An 0-2 start is not what anyone envisioned for the Texas Tech football program in 2023. However, that’s the reality Joey McGuire’s team faces ahead of this week’s annual game against an FCS opponent with Tarleton State fitting the profile of this year’s sacrificial lamb from the lower division of the sport.
However, McGuire was his usual upbeat self earlier this week when speaking to the media. In fact, he praised the way his team has handled this unexpectedly poor start.
"“I was proud of the way the guys came in,” he said on Monday. “Going 0-2 and the expectations, sometimes teams come in and they’re hanging their head and they can feel sorry or we can feel sorry for ourselves. This is not the time to feel sorry for ourselves. This is the time to correct the things we can control, the things we can correct, and get a win.”"
Pulling out a win this week is essential, of course. If Tech can’t find a way to beat an FCS program in Lubbock, then the noise around the program will be deafening heading into the Big 12 opener at West Virginia.
Fortunately, Tech has never dropped a game to an FCS opponent. That doesn’t mean that it can’t happen though.
Already this year, FBS teams Nevada, Buffalo, and Northern Illinois have fallen to FCS opponents. What’s more, in recent years, Power 5 teams such as Northwestern, Washington, Vanderbilt, Florida State, Arizona, Baylor, Virginia, and Iowa have also suffered the same fate.
Tech has had its share of close calls against FCS teams with Stephen F. Austin in 2021, Houston Baptist in 2020, and Central Arkansas in 2014 all nearly stunning the Red Raiders in Lubbock. While few people expect the Texans to threaten to hand the Red Raiders a third loss on the season this Saturday, it will be important for the Red Raiders to take this game as seriously as they did last week’s showdown with Oregon.
The effort the Red Raiders displayed in that 38-30 loss was back to the level we’ve come to expect from a McGuire team over his season-plus in charge. However, what we saw out of Tech in the season opener at Wyoming didn’t meet that standard. Which team will show up Saturday night? That will be one x-factor to keep a look out for.
Interstingly, McGuire is going to have to win this game to be able to stay above .500 as the Red Raiders head coach. His record stands at just 8-7 overall thanks to his 0-2 start, a mark that doesn’t seem to correlate with the vibe that still surrounds his program, a vibe that was greatly improved this week by the commitment of 5-star 2024 wide receiver, Micah Hudson.
All of that goodwill could fly right out the window this week, though, if Tech stubs its toe against Tarleton. That shouldn’t happen but still, this game is an important opportunity for the Red Raiders to iron out the wrinkles before conference play arrives. Perhaps, part of that process could see struggling players find a way to give this team what we have expected them to since the offseason.
Myles Cole hasn’t given Texas Tech the productivity that the defense needs
No one expected defensive end Myles Cole to be the next Tyree Wilson. Players like Wilson are rare as evidenced by the small number of first-rounders this program has produced, especially on defense.
However, Cole drew comparisons to Wilson this offseason given that he has the same physical gifts. In fact, at 6-foot-6, 280 pounds, the former Louisana-Monroe transfer who joined the program prior to last season, is actually bigger than and has a longer wingspan than Wilson.
That resulted in unfair comparisons to Wilson, expectations that Cole likely was never going to live up to. That’s not a knock on Cole, it is more a testament to how special Wilson was as a Red Raider.
Still, Cole has to find a way to give Tech more than what he has thus far. In fact, just seeing him do something noticeable during a game would be a step in the right direction.
With only one tackle in each of the season’s first two games, Cole has been a non-factor for the defense. That’s disappointing for a player who filled in admirably for Wilson last year following the broken foot that cost Wilson the final three games of last season.
It is imperative that Cole (and another player we will talk about momentarily) finds a way to pressure the passer and be a disruptive force moving forward. Right now, Tech is generating almost no pressure in the backfield and that’s one reason why Oregon was able to win on Saturday night.
Defensive coordinator, Tim DeRuyter, did point out in his weekly press availability that the Ducks have an excellent offensive line, one that didn’t allow a sack in 2022 until the 11th game of the season. Still, Cole and his defensive line cohorts have to figure out a way to get into the backfield and be disruptive, even against top offensive lines. His size and physical gifts suggest that he should do that against Tarleton State and hopefully, that will help get him going.
