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Texas Tech football: Can Red Raiders keep these trends from 2022 going?

By Matthew Conner

Nov 26, 2022; Lubbock, Texas, USA; The Texas Tech Red Raiders celebrate with fireworks after an overtime victory over the Oklahoma Sooners at Jones AT&T Stadium and Cody Campbell Field. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 26, 2022; Lubbock, Texas, USA; The Texas Tech Red Raiders celebrate with fireworks after an overtime victory over the Oklahoma Sooners at Jones AT&T Stadium and Cody Campbell Field. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 28, 2022; Houston, Texas, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders defensive lineman Myles Cole (5) and defensive back Dadrion Taylor-Demerson (25) react after a play during the first quarter against the Mississippi Rebels in the 2022 Texas Bowl at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 28, 2022; Houston, Texas, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders defensive lineman Myles Cole (5) and defensive back Dadrion Taylor-Demerson (25) react after a play during the first quarter against the Mississippi Rebels in the 2022 Texas Bowl at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /

The 2023 Red Raider defense must continue to be stout n the red zone

It is cliche to refer to a defense as a “bend-but-don’t-break unit” but that’s exactly what the 2022 Texas Tech defense was.  In fact, DC Tim DeRuyter saw his team lead the Big 12 in red-zone defense.

Allowing teams to score on only 74.1% of their red-zone possessions, DeRuyter’s defense finished ninth in the entire nation.  That was a huge factor in reaching eight wins.

Consider the win at Iowa State.  In the 14-10 Tech victory on a blisteringly cold November night in Ames, a place where Tech has traditionally struggled for years, the defense won the game by its play in the red zone.

On five Cyclone red zone opportunities, Tech allowed only seven total points.  That included benefitting from two missed ISU field goals but it also included back-to-back goal-line stands.

With Tech leading 6-3 in the middle of the 3rd quarter, ISU tried to score on 4th-and-goal from the one-yard line but the rushing play was thrown for a three-yard loss.  On the next Cyclone drive, the home team tried a 4th-and-goal pass from the Tech two-yard line but the Red Raider defense came up with a sack to keep ISU off the board.  In a game that was decided by four points, Tech’s red-zone defense was the unsung hero of the night.

This season, that is a trend that must continue.  The Red Raiders have to be able to make a stand and hold teams to no more than three points on a number of enough red zone drives to once again be elite in that category.  That was a key to last year’s success and it needs to be a factor again this fall.

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