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Texas Tech football: Red Raiders that must step up vs. Mountaineers

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - OCTOBER 19: Wide receiver T.J. Vasher #9 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders lines up during the first half of the college football game against 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: Wide receiver T.J. Vasher #9 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders lines up during the first half of the college football game against 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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Nov 9, 2019; Morgantown, WV, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders defensive lineman Eli Howard (53) sacks West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Austin Kendall (12) during the third quarter at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 9, 2019; Morgantown, WV, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders defensive lineman Eli Howard (53) sacks West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Austin Kendall (12) during the third quarter at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports /

Howard and Wilson need to be disruptive

The West Virginia offensive line is not great.  In fact, it’s perhaps the team’s greatest overall weaknesses.

Thus, Tech’s two most talented and disruptive defensive ends, Eli Howard and Tyree Wilson, need to have major impacts.  If they do, the Mountaineer offense could struggle.

So far, West Virginia is 63rd out of 77 teams nationally in the number of tackles for loss they’ve allowed this year. Giving up an average of 8.2 per game, they are making life hard on QB Jarrett Doege by putting him behind the chains time and again.

Therefore, the Red Raider defensive line needs to be in Doege’s face all afternoon.  And that pass rush needs to be led by Howard and Wilson.

Howard is Tech’s most productive pass rusher.  He’s the only Red Raider on the team this year with more than one sack.  But his 1.5 sacks this year are not as many as we expected him to have at this point of the season.

Against Iowa State, the San Angelo native had no sacks and no QB pressures and that was a major reason why Tech could not keep Cyclone QB Brock Purdy from picking the defense apart.  Howard has to be much more noticeable in this contest.

Speaking of noticeable, it’s been tough to find Texas A&M transfer, Tyree Wilson, on your television screen the last two weeks.  In fact, since a strong showing against Texas in his Red Raider debut, a showing that saw him register a sack and a QB pressure that ended a Longhorn drive, he’s made just two tackles.

Still, Wilson is one of the most physically gifted and dominant defensive linemen on the roster and it’s time he reasserts himself.  Facing a suspect WVU defensive line could be the jump start that he needs and if he can once again be a factor, it will go a long way towards helping his team earn its first Big 12 win of the year.

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