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Texas Tech football: Box score of HBU game shows serious defensive flaws

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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A general view of a penalty flag on the field during the game between the Oklahoma State Cowboys and the Texas Tech Red Raiders September 25, 2014 at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The Cowboys defeated the Red Raiders 45-35. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images)
A general view of a penalty flag on the field during the game between the Oklahoma State Cowboys and the Texas Tech Red Raiders September 25, 2014 at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The Cowboys defeated the Red Raiders 45-35. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images) /

The defense was penalized more heavily than a convicted felon

Penalties across the board were a problem for Tech as Matt Wells’ team was flagged 13 times for 104 yards.  But what compounded the defense’s problems was the fact that they incurred the majority of the night’s penalty yardage.

The Red Raider defense endured seven infractions for a total of 75 yards.  That number included three penalties against senior corner Zech McPhearson (two pass interference calls and a holding) as well as a personal foul on Eli Howard for a horsecollar tackle.

To understand how problematic that number of flags is, compare it to what the entire team did last fall.  Penalized 6.2 times per game for an average of 57.9 yards in 2019, Tech was actually decent (when compared to many previous Red Raider teams) in that regard ranking 73rd and 83rd respectively in those two statistical categories.

What’s more, an average of seven flags for 75 yards would have ranked 105th and 129th out of 120 teams in the nation last year.  So the fact that the Tech defense was so heavily penalized is more than concerning.

Adding to that concern is the fact that most of those fouls were of the physical and not mental variety.  In fact, the only time the defense was flagged for mental gaffe was when Riko Jeffers was penalized for being offsides.

My theory is that poor players are penalized more than quality players because poor players are often in a poor position to try to make plays.  That was born out on Saturday night as the Red Raider defense incurred a game’s worth of penalty all on their own.  That’s something that such a talent challenged group can ill-afford to do to itself.

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