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

By Matthew Conner

Nov 29, 2019; Austin, TX, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders wide receiver KeSean Carter (82) signals to the crowd after catching a touchdown pass against the Texas Longhorns in the first half at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 29, 2019; Austin, TX, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders wide receiver KeSean Carter (82) signals to the crowd after catching a touchdown pass against the Texas Longhorns in the first half at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 3, 2020; Austin, TX, USA; TCU Horned Frogs quarterback Max Duggan (15) runs into the end zone for a score against the Texas Longhorns late in the 4th quarter in a NCAA college football game at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ricardo B. Brazziell-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 3, 2020; Austin, TX, USA; TCU Horned Frogs quarterback Max Duggan (15) runs into the end zone for a score against the Texas Longhorns late in the 4th quarter in a NCAA college football game at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ricardo B. Brazziell-USA TODAY Sports /

…Duggan is a one-dimensional player

With the Red Raider defense, we know that Keith Patterson doesn’t have enough talent to shut down everything TCU wants to do.  So the Red Raiders are going to have to pick their poison and try to take away one aspect of the game specifically.

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I suspect that will be the ground game.  If that’s the case, look for a huge emphasis to be placed on limiting TCU QB Max Duggan’s rushing ability.

Duggan is an excellent athlete with surprising top-end speed.  That’s something that Wells addressed earlier this week when meeting with the media.

"“He can run it as well as any quarterback in this league,” Wells said."

We saw that last year in Lubbock when Duggan ran for 75 yards and had a 26-yard TD run at Jones Stadium.  What’s more, this year he rushed for 79 yards and a pair of scores earlier this year against Texas.

This could be an area where the possible absence of Merriweather could be huge.  A sideline-to-sideline tackling matching, he is the type of athlete that you need to have to keep a mobile QB in check.

Look for Colin Schooler to be an important factor against Duggan.  He was fantastic against West Virginia with nine tackles but like most of the Red Raiders, he struggled against OU with only four stops to his credit.

As for Duggan, he is a capable but not surgical passer.  In only two games this season has he completed at least 66% of his passes.  What’s more, he’s yet to top 276 yards passing in any contest.

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Thus, Tech would be wise to make him win the game with his arm and not his legs.  If he proves capable of that, then you simply have to tip your cap to him and take yet another loss.  But there’s every reason to believe that if his legs aren’t part of the equation, it will give the Red Raiders an opportunity to pick up an important victory over one of their oldest rivals.

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