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Texas Tech football: What we want to see vs. Houston Baptist

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 07: Jones AT&T Stadium is pictured before the college football game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the UTEP Miners on September 07, 2019 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 07: Jones AT&T Stadium is pictured before the college football game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the UTEP Miners on September 07, 2019 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /
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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)
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) /

Texas Tech football is set to return to the field tonight and here’s what we want to see from the Red Raiders as they take on Houston Baptist.

Texas Tech will resume its classic and historic rivalry with the Houston Baptist Huskies tonight at Jones Stadium.  Actually, the programs will be meeting for the first time and it is expected to be a Red Raider route.

Texas Tech enters the game a massive favorite and given what we saw out of HBU last week in a 57-31 loss to North Texas, there’s not much reason to believe the Huskies will be capable of putting up a fight.  But that doesn’t mean this game is devoid of intrigue.

Whenever a season opens, there’s plenty for fans to monitor regardless of whom the opponent may be.  And in recent years, we’ve seen some interesting developments come out of the Red Raiders’ first game.

For instance, back in 2018, we got our first look at Alan Bowman when he had to take over for the injured starter, McLane Carter, after just two series against Ole Miss in Houston.  That day, the true freshmen equipped himself well and gave us an idea of just how good he could be by completing 29 of 49 passes for 273 yards and a TD with no picks in his first-ever taste of college action.

Last year, walk-on WR Xavier White was the story of the day with five catches for 107 yards and a TD.  Likewise, there could be a surprise performance by a Red Raider tonight and that’s what makes week one so enjoyable.

But more importantly, we will be looking for some signs of improvement from the team as a whole.   Being as this is the second year in the Matt Wells era, all talk of a transition year is over and fans expect to see noticeable signs of progress after a disappointing 4-8 showing in 2019.

Will that be evident right away given the lack of a spring practice session and the unusual offseason?  Only time will tell.

But let’s go inside this matchup and break down what we want to see from the Red Raiders.  And we will start with an area of the game that isn’t necessarily synonymous with Texas Tech football.

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