Texas Tech football: The Red Raiders will beat TCU if…

…the offense can protect the defense

The greatest concern about this game for Tech fans should be the lack of healthy bodies that the front seven of the defense may have to navigate.  Thus, the offense would be wise to scrap the tempo approach and try to keep the ball for a reasonable amount of time on every drive.

It is entirely possible that Tech could be without middle LB Krishon Merriweather, DE Tony Bradford Jr., and Nick McCann for the second week in a row.  Those potential absences are compounded by the fact that defensive ends Nelson Mbanasor and Gilbert Ibeneme have missed the entire season.

The lack of depth along the defensive front has even required Tech to play linebacker Riko Jeffers at defensive end and that’s not what the 245-pounder is built to do, especially against the run.  Thus, the less time the Red Raider defense has to spend on the field, the better.

That will put the onus on the offense to sustain drives and to refrain from going to the up-tempo attack that can lead to big plays but which often leads to 3-and-out drives that give the defense little time to recover.

Against the Sooners, Tech’s average drive took just 1:37 off of the clock.  What’s more, six of their 15 drives burned less than a minute of game action.

By contrast, the 12 drives the Red Raiders had against West Virginia averaged 2:43 of game time.  And of those drives, only one took less than a minute of game action.

TCU is third in the Big 12 in time of possession by holding the ball for an average of 31:33 per game.  Meanwhile, Tech is last at 27:07.  But today, that disparity has to be minimized for the Red Raiders to have a chance to win, especially given how thin the defense is likely to be once again.