Texas Tech football 3 Horned Frog offensive weapons to know
When the Red Raider defense is on the field this Saturday, Texas Tech football fans need to be aware of the following TCU offensive weapons.
The Texas Tech defense certainly took a step backward last week against Oklahoma. Giving up 62 points to the Sooners was a disappointment (though the offense certainly shoulders some of the blame thanks to three turnovers) after three-straight games in which the Red Raiders had yielded no more than 31 points.
Perhaps this week’s opponent, TCU, will provide a nice opportunity for defensive coordinator Keith Patterson’s unit to regain its confidence. That’s because the Horned Frogs don’t exactly have the most potent of offenses.
Entering this game, TCU sits at No. 9 in the conference in scoring at just 25.6 points per game. In fact, in two of their last three games, they have scored just 14 points.
When it comes to the Tech defense’s greatest weakness, the passing game, the Frogs are just average by Big 12 standards ranking No. 6 in the league at a touch over 239 yards per game through the air. Meanwhile, their ground game ranks No. 4 in the league at 167.4 yards per game.
That ground game is enhanced by the legs of QB Max Duggan who is one of the best running QBs in the conference. He has carried the ball 61 times, which is more than 20 more than any other Horned Frog and his 175 yards on the ground rank second on the team.
Of course, last year he burned Tech with his feet. In a 33-31 win in Lubbock, the 6-foot-2, 200-pounder rushed for 75 yards and a TD. But while that aspect of his game seemed to take last year’s defense by surprise, this year, Tech will likely be ready for it this weekend.
But what the Red Raiders may not have to be as on guard for is a player that everyone expected to have a much greater impact this year than he has thus far. Five-star 2020 signee Zach Evans was supposed to be a huge component of the TCU offense this year but thus far, the 5-foot-11, 195-pound running back has carried the ball only 11 times for 98 yards with 30 of those yards coming on a TD run against Baylor.
It is strange to think that Duggan’s legs are more of a concern than Evans’ are but that’s the case this week. Of course, Duggan’s arm is also to be contended with.
He’s completed 68.1% of his passes thus far for 1,040 yards and five TDs. What’s more, he’s been intercepted only once.
But most Red Raider fans are more than familiar with Duggan and his abilities. So let’s spend the rest of our time here looking at three of his offensive weapons that we should become familiar with prior to Saturday’s contest.