Texas Tech football vs. Arkansas: Comparing 2014 and 2015

It doesn’t take a football savant to figure this one out; Texas Tech played much better against Arkansas this year coming out with a 35-24 win compared to last year’s 49-28 loss. I will break down just why that is, in addition to summing up Texas Tech’s non-conference play this year compared to last year’s.

The 2014 matchup against Arkansas was pretty straightforward. Literally. Arkansas ran the ball right up the gut, then ran some more, and topped it all off by running even more. The Hogs racked up 438-yards rushing on 68 attempts (6.4 yards-per-carry) and only needed six completed passes to blow out the Red Raiders. Arkansas won the total yards battle 499 to 353, the time of possession battle 41 minutes to 19, the turnover battle 3 to 2, and the penalty battle, two for 15-yards, to five for 60-yards. Texas Tech was whooped in every facet of the game.

As we learned last week when Texas Tech scored 69 points with about 20 minutes of possession, the time of possession battle is not particularly important for the Raiders’ quick strike offense, nor is it a point of emphasis for the coaching staff. Still, Texas Tech improved slightly this year against Arkansas, only losing the battle 37 minutes to 23.

The turnover battle on Saturday was largely a push, as both teams committed two turnovers that weren’t ultimately costly. Mahomes threw two interceptions on third and long, each essentially amounting to an incomplete pass followed by a punt downed where the defender intercepted the pass. While not ideal, at least Texas Tech didn’t kill a potential scoring drive with an ugly turnover, or set up Arkansas with great field position with the turnovers. Likewise, on third and long in the first half, Arkansas QB Brandon Allen threw an interception to Tevin Madison who made the diving catch inside the Texas Tech 20-yard line. Had Allen just thrown it away and Arkansas punted the ball and downed it inside the 20, it would have been an identical situation. Finally, the Texas Tech defense forced and recovered a game clinching fumble. This was encouraging, but likely didn’t have an altering impact on the game, as Arkansas was still down two possessions with only about one minute left.

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Now, make sure you’re sitting down, Tech fans. For the second straight week, the Red Raiders committed just four penalties, this time for a mere 31-yards. None of which were drive-killing or otherwise costly. One was a ticky tacky call on a Tech defender who hit QB Brandon Allen even though he wasn’t quite down yet in my eyes. Another was an offsetting holding call on Tech after an Arkansas defender was flagged for illegal hands to the face. I believe we also jumped offsides on the defensive line once, and Ian Sadler was flagged for holding, but caught a first down pass on the very next play.

The Red Raider offense was humming all night, as Mahomes threw just four incomplete passes, and the backs averaged 6.3 yards-per-carry. Continuing the trend from the first two games, Texas Tech never trailed in the entire game, and made some apparent halftime adjustments, giving up just three points in the final two quarters. Additionally, through three games, Texas Tech hasn’t allowed the opposing offense to score in the third quarter.

All in all, you have to be pleased with Texas Tech’s non-conference play. It was a slightly tougher schedule this year compared to last, as the Raiders had to travel to Arkansas this time around and played a considerably better FCS program in Sam Houston State vs. Central Arkansas. And by almost every metric, Texas Tech managed to improve.

Through the non-conference slate last year, Texas Tech combined to be outscored 110 to 100. This year, they’ve combined to outscore their opponents 163 to 89. Last year to this point, Texas Tech was penalized 30 times for 264-yards and had committed six turnovers while only earning two takeaways. This season, the Red Raiders have committed 18 penalties for 138-yards, nearly cutting penalty damage in half, and have won the combined turnover battle 8 to 3. It is beyond encouraging to see a night and day positive difference in the two aspects of the game the coaching staff emphasized the most all offseason.

Another encouraging trend has been halftime adjustments on defense. Last year, the defense would start slow and it would only get worse for the most part. Through the three non-conference games last season, Tech surrendered 57 first half points and 53 second half points–a near split. This season, through the first three games, the defense has surrendered 69 first half points to just 20 second half points. Of course in an ideal world, you’re not hemorrhaging 31 points in one half to Sam Houston State, but so far the ability of the defense to come out much better in the second half is blatantly obvious.

If the defense can continue this trend and the offense continues to look nearly unstoppable, Texas Tech will finish with a much better record than last year and will be in a lot of close games with good teams. With the non-conference schedule serving as a three game sample size, the verdict is clear. This 2015 Texas Tech football team is improved in various important aspects of the game, creating a much better on the field product as a whole.

Next: Kliff Kingsbury Has Strong Words For Arkansas' Coach Bret Bielema

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