Texas Tech football: Kiff Kingsbury adresses team’s mistakes; previews Lamar
Texas Tech football head coach Kliff Kingsbury met with the media Tuesday and discussed some of the pressing issues facing his team following a 47-27 loss to Ole Miss.
Kliff Kingsbury spoke to the media on two different occasions Tuesday where he addressed the poor performance against Ole Miss and previewed the home opener against Lamar.
When asked during the weekly Big 12 media teleconference what the mood of the team was, Kingsbury was rather blunt in his response.
"“Embarrassed. The way that game went, to get down 24-7 and then the personal fouls…having two players ejected. Then giving up a kickoff return for a touchdown, it just isn’t who we want to be as a football team.” he said."
He was then asked if he was surprised by his defense’s poor showing against the high-powered Ole Miss offense.
"“I knew were were facing a very dynamic offense, great offensive coordinator, all those guys were coming back. [They have] three NFL wide receivers, a very talented quarterback, some big-time o-linemen, that new junior college running back. So I knew we were going to have our hands full but to give up the amount of big plays we did is what was really disheartening…“I still believe this defense is going to make some really big strides moving forward but out of the gate, facing a dynamic offense like that we didn’t handle it like we needed to and they exposed us.”More from Wreck'Em RedTexas Tech football: Red Raider fans need to know about these MountaineersTexas Tech football: Red Raiders land first commit for class of 2025Texas Tech football: Why have the Red Raiders struggled on the road under McGuire?Texas Tech football: Why the Red Raiders can compete for a Big 12 titleTexas Tech football: Plenty of questions remain as conference play arrives"
Looking forward to the Lamar game, Kingsbury said in his post-practice news conference that he hopes to see improvement, especially in limiting mental errors.
"“It wasn’t from effort but from, you know, mental mistakes and and errors and getting behind that quickly. That’s not who we think we are or who we want to be and so I think this was a good week for us, you experience that game-one, you get exposed on some things, you can get back to business really quickly and moving forward, know what you have to correct. And they’ve done that. Had a really good day today, had a good day Sunday, a focused practice deciding to play with more discipline and eliminate a bunch of those errors.”"
The Red Raiders were penalized 6 times for 80 yards including five personal fouls and had two players ejected for targeting. The team also gave up eight plays of at least 30 yards (including all four Ole Miss offensive touchdowns) and a kickoff return for a touchdown. On each of those plays, mental mistakes, such as lining up incorrectly or making the wrong call or not being in the proper place on the field, were contributing factors.
Senior defensive end Kolin Hill also spoke after practice about the penalties and mistakes and said that the team has to improve, especially when it comes to the way it tackles.
"“At practice, doing your job, that’s one thing that’s important. As far as the hitting, targeting, and all that stuff, that’s just one of those things that’s part of the game but we gotta learn how to keep our heads up and tackle better.” he said."
As for what kind of team Lamar will bring to Lubbock, Kingsbury pointed to the Cardinals’ dominant 70-7 win over over Kentucky Christian to open the season.
"“They had great game last week, scored 70 points, you know dominated the entire way. So they’ll be playing with a lot of confidence. [They are] disruptive on defense, kinda do it all on offense so you have to have a great plan and know what you’re doing.”"
Next. Week-one game balls. dark
Kingsbury did not have any further news on the injuries to starting quarterback McLane Carter or safety Jah’Shawn Johnson. Carter is still being treated as a game-time decision with a high ankle sprain while Johnson is dealing with a lingering shoulder injury. Though he did not specifically say that Johnson will not play this week, in Sunday’s media availability, Kingsbury talked about Johnson in terms of weekly progress rather than daily progress making it seem unlikely that the all-Big 12 defender will be back this week.