Texas Tech football: The Red Raiders can beat Iowa State if…
…the ground game is efficient
If there is ever a time to hope that Tech’s ground game can be efficient, it is when facing the Iowa State 3-3-5 cloud defense. If the Red Raiders will be willing to commit to pounding the ball between the tackles and if they can do so efficiently enough to keep drives alive, it will change everything that the Cyclones do on defense and it will give the Red Raiders their best shot at winning.
ISU’s defensive philosophy is predicated on the belief that Big 12 offenses simply don’t have the patience required to stick to the ground game. The Cyclones are willing to give up three or four yards per carry because they know that eventually, Big 12 offensive coordinators are going to become impatient and try to throw the football, which is what ISU wants teams to do .
On most snaps, ISU’s linebackers drop eight to ten yards deep in coverage. Thus, Tech should have the numbers to be able to run the ball behind center Dawson Deaton and guards Jack Anderson and Weston Wright, the strengths of the o-line.
If Deaton can anchor the middle of the line and occupy the nose tackle, it will free up Anderson and Wright to attack the linebackers on the second level. And if at the same time the tackles, Josh Burger and Ethan Carde, can just neutralize the defensive ends, Tech’s ground game could really click.
The key though will be for all five linemen to be on the same page and to make the same reads. That will put extra emphasis on Deaton, who will be in charge of making the offensive line calls and making sure to put the blocking scheme in the right position. Thankfully, Deaton is one of the smartest and highest-graded centers in the nation.
The ground game could not only help the Red Raiders move the ball today but it could also help protect the defense by keeping the dangerous Cyclone offense off the field. But that’s going to require that the offensive line make a 3-man front pay for having so few men in the box at the snap.