Ten Points From Texas Tech's Loss to Oklahoma

The month of November hasn’t been very kind to the Texas Tech football program over the last few years, and with Oklahoma coming to town on Texas Tech’s Senior Night; the chances of that changing looked to be slim.

Following their defeat against the Longhorns, Texas Tech would need to win-out in order to become eligible for a post-season bowl game. While the ‘bye’ week allowed key players to return from injury, notably quarterbacks Davis Webb, Patrick Mahomes, and linebacker Sam Eguavoen; the question of who would be the starting quarterback for Texas Tech moving forward was left up in the air. That question would be answered during pre-game warm ups with freshman Patrick Mahomes II taking the first team reps prior to the game. Similarly, the Oklahoma offense would be led by freshman Cody Thomas, with starting quarterback Trevor Knight sidelined due to injury.

The Texas Tech offense would start off with a performance as best as they’ve had all season, jumping out to an early 14-7 lead before the half, meanwhile Texas Tech’s defensive unit played inspired, forcing three Oklahoma turnovers. The influx of youth within the team seemed to be paying off with Patrick Mahomes, Ian Sadler, and Justin Stockton having stellar offensive performances, meanwhile cornerbacks Tevin Madison and Nigel Bethel impressed as well, handling their own against the Sooner receiving corps.

Unfortunately, Texas Tech couldn’t carry the momentum from the first half into the fourth quarter and struggled heavily against a Sooner offense that adjusted in the second half and leaned heavily on a running and read-option attack. Furthermore, the inability of Texas Tech to capitalize on the three Oklahoma turnovers proved costly; nearly all of the momentum Texas Tech gained with their play in the first half evaporated with mind-numbing dropped passes and penalties. It would make more sense for the self-inflicting penalties and errors to be blamed on the propensity of youth within the ranks of the team; however more often than not these mistakes were being committed by veteran players.

The problems that Texas Tech has struggled with all season came back again in disappointing fashion; no doubt there will be a debate on whether or not these problems stem from coaching or with lie the players themselves. Unfortunately, there simply just isn’t a quick fix, these issues stem from a multitude of areas rooted in the overall inconsistency of the program since the end of the 2009 season.

Having been eliminated from bowl eligibility, Texas Tech will be playing for pride in their remaining matches against Iowa State and Baylor, each opponent brings a stiff challenge to a reeling Texas Tech football team. Kingsbury and his staff will have their work cut out for them as they try to find a way to refocus their team and create some kind of momentum heading into the offseason.

Ten Points from Oklahoma vs. Texas Tech

The Mahomes show- We saw flashes of his play against TCU and Texas, but his performance against Oklahoma will probably be what solidifies Mahomes as the starting quarterback for Texas Tech moving forward. Webb may be the more experienced player but Mahomes brings an ability to extend plays in both usual and unusual ways, his touch on the ball in both the short and long game seems more ‘certain’ than what we saw with Webb earlier this season. While there will no doubt still be a quarterback competition this spring, anything Mahomes does going forward will help his case.

The Jones- It’s amazing just how well the city of Lubbock and the Texas Tech fan base has supported Texas Tech football even throughout the horrendous season they’ve had. Jones AT&T stadium has been packed for every home game, even setting a new season attendance record. This is especially impressive when you consider the dismal attendance figures for other programs that have had better recent success than Texas Tech. Looking at you Texas Christian.

Defensive Woes- There’s no other way to put it, the defensive effort in the second half was absolutely horrendous. While Mike Smith’s defense pressured Cody Thomas and held the Oklahoma offense in check for most of the first half, there’s just simply no excuse for allowing the Oklahoma offense to run the ball at-will. You can coach a lot of things, but you can’t coach effort.

Stealing Signals- Texas Tech’s defensive coaches responsible for signaling plays were shielded by towel-carrying assistants for the majority of the game. This was done in an effort to keep the Oklahoma press box from being able to see or ‘interpret’ Tech’s signals. According to Don Williams of the Lubbock Avalanche- Journal, Kingsbury has alluded to the possibility of Texas Tech’s signals being compromised following the departure of former defensive coordinator Matt Wallerstedt.

Uniforms- Under Armour continues to miss the mark when it comes to ‘specialty’ uniforms. The addition of long-awaited RED was welcome, however the look would have looked less complicated with Texas Tech’s regular helmet and pants. I’m still waiting on an all-red look. Do it UA.

Ten Points From Texas Tech’s Loss to Oklahoma

By Erik Garza | Nov 17, 2014