Texas Tech football: Surprises from the Red Raiders’ week one loss

Texas Tech couldn’t run the ball

Remember the idea that Tech would be able to run the ball more effectively this year due to improvements and additions to the offensive line?  That didn’t come to fruition against Wyoming in what was a huge disappointment.

The Red Raiders got only 59 rushing yards combined from running backs Tahj Brooks and Cam’Ron Valdez on 15 carries.  That’s an average of just 3.9 yards per rush.

Now, the question that must be asked is whether or not the lack of a ground game was because offensive coordinator Zach Kittley didn’t commit to the run game or whether he didn’t commit to it because it wasn’t working.  Either way, something was amiss.

Often, we think about offenses being rusty in early-season games when it comes to throwing the ball.  The belief is that passing attacks are built entirely on timing so that part of the offense is slower to come around.

However, a good rushing attack also requires timing and coordination, specifically by the offensive line, which has to function as a cohesive unit when opening up rushing lanes.  The physicality required to effectively run the ball is tough to simulate in practice or scrimmages so frequently, offensive lines struggle in the run game early in the year as well.

Ultimately, only the players and coaching staff know why the ground game was ineffective against Wyoming.  Personally, I’m not enough of a football technique expert to make my own assessment.

What’s easy to understand, though, is that when the team wanted to run the ball in overtime, it turned to the QB run game for five of the ten OT snaps the offense took.  Shough is not Cam Newton or Michael Vick.  His running should be a compliment to the greater ground game, not the focus of it.  When Kittley believes that he has a better shot at running the ball with his QB than with Brooks or Valdez, that’s not a good sign.

There is no debating that the rushing game we saw from Tech on Saturday night was borderline putrid.  In fact, Kittley referred to it as “pathetic” on Monday.  Certainly, what we saw from the Red Raiders in that department was a huge disappointment after an offseason of believing that the offensive line would be better.