Texas Tech football: Hidden moments that led to a loss vs. the Mountaineers

Texas Tech decides to run Morton instead of Brooks in a critical moment

Trailing 13-3 in the middle of the third quarter, Tech faced a 4th-and-1 at the WVU 49.  It was a drive that showed promise after starting at the Red Raider 11.

However, after an incomplete pass and two Tahj Brooks runs, McGuire was forced to decide whether to go for it on 4th-and-1.  To no one’s surprise, he rolled the dice again.  And again, his decision to be aggressive was not rewarded.

On both the third and fourth-down plays, Tech ran the exact same QB zone read that asks Morton to decide whether or not to give the ball to the RB or pull it back and keep it after reading the defensive end.

The third-down play went to Brooks, who picked up three yards.  However, on 4th-down, Morton kept the ball.  Initially, it appeared to be the right decision as the DE crashed down on Brooks almost immediately.

However, the middle LB was disciplined and stayed with Morton to meet him near the line and stop him a yard short of the line to gain.

I have so many issues with this sequence.  First of all, I am usually not a fan of running the same play twice in a row.  However, because Tech went with the quick tempo to try to catch WVU off guard, that’s what they did instead of calling a new play at the line.

Also, it is maddening that every time this team needs to pick up a critical yard, everyone in the stadium knows that the QB is going to run the ball.  While this wasn’t the designed power run that OC Zach Kittley loves to run with the bigger Shough, it was still no shock that the Red Raiders asked Morton to keep the ball on the ground on this important play.

I would have preferred to see a power concept with Brooks getting the ball with a head of steam and being led by a tight end such as Henry Teeter.  For the game, Brooks averaged 6.0 yards per carry so it seems likely that he would have been able to pick up at least a yard there.

With Shough now on the shelf, Morton is the only QB on the roster with any college experience meaning that running him should be only a last-ditch option as it was unwise to expose him to more contact.  What’s more, he’s not nearly as big as Shough and he isn’t likely to break many tackles when he keeps the ball.

Therefore, it just doesn’t seem to make any sense to run a play against a stacked box where there is an option for Morton to keep the ball.  That’s not who Tech wants running the ball in such a crucial moment.

This failure lies at Zach Kittley’s feet.  Why he refuses to simply feature Brooks as his team’s go-to runner in make-or-break situations is beyond explanation.  Sometimes, the young OC gets too cute and that often leads to plays like this that killed a promising drive at a time when Tech desperately needed some offensive momentum.