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Texas Tech football: How Red Raiders can attack the ISU defense

By Matthew Conner

Oct 19, 2019; Lubbock, TX, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders running back McLane Mannix (13) carries the ball against the Iowa State Cyclones in the second half at Jones AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 19, 2019; Lubbock, TX, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders running back McLane Mannix (13) carries the ball against the Iowa State Cyclones in the second half at Jones AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 3, 2020; Manhattan, Kansas, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders quarterback Henry Colombi (3) breaks away from Kansas State Wildcats defensive tackle Drew Wiley (59) during a game at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 3, 2020; Manhattan, Kansas, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders quarterback Henry Colombi (3) breaks away from Kansas State Wildcats defensive tackle Drew Wiley (59) during a game at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports /

Use your QB’s legs

Without any inside knowledge here, I am going to proceed under the assumption that Henry Colombi will get the start on Saturday.  It just seems that the ankle injury sustained by Alan Bowman will be too much to overcome in a week’s time.

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Should that be the case, Colombi will bring something invaluable to the field this weekend that Bowman can’t; the ability to pick up yards on the ground.  And when facing Iowa State, dual-threat QBs are a great weapon to have.

Now, don’t expect Colombi to dominate the game on the ground.  He’s not Vince Young or Michael Vick.  But he did show on Saturday that he’s faster than we might have assumed him to be and his wheels could help keep drives alive in Ames.

In recent years, ISU has had QBs put up some decent numbers on the ground against them.  Last year, OU’s Jalen Hurts ran for 68 yards and a pair of TDs in a 42-41 win.   Meanwhile, the week prior, Oklahoma State’s Spencer Sanders ran for 43 yards in a 7-point Cowboys win. The year before, OU’s Kyler Murray ran for 77 yards as his team beat ISU 37-37.

Why does the QB run game, and specifically the read-option, work against Iowa State?  It’s because it puts another ball carrier into the equation for the Cyclones to account for.

Remember that there are just three defensive linemen on the field.  And on a read-option, the QB reads the defensive end and can get to the edge if that end crashes down.  With a 3-man line, it may be easier to get to the edge of the line before a blitzing LB or safety can come up in run support.  Also, the run-pass option is effective in freezing that blitzer (though Tech has hardly run any of those this year given Bowman’s lack of mobility).

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If Colombi is the man on Saturday, it would be wise for Yost to figure out a way to use his legs as an integral part of the offense.  That’s one reason why it would be exciting to see the Utah State transfer get his shot at cracking the Cyclone defense.

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