Texas Tech football: Statistical goals for Red Raiders vs. WVU

No more than two 3-and-outs

Over the past two games, West Virginia has forced a total of 11 3-and-outs from its opponents.  That included six against Kansas last weekend.

Tech simply can’t afford to follow that script and expect to win this game.  That’s because the Red Raiders’ offense has to be able to pick up some momentum by gaining at least one first down on as many drives as possible.  Thus, the goals for the Red Raiders should be no more than two drives without a first down.

We talk quite a bit about the Red Raiders’ offensive tempo.  But that only comes into play if they can get a first down.  That’s because it isn’t until the Red Raiders move the chains that OC David Yost is able to put his foot on the gas and snap the ball in the first 15 seconds of the play clock.

Doing that may be helpful in keeping the WVU defense off balance.  Running tempo would not only wear down the defensive line but it could limit the Mountaineers’ ability to be too exotic with their pass rush in the form of stunts, which is something they love to utilize, especially with the Stills brothers.

In the nine possessions Alan Bowman quarterbacked against Iowa State, Tech had four drives that didn’t yield at least one first down.  None of those possessions took more than 1:37 off the clock and that only made life more difficult on the defense by not giving Keith Patterson’s side of the ball enough rest.

This game will likely be a physical affair with WVU attempting to turn the game into a cage match.  Thus, the Tech defense will need plenty of time to recover in between series, especially due to the way WCU likes to pound the ball with RB Leddie Brown.  Therefore, the Red Raiders can’t afford to have as many 3-and-outs as they had against Iowa State nor as many as most teams have against the Mountaineers.