Can Texas Tech trust Gino Garcia?
On one hand, Gino Garcia should be applauded for hitting the go-ahead field goal in the 4th quarter of the Oregon game. However, that put him at just 3-6 on the season and that’s not going to cut it.
Unfortunately, Tech is not likely to blow out good teams. Therefore, every point matters for the Red Raiders as was the case in each of the first two games.
Of course, in each game this year, Garcia has missed at least one field goal. That was critical in contests that were decided either in overtime or in the final minute such as Saturday night’s game.
Monday, McGuire said that Garcia is in a similar position as QB Tyler Shough in that it is easy for everyone to analyze their performances given how noticeable their roles are. Therefore, like Shough, Garcia is going to shoulder more of the blame than most of his teammates.
That being said, 50% on the season from your field goal kicker isn’t going to get the job done. In each of the two losses this year, Garcia could have changed the entire story by hitting one more FG attempt but he couldn’t come through.
Now, it must be noted that Tech is asking Garcia to attempt some pretty tough kicks. The average length of his FG attempts has been 44.5 yards. What’s more, only one of his six tries this year has been shorter than 40 yards.
It would help Garcia’s confidence, and his accuracy, for Tech to give him some shorter kicks. Hopefully, his late-game 45-yard make to put his team up 30-28 over Oregon will also buoy his confidence. That’s because the Red Raiders need to know that they can count on their FG kicker moving forward since more tight games are a guarantee this season.