Texas Tech football: Why the Red Raiders lost to TCU
Looking back at the box score, we can see that the ground game and 3rd down were among the reasons that the Texas Tech football team lost to TCU on Saturday in Lubbock.
A familiar story unfolded Saturday afternoon in Lubbock. The Texas Tech football team played as hard as it possibly could, left its heart on the field, and still came up short.
The Red Raiders’ 33-31 loss to TCU at Jones Stadium was the fourth loss of the season in which Tech held a 4th quarter lead. It was also the third loss by three points or less.
Some would say that such close losses are a natural part of a program’s evolution. They theorize that teams have to learn how to win games in order to become a championship-caliber team.
So what does Tech need to learn in order to get over the hump? Quite a bit.
For starters, the Red Raiders have to understand that multiple-score 1st-quarter deficits are not beneficial. For the second-straight home game, Tech fell behind by 21 points in the first half and, no surprise, they are 0-2 in those games.
Additionally, Tech has to learn how to come through offensively when the game is on the line. Trailing by two points with 5:38 left in the game, the Red Raiders had an opportunity to win the game but instead, they went 3-and-out after picking up no yards on three plays.
It was reminiscent of the 4th quarter drive in Lawrence that saw Tech go 3-and-out with the game tied at 34-34 with 5:12 remaining. After that possession, the Red Raiders would not see the ball again in what turned out to be a 37-34 loss.
Another thing this team has to learn is how to win when everything doesn’t go its way. Tech has won two Big 12 games. In those games combined, the Red Raiders have benefitted from a 9-0 advantage in the turnover department.
Saturday, TCU flipped the script by winning the turnover battle 2-0. Tech is yet to win a game this year over a Power 5 opponent in which the turnover margin wasn’t decidedly in its favor.
What’s frustrating is that this is a team that should know how to win already. After all, a number of key contributors such as QB Jett Duffey, LB Jordyn Brooks, safety Douglas Coleman, DL Broderick Washington, and DE Eli Howard have been part of this program and around the game long enough to know what it takes to have success.
But their experience hasn’t been able to overcome this team’s lack of depth or overall talent. Thus, all of these close games have slipped away.
Saturday was no different. It was yet another game this year that could have gone Tech’s way but didn’t. Let’s take a look at why by going inside the box score. As we do, it will become obvious where this game got away from the Red Raiders.