Texas Tech football: QB run game, special teams, tackling all will be huge vs. KSU

Texas Tech must be a sound tackling team today

Today, the Red Raiders must find a way to limit Deuce Vaughn’s yards after contact.  Of course, that will be tough.

Given that Vaughn is just 5-foot-6 and 176 pounds, he is tough to get ahold of in the first place.  What’s more, when he is hit, he commonly makes the first defender miss.

Thus, today, Tech needs to have multiple defenders at the point of impact to help ensure that Vaughn can’t squirm free.  Putting him in one-on-one situations with defenders is exactly what KSU wants so the Red Raiders have to come at him in waves.

The Red Raiders did a good job of that last week against Texas’ Bijan Robinson who only had a couple of impactful runs on which he broke tackles.  The key was that the Red Raiders made it a point of emphasis to tackle Robinson’s legs, not his upper body.  That will likely be the secret to stopping Vaughn as well.

So far in his career, Vaughn has had big days against Tech. Last season, he had 120 total yards (68 on receptions) and a receiving touchdown that swung the game in his team’s favor as KSU prevailed 25-24.  The year prior, his 70-yard catch and run late in the fourth quarter salted away a 31-21 KSU win.  That day, he was responsible for 113 yards on the ground and 81 more via the air.

Today, Tech has to keep him from dominating this matchup.  He’s going to get his yards but Tech has to make sure that he picks them up in small increments.  The best way to go about that is to gang tackle him because if he finds himself in space against a solo defender, he’s going to win that battle 99% of the time.