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Texas Tech football: Turning points in Red Raiders’ win over Oklahoma State

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - OCTOBER 05: The Masked Rider, mascot of the Texas Tech Red Raiders, leads the team onto the field before the college football game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Oklahoma State Cowboys on October 05, 2019 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS - OCTOBER 05: The Masked Rider, mascot of the Texas Tech Red Raiders, leads the team onto the field before the college football game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Oklahoma State Cowboys on October 05, 2019 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Douglas Coleman’s first pick sets Tech up at OSU 37

Though Tech had dominated play for the majority of the first half, in the middle of the second quarter, it was just a two score game.  Tech had managed to go 3-3 in the red zone to that point but two of those scores were field goals.

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Knowing that Oklahoma State has one of the top big-play offenses in the nation, Tech fans were far from comfortable with a 13-0 lead.  That’s because on more than one occasion in recent years we’ve seen Tech jump out to early leads on the Cowboys in Lubbock only to fail to close the deal.

OSU faced a 3rd-and-7 at its own 29 needing to make a play.  But Sanders was picked off over the middle by Red Raider safety Douglas Coleman, who returned the ball to the Cowboy 37.

Two plays later, the Red Raiders were in the end zone thanks to a brilliant throw from Jett Duffey to Kesean Carter, who made an even more brilliant catch in the corner of the end zone.  That score staked Tech to a 20-0 lead and put the Cowboys in a bind considering that they prefer to run the ball as their main plan of attack.

The play was either fantastic or dreadful depending on what colors one was wearing on Saturday.  Those in red were impressed with the way Coleman, a converted corner, jumped the out route in man coverage.  But those in orange had to be more than frustrated with the poor throw by Sanders, which looked as if it was really intended for Coleman.

This proved to be the second time that an OSU mistake helped jumpstart Tech’s offense.  That’s because following the game’s first TD, Tech had managed to score just three points.

But having to go just 37 yards, Yost was in attack mode.  As most OCs are prone to do following a turnover, he took a shot at a big play knowing that his offense was set up in prime position to extend the lead.

Sometimes it isn’t just the fact that a turnover occurs, it is where the defense takes the ball away.  Many turnovers serve to simply prevent the opposition from scoring but the most impactful are the ones that give the offense a shot at an easy score.  That’s what Coleman did with his first pick on Saturday when he set his team up to take the game by the throat.

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