Texas Tech football: Hidden moments in the loss to Kansas State

A costly personal foul

After the blocked punt, KSU took over possession at the Tech 16-yard line.  The goal at that point for the Red Raider defense was to simply force the home team into a field goal attempt.

On the first play of the drive, it appeared as if that endeavor would get off to a great start.  KSU tried to run the ball off tackle with Jacardia Wright but linebacker Jacob Morgenstern knifed through the line and forced the ball carrier to the ground at the 20-yard line.

However, on the play, Morgenstern grabbed Wright’s facemask and used it to bring him to the ground.  It was an obvious call for the officials and the result of the infraction was that KSU got the ball at the Tech 7-yard line with a first-and-goal.  Two plays later, K-State would score the game’s first TD on a pass from Skylar Thompson to TE Briley Moore.

Morgenstern simply has to be more disciplined in this instance.  His sloppy tackling gave the opponent 13 free yards (from where the ball would have been had he made a clean tackle) and a fresh set of downs.  And there was no reason for him to grab the facemask in the first place.

The Duke transfer was there in plenty of time to simply make a form tackle and what’s more, he had waves of support on the way (though it is hard for a player to know that in the heat of the moment).  This wasn’t a situation where he had to grab at the ball carrier in a desperate attempt to slow him down nor was it a case of bad luck as sometimes happens on a facemask penalty.  Rather, this was just poor form by a senior who should know better.

Had the play been made correctly, there’s a great chance that KSU would have been forced to attempt a field goal.  Facing a 2nd-and-14 in the red zone is never easy given the fact that the field is condensed that close to the goal line, something that favors the secondary.  But because of an untimely personal foul by Morgenstern, KSU was bailed out and they cashed that free pass in for seven points.