Texas Tech football: Three offensive players that need to step up after the bye

The Texas Tech football season is already nearing the half-way mark of the season as the Red Raiders enjoy their bye week.  If the team is going to finish strong, here are three offensive players that must step up when the team returns to the field.

This week, Texas Tech football fans have an opportunity to catch their breath and enjoy the first weekend of October without worrying about Red Raider football.  But the same can’t be said for the coaching staff and players who are hard at work trying to prepare for Thursday’s showdown with TCU.

The already difficult task of knocking off the Frogs in Ft. Worth became even more daunting when starting quarterback Alan Bowman was lost to a collapsed lung suffered in the first half of the loss to West Virginia.  Certainly, Bowman has been the catalyst for the Red Raider offense this year just nine months after stepping on campus.

But with their new superstar almost certain to miss the TCU game and questionable to return before the end of October, the onus of leading the offense falls to other players.  This is a team that is second in the nation and tops in the Big 12 in total offense but legitimate questions remain about whether that production will dip with Bowman sidelined.

Certainly, the offense will look different with Jett Duffey or McLane Carter at QB.  Neither is as skilled of a passer as Bowman but both should be able to do more with their legs (assuming Carter is fully recovered from the high ankle sprain he suffered in the season opening loss to Ole Miss).

But even when Bowman returns (and thankfully that is looking more like a foregone conclusion than it did just a few days ago), there are some members of the Red Raider offense that need to have a better back half of the season.  Here are the three offensive players that must improve and be bigger contributors following the bye week.