Texas Tech football: Wide receivers must come up big against OK State

When the Texas Tech football team takes on Oklahoma State on Saturday in Stillwater, the wide receivers will have to come up big against a stingy and aggressive secondary.

If you are a wide receiver, there’s nothing you look forward to more than facing a defense that uses man coverage as its primary scheme. For that reason, the wide receivers on the Texas Tech football team should be more than a bit excited to face Oklahoma State this weekend.

That’s because the Cowboys believe in putting their defensive backs in one-on-one situations hoping that their pass rush can disrupt the QB before opposing receivers have time to get separation. Thus far that plan has worked as the Cowboys are second in the Big 12 in sacks per game at 3.4 and that is a concern for a Red Raider offensive line that has given up eleven total sacks in the last four games.

Thus, it will be imperative that Tech gets rid of the football quickly but for that strategy to work, Tech’s wide receivers are going to have to get open against a physical and aggressive OSU secondary. But so far, that hasn’t proven to be easy for teams to do against the Cowboys.

Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles’ unit is second in the Big 12 against the pass allowing just 188.1 yards per game. What’s more, the Cowboys are allowing a conference-low 56.9% completion percentage in 2020.

Thus the focus will be on Tech’s wide receivers. That’s not lost on offensive coordinator David Yost.

"“I think our receivers take it as a challenge,” Yost said Monday, “that the team is willing to line up and play man to us…”"

Unfortunately for Tech, KeSean Carter, who is arguably the most explosive receiver on the roster, will not play as he is out for the year with a broken collar bone. That means that true freshman Myles Price and senior Dalton Rigdon will need to find a way to make plays in his place on Saturday. And overall, Tech will need more out of the entire receiving corps that it has received in recent weeks.

Tech has yet to have a 100-yard receiver in 2020 and it has been since the second week of the year that a Red Raider pass-catcher has gone over 90 yards. That player was Erik Ezukanma, who had 91 yards against the Longhorns and who has led the team in receiving four times this year.

But his life isn’t going to be easy on Saturday because he will be facing one of the Big 12’s best corners. Senior OSU defensive back Rodarius Williams looks to be a future NFL talent and at 6-foot, 195 pounds, he’s got the size to be physical with receivers, which he will need to be against the 6-foot-3, 220-pound Ezukanma.

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Despite not being thrown at as much as other corners in the league, Williams is tied for 7th in the Big 12 in passes defended with seven. Thus, his expected one-on-one matchup with Ezukanma, Tech’s leading receiver, is going to be one of the most important keys to the game.

"“Over the last two years, we’ve had some big shots and been able to hit some vertical shots to our outside guys,” Yost said, “especially into some man coverage. And that should give us some confidence…”"

In fact, in 2019’s upset of the then no. 21 Cowboys in Lubbock, Tech threw the ball for 424 yards and 4 touchdowns. That day, T.J. Vasher had 110 yards while Ezukanma added 92 with both players finding the endzone once. And it was Ezukanma’s 56-yard 4th-quarter TD reception that sealed the 45-35 victory.

Now, Tech will look for a repeat of that performance in Stillwater. And perhaps this past weekend’s OSU loss to rival Oklahoma revealed some flaws in the Cowboy secondary.

In the 41-13 Sonner romp, OU threw for 301 yards and four TDs while averaging 12.5 yards per pass attempt. That was despite the fact that the Cowboys were able to come up with three sacks. However, outside of those three sacks, OU quarterback Spencer Rattler was largely unharassed as the Cowboys registered just one other QB pressure.

Of course, the Sooners have a much better offensive line than the Red Raiders do. And that’s why it will be imperative that the Tech wide receivers win their one-on-one matchups at the line of scrimmage and get open quickly allowing the QB to distribute the ball in rhythm and before the pass rush can get home.

It has been since the Texas game that the Red Raider receivers were truly difference-makers in a game. Some of that has to do with the fluctuating QB play and some of that can be attributed to injuries to key receivers like Carter. But this week, Tech’s wideouts have a chance to make a statement against one of the best pass defenses in the Big 12 and if they can, they could lead their team to a huge upset of the Cowboys.

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