Wreck'Em Red
Fansided

Texas Tech football: Streaks that need to end in 2022

By Matthew Conner

Oct 9, 2021; Lubbock, Texas, USA; The Texas Tech Red Raiders enter the field before the game agains the Texas Christian Horned Frogs at Jones AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 9, 2021; Lubbock, Texas, USA; The Texas Tech Red Raiders enter the field before the game agains the Texas Christian Horned Frogs at Jones AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 6
Next
Sep 4, 2021; Houston, Texas, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders defensive lineman Tony Bradford Jr. (97) and defensive lineman Jaylon Hutchings (95) celebrate after a sack by Bradford against the Houston Cougars during the third quarter at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 4, 2021; Houston, Texas, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders defensive lineman Tony Bradford Jr. (97) and defensive lineman Jaylon Hutchings (95) celebrate after a sack by Bradford against the Houston Cougars during the third quarter at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /

Nine straight years without a top-75 defense

For as long as I’ve been a Red Raider, the Achilles heel of the football program has been the defense.  But Joey McGuire is a defensive-oriented head coach who has vowed that his teams will play better on that side of the football.

So now is the perfect time for Tech to end its streak of nine straight years without a top-75 defense in terms of total yards allowed.  Given how much the Red Raiders return on that side of the ball, that isn’t out of the question.

McGuire’s team brings back every starter but four on that side of the ball this season.  But will that experience be negated by the players having to execute a completely new system?

What’s been frustrating is that, since 2013, Tech’s average national ranking in total defense has been 109.3.  That’s absolutely unacceptable.

Even last season when the defense was far more respectable than it has been in other seasons, Tech still ranked just 86th overall and 7th in the Big 12.  So should we expect better this year?  Yes.

New defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter is one of the more respected names in the game and he’s got far more success to point to as a DC than his predecessor, Keith Patterson did when he arrived in 2019.

What’s more, we aren’t asking DeRuyter to field a top-10 defense.  We just want this defense to be average by national standards.

Certainly, Red Raider fans will be keeping a close eye on the defense this year and hoping that DeRuyter is going to be the man to finally bring it to a place where it can compliment the offense.  If that happens, Tech could be one of the surprise teams in the conference this season.

Home/Texas Tech Football