Texas Tech football: Red Raiders’ red zone D among best in the nation
One of the reasons for the Texas Tech football team’s improved defensive showing in Big 12 play has been the defense’s ability to come up big in the red zone.
Life in the Big 12 can seem almost impossible for defensive coordinators. It is unrealistic for any defense, regardless of how good, to completely shut down the high-powered offenses it faces every week.
That is why defensive coordinators around the league place such a high emphasis on their red zone defensive packages. This year, Texas Tech has been one of the best teams in the nation in coming up with stops in the red zone.
Currently, Tech ranks No. 26 in the nation by allowing no points on 23.8% of red zone possessions. That is good for third in the Big 12, one spot behind Texas and five behind Oklahoma State.
But when looking at how often teams allow touchdowns in the red zone, Tech ranks even higher. Giving up a touchdown on only 47.6% of red zone possessions, the Red Raiders check in at No. 21 in the nation.
And against Kansas, the Red Raiders again came up huge when the Jayhawks moved inside the 20-yard-line. In fact, that red zone defensive success was one of the keys to the game.
On four red zone possessions, Kansas managed just ten points as the Red Raiders forced two turnovers. Meanwhile, Texas Tech was perfect on five red zone possessions scoring 31 points.
Texas Tech’s first red zone stop came after Zach Austin was stripped of the football to set KU up at the two-yard-line. But two rushing plays that were stuffed at the line of scrimmage sandwiched around an incomplete pass forced KU to settle for a field goal to knot the game at 3-3. This was a critical early stop for Texas Tech because it prevented the underdog Jayhawks from taking an early lead which could have fueled hope of an upset.
In the second quarter, Kansas drove the ball to the Texas Tech eight-yard-line looking to tie the game at 10-10. But safety John Bonney stripped the ball from KU running back Pooka Williams and Dakota Allen came up with the recovery to end the threat and preserve the 10-3 lead.
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In the third quarter, Douglas Coleman picked of KU’s Peyton Bender in the end zone to again keep the Jayhawks off the scoreboard. With Tech up 34-9 at the time, Coleman’s interception was the final nail in the coffin for KU. On the final Kansas drive of the game, Bender would connect with receiver Stephon Robinson for an 18-yard touchdown but that came against the Red Raiders’ second-team defense and had no bearing on the game.
This was the second game in a row in which the Red Raiders came up with a big defensive stop in the red zone. Against TCU, linebacker Jordyn Brooks intercepted TCU quarterback Shawn Robinson in the end zone to preserve the Red Raider’s 3-0 first quarter lead.
Red zone stinginess is a trait that David Gibbs’ defense must continue to be known for. With Tech set to face some of the better offenses in the Big 12 such as Oklahoma, Texas and Baylor in the final five games of the season, games may be won or lost depending on whether opponents can find pay dirt in the red zone.
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Thus far, Tech’s utilized the bend but don’t break philosophy to perfection in 2018. It has been an often overlooked but critical area of improvement for a defense that continues to prove doubters wrong.