Texas Tech football: What we want to see against Murray St.

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LUBBOCK, TEXAS – DECEMBER 05: Defensive lineman Tony Bradford Jr. #97 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders battles past offensive lineman Earl Bostick Jr. #58 of the Kansas Jayhawks to get to quarterback Miles Kendrick #3 during the first half of the college football game at Jones AT&T Stadium on December 05, 2020 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /

A dominating defensive line

While the offensive line is a huge question for Tech, most people feel like the defensive line is a strength of this team. If that’s the case, that group should be able to dominate Murray State on Saturday night.

Of course, all eyes will be on Tyree Wilson, a player who will be playing for a potential NFL Draft selection next spring. After registering seven sacks last year, expectations are through the roof for the athletic freak and he could set the tone for 2022 by living in the Murray State backfield in week one.

Perhaps more importantly, though, will be the play of outside LB Jesiah Pierre. He will be playing on the other side of the formation from Wilson and, given that Wilson figures to see plenty of double teams this season, he figures to see plenty of one-on-one pass-rush opportunities. It’s a new role for the former Florida transfer and one that he needs to excel at for this defense to be what we all hope it can be.

In the middle, Tech should dominate with Jaylon Hutchings, Tony Bradford, and Philip Blidi stuffing the run. The Racers will try to shorten this game by keeping the ball on the ground so that trio will likely see plenty of opportunities to make plays. At times last year, Tech was gashed on the ground (the Texas and TCU games come to mind) therefore showing improvement in that area, even against an FCS opponent is something that needs to happen on Saturday night as well.

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