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Texas Tech football: 3 problems facing Red Raider offense

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - OCTOBER 05: Wide receiver KeSean Carter #82 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders catches a touchdown pass during the first half of 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: Wide receiver KeSean Carter #82 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders catches a touchdown pass during the first half of 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) /

There just aren’t any game-breaking players on this offense

For an offense to be at its best, it must feature some true firepower.  Having players capable of taking the ball to the end zone from anywhere on the field makes life much easier for offensive coordinators.

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But that’s an area where the Red Raiders are sorely lacking this year.  There simply is not a true game-breaking threat on the roster and it is easy to see the impact of that talent deficiency.

Last year, Utah State had 29 touchdown drives of a minute or less.  This year, Tech has seven touchdown drives of ten or more plays (including all three against Iowa State) and just five touchdown drives of five or fewer plays.  That’s not a normal ratio for the Red Raiders.

Thus far, Tech has just 31 plays of 20 or more yards, 75th-most in the nation.  And with just seven plays of 40 or more yards, Tech is at No. 67 in the country tied with such programs as TCU, Kansas, Ohio, and Troy.

By contrast, OU has 71 plays of 20 or more yards and 19 plays of 40-plus yards, both of which lead the nation.  That certainly makes it much easier for the Sooners to put points on the board.

When offenses have to sustain long drives, there will be more opportunities for disaster to strike in the form of a sack or turnover or a drive-killing penalty.   Thus, teams like the Red Raiders, which don’t have tons of big-play threats, will be operating at a huge disadvantage.

How many players on this roster are capable of breaking off huge scoring plays of 50 or more yards?  RB Armand Shyne had a 75-yard TD run against Montana State in the opener but has come nowhere close to anything like that since.  Meanwhile, Erik Ezukanma came up with a 56-yard TD reception against Oklahoma State for the only other 50-yard TD of the season.

We’ve seen McLane Mannix with a 66-yard catch and run against Arizona and R.J. Turner with a 79-yard reception against Baylor.  And of course, T.J. Vasher has proven throughout his career that he’s capable of coming up with huge receptions downfield.  But none of those players are turning in that caliber of play on a regular basis this week.

This is where the offense misses wide receiver Antoine Wesley, last year’s top big-play threat who skipped his senior season to enter the NFL Draft where he was not selected.  Last year, he was tied for 6th in the nation with five receptions of 50 or more yards.  This year, no Red Raider has taken his place as this team’s homerun hitter.  Without that type of threat, the offense will never resemble the Red Raider offenses of old.

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