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Texas Tech football: 3 statistical successes Red Raiders need to repeat in 2020

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TX - OCTOBER 10: A general view of of Jones AT&T Stadium during the game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Iowa State Cyclones on October 10, 2015 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech won the game 66-31. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TX - OCTOBER 10: A general view of of Jones AT&T Stadium during the game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Iowa State Cyclones on October 10, 2015 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech won the game 66-31. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /
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The Texas Tech mascot in action during the game against the West Virginia Mountaineers. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
The Texas Tech mascot in action during the game against the West Virginia Mountaineers. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

If the Texas Tech football team is going to improve upon last year’s 4-8 record, the Red Raiders will need to repeat last season’s successes in these statistical categories.

Now that we know that the 2020 Texas Tech football season is going to be just ten games long, we know that it will be tougher than expected for the Red Raiders to improve upon 2019’s four-win record.  In fact, we may have to start looking at winning percentage instead of overall wins to measure progress.

That’s because, to many fans, it feels rather unlikely that the Red Raiders are going to manage more than four Big 12 wins this year.  After all, Tech hasn’t won as many as five conference games since 2009.

But consider that if the four-win mark is all Tech gets to this fall, that will actually be a step in the right direction.  After all, at least three of those victories would be of the Big 12 variety and last year, all Matt Well’s team managed to post was two conference wins.

Four wins in 2020 would be a winning percentage of .400, which would be better than last year’s .333.  Of course, the Red Raiders have higher expectations than that.

While we are often quick to point to the failings of last year’s team, and rightfully so given the overall record, we must also admit that some things went right in the first year of the Wells regime.

First of all, Tech saw freshmen like RB SaRodorick Thompson, WR Eric Ezukanma, and DE Tony Bradford Jr. prove to be more than capable of playing in the Big 12.  In fact, all three could be primed for huge years as sophomores and should each take his game to a new level, it will bode extremely well for Tech’s pursuit of five or more wins.

Another positive from 2019 was Tech’s special teams.  In the first year under special teams coordinator Mark Tommerdahl, Tech saw redshirt freshman kicker Trey Wolff go 20-22 on FG attempts marking the second-most FGs in a season by a Red Raider while freshman punter Austin McNamara set a program record for yards per punt by a freshman.

In other words, not everything was a total disappointment last season.  And there were some statistical areas in which Tech excelled.  So let’s look at where the Red Raiders need to repeat 2019’s success if 2020 is going to be a better experience for us all.

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