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Texas Tech football: Unpleasant streaks that need to end in 2020

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - OCTOBER 19: Jones AT&T Stadium is pictured before the college football game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Iowa State Cyclones on October 19, 2019 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS - OCTOBER 19: Jones AT&T Stadium is pictured before the college football game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Iowa State Cyclones on October 19, 2019 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /
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Running back SaRodorick Thompson #28 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders  (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
Running back SaRodorick Thompson #28 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders  (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /

4-straight years without a 1,000-yard rusher

Another streak that is now four-seasons-old is Tech’s run without a 1,000-yard rusher.  The last player to do that for this program was DeAndre Washington in 2015, his second-straight 1,000-yard season to end his career.

Since then, the Red Raiders have struggled tremendously on the ground.  The closest any player has come to 1,000 yards was Justin Stockton with 797 yards in 2017.

What’s more, in both 2016 and 2018, Tech didn’t even manage to have a 500-yard rusher.  And in the latter of those seasons, third-string QB Jett Duffey was the team leader on the ground with just 369 yards.

But there’s reason to think that this year could be different.  Last season, redshirt freshman SaRodorick Thompson put up 765 yards in his first season as a starter and that was despite playing the final month of the year with a bum ankle.

Remember that OC David Yost really does value a balance between the run and the pass.  In 2018, he had two 900-yard rushers at Utah State when his offense was the second highest-scoring offense in the nation.

This year, there will be no question that Thompson will be Tech’s primary running back.  The only scholarship RB on the roster behind him at this time is true freshman Tahj Brooks.  Thus, Thompson should get all the work he can handle.

But whether or not he can stay healthy at the game’s most brutal position is going to be the key to his season.  If he can avoid the injury bug, expect him to make a serious charge at ending Tech’s streak of four-straight years without a 1,000-yard running back.

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