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Texas Tech Football: Defense shows improvement in win over ASU

By VF Castro

LUBBOCK, TX - SEPTEMBER 16: The Texas Tech Red Raiders defensive coordinator David Gibbs (center, red shirt) reacts to stopping Arizona State Sun Devils on 4th down with only seconds remaining during the game on September 16, 2017 at Jones AT
LUBBOCK, TX - SEPTEMBER 16: The Texas Tech Red Raiders defensive coordinator David Gibbs (center, red shirt) reacts to stopping Arizona State Sun Devils on 4th down with only seconds remaining during the game on September 16, 2017 at Jones AT /
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Texas Tech Football found a way to defeat the ASU Sun Devils last Saturday night, and compared to last season’s game, the defense has shown improvement in a big way.

Texas Tech Football fans are all but guaranteed an offensive assault on Game Days, but unfortunately, the defense has left much to be desired over the years. However, against ASU on Saturday, Texas Tech’s defense showed an improvement in the run game–a critical component that’s helped opposing teams secure wins in the past.

Against ASU in 2016, Texas Tech Football was incredibly deficient in several ways, all of which involved the defense. The front seven had a difficult time containing the ASU run game, powered by Kalen Ballage, and the secondary had an even harder time tackling and preventing ASU ball carriers from breaking free.

Texas Tech went 5-7 in 2016, and five of those games were decided by 10-points or less, including Tech’s Game 2 loss in Tempe. Several factors such as heat, a late start, and a hostile crowd contributed to the lethargy, but the game slowly started revealing glaring issues, from basic fundamentals, to conditioning.

Now with two full years under its current strength and conditioning system, players have heightened expectations to perform. Their bodies have been trained to react and adjust not only to plays themselves, but in how to prevent injuries, thus creating an effective and durable component to the Texas Tech Football arsenal.

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The results of that training were on full-display on Saturday against ASU, when Texas Tech took control of the game midway through the first quarter when ASU settled for a field goal, followed by three unanswered Texas Tech touchdowns. While ASU running back Kalen Ballage tied an NCAA record in 2016 by scoring eight touchdowns and putting up 185 all-purpose yards, the Texas Tech defense made it a priority to render Ballage ineffective in 2017, with great success.

ASU quarterback Manny Wilkins targeted seven Sun Devils’ receivers for 326 yards, but only managed three receiving touchdowns. On the ground, the Texas Tech defense allowed 168 yards rushing, which averaged to 3.8 yards-per-carry. To draw comparisons to 2016, on top of Ballage’s monster night, ASU running back Demario Richard ran for 108 yards; which, collectively, averaged 5.7 yards-per-carry.

The difference between the Texas Tech run defense from 2016 versus ASU, and last Saturday was -1.9 yards-per-carry. While that might not seem like much, on short-yardage runs on say, 3rd, or 4th downs throughout the season, those statistics do matter, and Tech will face opponents this season where inches will matter.

The Texas Tech defense ranked last in all of FBS Division 1 teams by the end of 2016. Tech currently ranks No. 73 nationally through two games, averaging 5.06 yards-per-play through 157 total plays. It’s a work-in-progrees for defensive coordinator David Gibbs and Co., but the QB hurries, sacks, turnover focus, and all-around intensity the defense has shown through two gritty opponents shows an encouraging upward trend fans should be excited about moving forward.

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