-15, after winning each of the past six meetings.

The Red Raiders will be looking for their first victory at Texas since the 1997 season when Texas Tech topped the Longhorns, 24-10, under Spike Dykes.

Texas Tech enters its meeting with Texas averaging 46.5 points per game which ranks second nationally.

The Red Raiders have scored at least 25 points in every game this year, marking the first time in program history where Tech has recorded 25 or more points in each of the first 11 games of a season.

Texas Tech has scored at least 50 points a school-record six times this season, including four times in Big 12 play which also snaps a program record.

Texas Tech continues to boast one of the nation’s top offenses as the Red Raiders rank third nationally in total offense and passing offense.

Texas Tech could potentially have a 4,000 yard passer (Patrick Mahomes II), a 1,000 yard rusher (DeAndre Washington) and a 1,000 yard receiver (Jakeem Grant) for the first time in school history.

[TexasTech.com]

 

May I have some of your drugs?

 

Good for target practice.

 

The double T crotch says all you need to know about Tech and those uniforms.

The only field those uniforms should see is the old electric football game of the past. You had to paint the plastic players and cut out a football made of felt. Then you had to take a half hour to line up all your players.

When you finally plugged in the vibrating field, the result was usually a mass conglomerate of players doing a "square dance," just locking arms and going in circles.

You could kick a 99 yard field goal though, if you could get the accuracy down. This and the slinky were big deals back then.

 

I fondly recall the electric fb game I had in the late 50's and maybe into the early 60's.....we had a blast with it.....just put em in, line up up and turn the switch to on.....not sure there was ever a real winner! Depended on which way the ball carrier went as the field was vibrating.

 

Sure thing, you can pick it up anywhere. It is called positive thinking.

 

Offense…

Tech front… Tech runs a multiple front nickel defense where they will vary their ‘techniques’ along the D-line, which include both odd and even fronts (3-man and 4-man respectively). It’s important to note that the Tech defense is quick, but undersized. Though Texas will be without freshman left gaurd Patrick Vahe, they should attempt to physically impose themselves on Tech’s undersized defense. This Tech defense pursues well, but they are not near as physical as West Virginia or Oklahoma.

Tech coverage… I noted a lot of 1-high safety coverages on standard downs, especially when a tight end and or an H-back is in formation. They will do their best to even numbers in the box against running formations. They will vary coverage and do utilize 2-high safety coverages including some ‘2-read’, something they managed to execute fairly well against West Virginia, a better passing team than Texas. Texas’ best matchup, as always, will be the speed of freshman wide receiver John Burt on the outside, whether it be against cover-1 or 0 corners or cover-3 soft corners.

A simple plan… I like inside lead zone coupled with H-back and fullback sweep plays that challenge Tech’s edge and force defenders. I also like weak side quarterback power. Tech will likely walk down the weak safety and or cheat the nickel defensive back in against the Texas run game. If that’s the case, utilizing motion (jet/orbit) along with RB flares from 2-back sets should help create easy read RPOs for Heard and or Swoopes. Lastly, the passing game should see some easy candy on the outside to Burt and to the X-receiver Marcus Johnson.

Defense…

From Mayfield to Mahomes… Texas will need a similar plan for Mahomes as it did for Mayfield. That means disguiesed blitzes from the alley coupled with interior pressure. Tech’s offense is not very physical, but they are very effective in baiting responses from the front and coverage. Also and most importantly, Texas must contain Mahomes, especially on late passing downs.

Defensive backs… Tech runs a healthy assortment of zone and man-coverage passing concepts, but, like Oklahoma, the receivers are not a physical bunch and are prone to having timing on their routes impacted by physical play. In Texas’ case, I like a mix of cover-1, cover-3, and 2-man pattern matching zones, mainly due to Mahomes’ scrambling ability.

[Full TFB article]