Texas Tech football: Game balls for victory over Baylor

Schooler made two key defensive plays

Thank God for Colin Schooler or else we would be talking about another Red Raider loss.  And it wasn’t just his game-saving tackle on Baylor QB Charlie Brewer at the goal line in the third quarter that earned him a game ball.

Rather, it was the fact that the transfer linebacker was Tech’s best defensive player.  He ended the night with eleven tackles (ten solo, two for loss) and a sack as he was the man who held the Red Raider defense together.

Schooler is trending in the right direction for the Red Raiders.  In three of his last four games, he’s registered at least eight tackles.  What’s more, in each of his last two outings, he’s registered a sack.

His sack against the Bears was a key play because it put an end to Baylor’s second-to-last offensive possession.  On that play, Brewer attempted to scramble for the first down on 3rd-and-8 but Schooler, who looked to be spying the QB, made the play behind the line of scrimmage.

That was important given how Brewer had torched the Tech defense on the ground Saturday afternoon.  With 76 yards and a TD on 17 carries, the BU quarterback was the game’s second-leading rusher behind Baylor’s Qualan jones and he nearly ran his team to a win in the second half.

Fortunately, on this play, Schooler came up with the stop and gave the ball back to Tech.  On the ensuing drive, the Red Raiders would hit a field goal to cut their deficit to 23-21.

Twice, Schooler was there to stop Brewer on critical third downs, including once at the goal line in the most spectacular of fashions.  That’s the type of play that deserves a game ball.