Texas Tech football: What we still need to find out after non-conference play

It may be hard to wrap our minds around it but a quarter of the Texas Tech football season is already in the books.  Thankfully, the Red Raiders survived a tough non-conference slate by going 2-1 in the season’s first quadrant giving the team hope of reaching postseason play in Joey McGuire’s first season on the job.

Along the way, we’ve received a few answers about this year’s team; some positive and some negative.

For example, we know that the offensive line is indeed a concern.  Thus far, Tech is last in the Big 12 in rushing yards per attempt at 3.08 and sacks allowed per game, 3.67.

Fortunately, we also know that the Red Raider defense is vastly improved over last season.  Tech ranks fourth in the conference in total defense giving up just 293.6 yards per game.  In that same regard, Tech is far better than last year against the pass ranking sixth in the league in passing yards allowed (211.0 per game) after ranking last in the league in 2021.

But the truth is that there are more questions about this year’s Red Raiders that have yet to be answered.  Let’s take a look at what we still don’t know about this team as Big 12 play approaches.

What is this team’s offensive identity?

Imagine a scenario on Saturday in which Texas Tech needs three yards on a late fourth-quarter third down to seal the win over Texas in a one-score game.  Where would offensive coordinator Zach Kittley turn to guarantee that his team can pick up those crucial yards?

The fact that we as fans wouldn’t be able to answer that question is a sign that this team has not found its identity yet.

Sure, we could assume that Kittley would put the ball in the air.  However, who would he target as the go-to option, the player he knows is going to get open and make the grab?

The reality is that this team is still searching for its bread and butter on offense.  That’s not ideal given the difficult three-game stretch that opens Big 12 play for the Red Raiders (vs. Texas, at K-State, at Oklahoma State).

So far, this team hasn’t been able to run the ball anywhere near as effectively as we thought it would when the season began.  Against FBS teams this year, Tech is averaging well below three yards per attempt.

Likewise, the passing game has been hit or miss.  Tech has thrown seven interceptions in three games thus far including six over the past two games.

We saw last weekend what a top-notch defense can do to a team like Tech which is still uncertain of its identity and the results were frightening.  When Tech needed crucial yards to keep drives going the results were discouraging at best and disastrous at worst (the 4th-down pick-six comes to mind).

Hopefully, Kittley and the offense will find their stride soon.  After all, going into league play not certain of how you are going to pick up the crucial yards is never how you want to operate.