Monroe Mills may have played his worst game at Texas Tech against Oregon
After serving as Tech’s right tackle last season, former Oklahoma State transfer Monroe Mills is now playing left tackle. That change was supposed to make the 2023 offensive line better but Mills is not exactly dominating the competition.
After the entire offensive line was lackluster against Wyoming, the overall effort was marginally better in week two but not good enough. Mills was part of the problem with three penalties levied against him.
In the second quarter, a holding call wiped out a huge Tahj Brooks run that would have set Tech up at the Oregon 35. Later in that quarter, Mills was flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct foul that set his team back 15 yards.
Then, in the 4th quarter, he committed a false start on the first play of a drive. That type of mental miscue can’t happen, especially on a drive in which Tech is trying to regain the lead late in the game.
"“He had some struggles week two,” McGuire said. “A lot of that was body position, and a lot of that, to me [is] understanding where you’re at, where the play’s going and having better feet coming off the football. I think he had some good plays but some of the plays he didn’t have really stuck out…”"
The simple fact is that Mills is going to face the opposition’s best pass rusher each week. If he isn’t up to the task, it will be impossible for this offense to have success. Hopefully, he will learn from his rough week against Oregon.
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.
Texas Tech fans expected more out of Steve Linton given his offseason hype
Outside linebacker Steve Linton was as hyped as any player on the roster this offseason. A Syracuse transfer who put on good weight this summer, he was supposed to be a pass-rush nightmare according to the reports we got from the coaching staff during spring and fall practices.
So far, reality hasn’t matched that hype. With only seven tackles to his name this season, Linton isn’t looking like a potential 2024 NFL Draft pick, which many thought he might become this year.
Most disappointing is that Linton has only one tackle for loss and no sacks thus far. Of course, some of that has to do with the fact that he has been playing more coverage from his outside LB position than most of us expected.
Still, Linton is expected to get to the passer this year and he’s not done so yet. In fact, this entire defense is struggling in that regard.
Only two teams in the conference, Oklahoma and BYU, have fewer sacks on the year than the three Texas Tech has managed. Meanwhile, Oklahoma State, Cincy, and Kansas State have all already racked up eight sacks.
"“Both [Linton and Cole] we believe have a lot of talent,” DeRuyter said Monday. “They’re playing well within the scheme but they’re not productive enough and in our defense, our edges, our star, those players have to make a lot of plays for us to be as good as we should be on defense. I think both of those guys are a little bit disappointed in their production…”"
Loic Fouonji and Jordan Brown gave Texas Tech no production against Oregon
It is safe to say that the two outside receivers playing the “X” position, Loic Fouonji and Jordan Brown, are yet to make the type of splash that many anticipated they would. In fact, that duo was shut out against Oregon.
Fouonji dropped the only pass thrown his way while Brown was open on a few routes only to have Shough go elsewhere with the ball or fail to pull the trigger at all. Tech needs more than that from the weapons playing opposite of Jerand Bradley to provide balance to the passing game.
Thus far, Fouonji is off to the slowest of starts with only one catch for 20 yards. Brown hasn’t performed much better, though, as he has only two receptions for 45 yards.
Much of the offseason talk from the coaching staff centered on the great strides Brown had made. In fact, McGuire himself repeatedly praised the former Kansas transfer for dominating both fall scrimmages.
Meanwhile, Fouonji was poised for a strong year after hauling in 34 catches for 451 yards and 3 TDs in 2022 despite playing much of the season injured. That included 16 catches for 213 yards over the final four games of the year, a stretch that culminated in a 100-yard game in the Texas Bowl.
So far, Tech’s only consistent receiving threats have been Bradley and inside receiver Myles Price. Of the 620 yards the offense has thrown for, 267 have gone to that duo. That’s 43% of the passing offense going to just two players.
Like the rest of the players on this list, Brown and Fouonji will be looking to take advantage of Tarleton State this weekend and start to get right against a team that should not be able to match them physically. So let’s keep an eye on all of these players this weekend to see if they can start to step up after getting off to slow starts.