Texas Tech football: Elite Red Raider run defense is about to be tested

Entering the 2021 season, many expected the Texas Tech football team to field its best defense in a decade, if not longer.  And through three games, that side of the ball has lived up to expectations as all three opponents Tech has faced thus far have failed to surpass the 22-point mark.

One huge reason for Tech’s defensive success this fall has been the fact that it has been nearly impossible to run the ball against the Red Raiders.  But starting with this week’s contest against the Texas Longhorns, that run defense is going to be tested at an entirely new level.

Right now, the Red Raiders boast one of the nation’s best run-stopping defenses.  In fact, by allowing just 57.3 yards per game on the ground, Tech ranks 9th in the NCAA.

Now, the argument could be made that none of the teams Tech has faced thus far have been talented enough to chew up yards on the ground.  That’s why this weekend’s matchup with Texas is going to be so fascinating.

Averaging 240.3 yards per game on the ground, UT ranks No. 15 nationally.  And they are paced by one of the nation’s top running backs, Bijan Robinson.

The sophomore from Arizona was the No. 1 high school running back in the 2020 recruiting class and now he’s begun to live up to that hype.  He currently ranks 25th in the nation by racking up just a tick under 100 yards per game.  And he’s currently coming off of a 127-yard, 3-touchdown performance against Rice last weekend.

But it isn’t just Texas that will try to test the Red Raider rushing defense in the near future.  In fact, the team Tech will face after this Saturday’s trip to Austin, West Virginia, will also look to lean heavily on the ground game.

Though the Mountaineers are only 85th in the nation in rushing offense, they do feature one of the game’s most productive tailbacks, Leddie Brown.  Make no mistake, everything WVU wants to do on offense revolves around Brown and the threat of what he brings to the offense.

The powerful, 5-foot-11, 215-pound senior currently ranks 39th in the NCAA in yards per game at 88.3.  And like Robinson, Brown is coming off of a dominant performance as he just put up 161 yards and a TD on just 19 carries against then No. 15 Virginia Tech.

But the ground tests won’t stop after Tech’s trip to Morgantown.  That’s because the next week, TCU will pay a visit to Lubbock.  Ranking No. 21 in the nation in yards per game on the ground, the Frogs are churning out 224.5 yards per contest.

Just like Texas, TCU features a young superstar in the making at RB.  Zach Evans, a former 5-star signee and the highest-ranked recruit to ever sign with the program leads the TCU team with 217 rushing yards in only two games.

The point is that the Red Raiders are about to run the gauntlet when it comes to facing top-end rushing teams.  In fact, almost the entire Big 12 seems to be relying heavily on running the football this year.

Perhaps it is because of the lack of proven and experienced quarterbacks in the conference.  Or perhaps it is because of the influence of new coaches over the past handful of years.  But for whatever reason, this year, the Big 12 is seeing a renissance on the ground as half of the league’s members are ranked in the top 50 in the NCAA in rushing yards per contest.

Therefore, it’s a great development for the Red Raiders to have figured out how to stop the run in 2021.  But we still don’t know if that ability to stiffle opposing rushing attacks is because the Red Raiders are truly elite or because they have yet to face a team with the offensive line and running back talent to expose them.  But starting this Saturday we are about to find out.