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Texas Tech football: Report suggests both QBs will play vs. Baylor

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - OCTOBER 31: Quarterback Alan Bowman #10 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders warms up with quarterback Henry Colombi during the second half of the college football game against the Oklahoma Sooners at Jones AT&T Stadium on October 31, 2020 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS - OCTOBER 31: Quarterback Alan Bowman #10 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders warms up with quarterback Henry Colombi during the second half of the college football game against the Oklahoma Sooners at Jones AT&T Stadium on October 31, 2020 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /
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It is being reported that both Henry Colombi and Alan Bowman will play this weekend when the Texas Tech football team takes on Baylor.

Recently, we laid out the reasons why another QB change would make sense for the Texas Tech football program being as this season is already lost.  Now, it appears as if Matt Wells and Co. might be thinking along the same lines.

According to RedRaidersports.com, sources are indicating that both Henry Colombi and Alan Bowman will see the field Saturday night against Baylor.  But one has to wonder if that is a sign of desperation more than a specific strategy for victory.

While we don’t know how the playing time will be distributed, this weekend, what we do know is that neither QB has proven to be good enough to be a solid choice to lead the offense.

Colombi, who has started the last three games, has completed just 62.7% of his passes in those games and has averaged just 210 yards passing.  What’s more, the offense has not produced more than 28 points in any of those contests.

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However, Bowman was playing even worse at the time of his benching.  Against Iowa State, he completed just 13-22 passes (59.1%) for a paltry 97 yards.  In that game, he looked gun-shy and afraid of hanging in the pocket long enough to go through all of his progressions.

It all adds up to the worst QB play that Texas Tech has received since the program embraced the spread offense in the year 2000.

This year, the Red Raiders are passing for only 271.9 yards per game.  That’s 52.8 yards fewer than last year’s offense amassed per game.

The only other time in the last 21 seasons that Tech has thrown for fewer than 300 yards per game was in 2000.  Of course, that year was the first of the Mike Leach era when he and starting QB Kliff Kingsbury were breaking in the “Air Raid” offense.  And even in that season, Tech passed for 23.8 more yards per game than the 2020 Red Raiders are.

Facing Baylor may not be the best week to get a struggling pass offense in gear.  The Bears are No. 3 in the Big 12 in pass defense at 188.4 yards per game.   What’s more, they are giving up only 6.5 yards per pass attempt.

J.T. Woods has emerged as the leader in the Baylor secondary.  The 6-foot-2, 190-pound junior safety already has a pair of interceptions in just five games and he’s averaged 30 yards per return on those two picks.

Ultimately, the two-QB system rarely works, and deploying that strategy is usually a sign that a team has no solid option at the position.  That appears to be the case for the Red Raiders in 2020 and it comes across as an indication that Wells and Co. are grasping at straws as their second season in charge continues to spiral out of control.

Related Story. The best seasons by a Tech wide receiver. light

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