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Texas Tech football: A first look at Houston Baptist

By Matthew Conner

DENTON, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 05: Ben Ratzlaff #22 of the Houston Baptist Huskies celebrates the touchdown by Josh Alfaro #15 against North Texas Mean Green during a game at Apogee Stadium on September 05, 2020 in Denton, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)
DENTON, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 05: Ben Ratzlaff #22 of the Houston Baptist Huskies celebrates the touchdown by Josh Alfaro #15 against North Texas Mean Green during a game at Apogee Stadium on September 05, 2020 in Denton, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images) /
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DENTON, TEXAS – SEPTEMBER 05:the North Texas Mean Green during a game at Apogee Stadium on September 05, 2020 in Denton, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)
DENTON, TEXAS – SEPTEMBER 05:the North Texas Mean Green during a game at Apogee Stadium on September 05, 2020 in Denton, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images) /

HBU’s passing attack was excellent against North Texas

In week one, the Huskies did the vast majority of their damage offensively through the air.  They racked up 480 yards and 15 first downs thanks to the right arm of senior QB Bailey Zappe.

The passing game also provided HBU with three TDs.  What’s more, two of those scores were big plays, 71 and 38 yards respectively.

On the other hand, those two long scores came in the fourth quarter after UNT had built a 51-17 lead.  That meant that the Mean Green had turned to several reserves on the defensive side of the ball when the Huskies got their biggest plays.

Last year, HBU averaged over 334 yards per game through the air.  They put the ball up 549 times, which was 201 times more than they ran it.  And that trend continued on Saturday when they let it fly 62 times to only 24 rushing attempts.

This will be a nice opportunity for the revamped Red Raider secondary to get some early-season work.  After allowing the third-most yards per game in the nation through the air last year (307.8), the Red Raiders need to come out and show that this year’s defense is going to be more able to stand up to opposing passing attacks.

Of course, the defensive line needs to play its part in stopping the Husky aerial assault.  And if they do and the Red Raiders can keep the passing yards to a minimum, it will be a positive first sign in the rehabilitation of this program’s defense.

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