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Texas Tech football: Like Alan Bowman, all the greats had dreadful games

By Matthew Conner

AMES, IA - OCTOBER 27: Quarterback Alan Bowman #10 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders argues a safety call with the referees lates in the second half of play against the Iowa State Cyclones at Jack Trice Stadium on October 27, 2018 in Ames, Iowa. The Iowa State Cyclones won 40-31 over the Texas Tech Red Raiders. (Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images)
AMES, IA - OCTOBER 27: Quarterback Alan Bowman #10 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders argues a safety call with the referees lates in the second half of play against the Iowa State Cyclones at Jack Trice Stadium on October 27, 2018 in Ames, Iowa. The Iowa State Cyclones won 40-31 over the Texas Tech Red Raiders. (Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images) /
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Alan Bowman’s rough game against Iowa State on Saturday was his first poor performance as a Red Raider.   But looking back at program history, we can see that even the greatest quarterbacks in Texas Tech football history have had their share of bad days, which should provide us with some perspective concerning Bowman’s struggles.

During the “Air Raid” era of Texas Tech football, Red Raider fans have been spoiled at the quarterback position. Virtually every season, we’ve been able to count on a minimum of 3,500 passing yards and 30 touchdowns regardless of who has been leading the offense.

Regardless of whether the Texas Tech quarterback has been a highly-touted prospect like Graham Harrell or Patrick Mahomes or an unheralded fifth-year senior like B.J. Symons, Sonny Cumbie or Cody Hodges, Texas Tech has annually had quarterback play that is the envy of most college programs.

But prior to the 2018 season, many wondered if this would be the year that the quarterback play at Texas Tech would finally be below average.  Little did they know that a true freshman would make the jump from three-star prospect to one of the best players in the Big 12 in his first year on campus.

What Alan Bowman has done in his first season has been remarkable.  At 344.4 yards per game, he is third in the nation and tops in the Big 12 in passing.  Additionally, he ranks 30th in touchdown passes despite missing half of the West Virginia game and all of the TCU game because of injury.

In five of the six starts that he finished, he has thrown for at least 300 yards.  What’s more, he has thrown for at least one touchdown and has had a passer rating of at least 100.00 in every start.

That’s why his struggles against Iowa State took some by surprise.  For the first time, Bowman looked like a true freshman as he struggled to solve the Cyclone defense, which is the best in the Big 12.

But while virtually everyone will agree that Bowman was not good enough in Ames, his stats were still respectable.  The biggest problem with his game was the three interceptions he threw, which included a pick-six.   But while his completion percentage of 57.1% was by far his worst (except for the WVU game) he still threw for 323 yards and a touchdown.

Many believe that we will look back at Saturday’s performance as perhaps Bowman’s worst as a Red Raider and if that is the case, he will have had a magical career.  Looking back at the worst games of some of the greatest Red Raider quarterbacks in program history shows that numbers like Bowman put up against ISU are far from the worst we have seen.

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