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Texas Tech football: These toss-up games will decide how 2019 plays out

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TX - SEPTEMBER 29: Alan Bowman #10 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders passes the ball during the first half of the game against the West Virginia Mountaineers on September 29, 2018 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TX - SEPTEMBER 29: Alan Bowman #10 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders passes the ball during the first half of the game against the West Virginia Mountaineers on September 29, 2018 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /
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Game 10 vs. TCU

When Tech returns from West Virginia, the longest in-conference road trip of any Power-5 school, they will have to turn right around and face another hard-nosed blue-collar program, TCU.  The Frogs and Red Raiders have alternated wins over the past four years with the road team taking each game.

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In 2017, TCU ground Tech to a pulp 27-3 in Lubbock as they frustrated Red Raider QB Nic Shimonek to the point that he was pulled from the game for McLane Carter.  And in 2015, an improbable TD reception on a tipped pass gave the Frogs a 55-52 win in one of the most heartbreaking losses of the last 20 years.

This year, the Frogs have perhaps the cloudiest QB situation in the Big 12.  After the failings of former 4-star signee Shawn Robinson, who was benched half-way through 2019, (his first season as a starter) it is back to the drawing board for OC and former Tech QB Sonny Cumbie.

With Robinson now at Missouri, 4-star true freshman signee Max Duggan, and KSU transfer Alex Delton will compete with Ohio State transfer Matthew Baldwin for the starting job.  If Cumbie fails to find a quality QB from that group, his tenure in Ft. Worth will be over.

But if he gets that position fixed, the Frogs could be explosive with WR Jalen Reagor back and a steady stable of running backs to give the offense balance.  What’s more, TCU brings back four starters on the offensive line.

On defense, Patterson lost his top two tacklers from last year and will be starting a pair of freshmen at defensive end.  But in the secondary, the Frogs should be salty with perhaps the Big 12’s best corner, Jeff Gladney back after an all-conference season.

We saw last year when these two teams met that the QB position is not always everything.  In the 17-14 Red Raider win, Jett Duffey made fewer mistakes and one more big play than Robinson in a sloppy but entertaining Thursday-night game.

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This year, Bowman should get his first crack at TCU and give Tech a huge advantage at QB.  If he can lead the Red Raider offense and Tech can match TCU’s physicality, the Red Raiders could bring home the program’s first win over the Toads in Lubbock since 2013.

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