Why the Texas Tech offense was one of the most improved in 2015

According to the website CoachingSearch.com, Texas Tech had the fourth-highest per game scoring increase in college football last season. In 2015, Kliff Kingsbury’s team scored 14.6 more points per game than in 2014.

This increase was the largest jump of any team from a power-5 conference with only Southern Mississippi, SMU and South Florida seeing larger offensive increases. Considering that Texas Tech had the second-to-last ranked defense in the nation, Red Raider fans should be thankful that the team’s offense was able to pick up the slack.

Scoring a mere 30.5 points per game in 2014, one of the worst outputs of the post Spyke Dykes era of Red Raider football, the 2015 offense needed to improve and it did so dramatically.

So let’s look deeper into the numbers to see exactly what Texas Tech did in 2015 to make its offense one of the best in school history.

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The most obvious answer and main factor is sophomore quarterback Pat Mahomes who started all 13 games in 2015. Coming into the season, Mahomes was a bit of a question mark having started only four collegiate games (finishing only three). Plus, in Kingsbury’s first two seasons as head coach, he had a true freshman start 17 of his 25 games.

So simply having the luxury of not being forced to rely on a true freshman was a tremendous improvement for Texas Tech.

But to say that the native of Whitehouse, Texas was fantastic is an understatement. Passing for 4,653 yards and 36 touchdowns while rushing for 456 yards and 10 more touchdowns, Mahomes cemented his place as one of the best quarterbacks in America and as the heart of the Texas Tech football team.

The improved quarterback play Kingsbury received made a huge difference last season. In Texas Tech’s 4-8 2014 campaign, Mahomes and then sophomore quarterback Davis Webb combined to throw for 4,086 yards and 40 touchdowns, which is production almost any program would take from the quarterback position.

But something was obviously wrong with the Texas Tech offense. It was too generous in giving the ball away.

The main difference between Mahomes and Webb is that Mahomes took far better care of the football. In 2015, Mahomes threw 15 interceptions in 13 starts (1.1 per game) compared to Webb’s 13 interceptions in only eight starts (1.6 per game). The decrease in interceptions allowed Texas Tech to finish more drives and put more points on the board than in 2014.

Another improvement in the Texas Tech offense was the increase in big plays. In 2014, Texas Tech struggled in the red zone scoring on only 76% of its possessions compared to 90% by its opponents. Far too often, Texas Tech drives ended in field goals rather than touchdowns.

But with Mahomes on the field, Texas Tech averaged almost 31 yards per touchdown pass in 2015. The large number of explosive touchdown passes reduced Texas Tech’s red zone possessions and helped put more points on the board.

But the passing game’s improvement was only part of the story.

While Mahomes was certainly the biggest key to the Texas Tech offense last year, another star on the unit stepped up his game in a huge way. 2015 was the second consecutive year that running back DeAndre Washington eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark. But the biggest difference in 2015 was how frequently Washington found the end zone.

During his junior campaign, Washington ran for only two touchdowns (a factor that contributed to the team’s red zone struggles). But as a senior, Washington scored 14 rushing touchdowns helping Texas Tech finish off drives.

The 2015 Red Raider offense was more balanced and Washington’s stellar play was one of the reasons. Washington ran the ball 45 more times as a senior and still saw his yards per rush increase from 5.9 to 6.4.

Thanks in large part to Washington’s ability to finish off runs inside the 20-yard-line the team improved its red zone scoring percentage to 87.5. This stat was also aided by Mahomes’ ability to run giving Kingsbury another weapon to use close to the goal line.

However, Mahomes’ legs were important in another area of the game last year.

One final but important area of improvement for the 2015 Red Raiders was on 3^rd down. Last season, Texas Tech saw a drastic improvement in its ability to convert on 3^rd down and keep drives alive.

In 2014, the Red Raiders were successful on only 43.6% of their 3^rd down opportunities. While in 2015, that number rose to 51.7%. Again Mahomes was the main reason for this improvement. Throughout the season, the Texas Tech quarterback was able to keep drives alive by rushing for 1^st downs on designed runs or on improvised plays during which the pass protection broke down.

Texas Tech has developed the reputation of being one of college football’s most effective offensive teams. And while many versions of the Red Raiders have put up strong numbers with the football, the 2015 offense will be considered to be one of the best in school history.

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With a 4,000-yard passer, 1,000-yard rusher and 1,000-yard receiver (Jakeem Grant) in the same season for the first time in program history Texas Tech’s Air Raid attack operated at a level not seen before.

As a result, the team was one of the most improved scoring squads in the country which makes one wonder what the Red Raiders might be able to do in 2016 with a junior Patrick Mahomes at quarterback and a slew of high-rated receivers coming into the program as weapons for Kingsbury to use.

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