None of us saw that game coming last week. Texas Tech was completely flat, they got Central Arkansas’ best shot and they came dangerously close to an embarrassing loss.
Coaches and players still described it as an “embarrassing” win, and it’s clear that the problems that have plagued Tech for most of the last decade (penalties, run defense, turnovers) still exist; and they may be forcing us to change our expectations for 2014.
Robert
For me, I originally thought this might be an 8-4, 9-3 type year. Now I’m thinking more like 6-7 wins after watching this team in a live game last Saturday. They just looked incredibly young and lost, and there’s clearly less explosive talent on offense than we thought. Lots of promising young pieces, but nothing special. It also looks like the defense is REALLY missing Kerry Hyder, Will Smith and Dartwan Bush.
They should beat Kansas and Iowa State, but everyone else is a toss-up.
Yasmin
I see this year being a real toss up. The defense struggled so much in the first game that it’s obvious the offense is going to have to step up big time to keep us in a lot of games. Webb is going to need to settle down in the pocket and lead the pack.
Austin
I still believe you are looking at 8-4 for the season. We won’t know more about the defense but after taking a second look, they aren’t as bad as it appeared. The top 4 tacklers from Saturday night were all Juniors or below so you have to expect them to have growing pains this season.
UCA only averaged 3 yards a carry and were held to 5/19 on 3rd down. If you can continue that the rest of the season, you are going to have a chance to win a lot of games. Offensively, Kingsbury said that Webb comes out too amped up and we saw that Saturday night. After they fell behind 16-7, he found his rythym and finished the game 28-35 for 387 yards and 4 tds.
Tech is still going to be that team that makes you nervous in a game they should easily handle, but they will manage to pull one off that no one is expecting either.
Shelby
I’m torn. I can really see this still being a 7-5, 8-4 season (hoping for 8-4), but at the same time, I wouldn’t be surprised if the team doesn’t quite get there. I think Kliff was really disappointed with Saturday’s games. I think the players were too.
It wasn’t a pretty game, but it’s the first game and there have been lots of changes on the field. We heard all summer how good practices were going…that’s going to translate eventually. With so many new guys playing, you can expect some first game jitters. They got their one game out of the way and it’s time to quit acting like new guys. I think they’re going to hit their stride and we’ll see the Tech team we all know and love (i.e. UPSET CENTRAL!).
I might be being a bit of an optimist, but I think they’ll get it together. This game left us with a lot more questions than it did answers, but I’d rather have that than bad answers. Maybe we’ll get some good ones in the weeks to come.
Louis
I’m not overreacting to what happened against Central Arkansas. I still see at least an 8-4 finish. We’ll know a little more after this weekend in El Paso. If Tech still has penalty, turnover and defensive problems against UTEP, then there’s a bit more cause for concern. But as Kliff Kingsbury said, all those issues are correctable.
There’s still a lot of football to be played.
Weston
Texas Tech is always a really tough team to get. Traditionally, our defensive lines are relatively small and it takes a lot of scoring to win games as there’s very little pressure on opposing quarterbacks. This past Saturday was probably the most disappointed I’ve been in a win maybe in my entire life in regards to a Tech football game.
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With that being said, I’m not the kind of college football fan that will just write a team off (or declare a team a contender) because of one good or bad performance. In the past few days I’ve seen people throw Tech under the bus for the close win, and others herald Oklahoma State and West Virginia for their close losses. I think there’s too much energy and momentum with Kliff Kingsbury at the head of this program for there to be a nosedive this year.
Predicting a team’s record in college football is downright impossible, if you get it right you were just lucky. Here’s my lucky prediction anyways: 8-4.
What about you? How have your expectations for the Red Raiders’ 2014 season changed, if at all? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.