Wreck'Em Red
Fansided

What Texas Tech football must do to be relevant in the Big 12 race

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TX - SEPTEMBER 08: Nelson Mbanasor #91 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders reacts to recovering a fumble during the game against the Lamar Cardinals on September 08, 2018 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech won the game 77-0. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TX - SEPTEMBER 08: Nelson Mbanasor #91 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders reacts to recovering a fumble during the game against the Lamar Cardinals on September 08, 2018 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech won the game 77-0. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
(Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /

Get back on the ride side of the turnover battle

It doesn’t take a football savant to know that the most successful teams in the game are the ones that have a positive turnover margin.  That is especially true for teams, like Tech, that do not have talent that is transcendent enough to overcome a turnover deficit.

Last year, Tech ranked 90th in the nation in turnover margin.  On average, the Red Raiders gave the ball away 0.33 times more frequently per game than they took it away.   That put them at No. 7 in the Big 12.

That was a disappointing turn after the Red Raiders ranked tied for No. 13 in the nation in 2017 by having an average turnover margin per game of +0.85.  That year, the Red Raiders took the ball away 29 times but that season was an anomaly for this program.

From 2013-17, Tech’s average national ranking in turnover margin was 95.2.  That is no way to survive in the Big 12 where turnovers are often what determine the outcome of offensive shootouts.

Last fall, 14 of Tech’s 22 turnovers came in five games that the Red Raiders lost.  In fact, the only two losses in which the Red Raiders did not commit a turnover was the season-opener against Ole Miss and the shootout loss to Oklahoma.

Tech gave the ball away three times against West Virginia, Iowa State, Texas, and Kansas State.  What’s more, the Red Raiders ended the season by giving the ball away twice to Baylor.  Making this stat even more frustrating is the fact that three of those games finished with one-score margins.

This year, a healthy Alan Bowman could help rectify this problem.  Though he did throw seven interceptions in his eight games, he took much better care of the ball than backup QB Jett Duffey who threw six picks in just seven games.  What’s more, there was only one game in which he attempted more than three passes and did not throw a pick (the TCU game in which he went 9-17 passing with no interceptions).

Tech’s margin for error is normally razor-thin because the roster simply is not talented enough to overwhelm opponents on a consistent basis.  Therefore, the Red Raiders have to give themselves an extra edge by gaining extra possessions as often as possible and not affording their opponents the same opportunity.

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