Texas Tech football: Red Raiders hold off TCU thanks to late INT

Texas Tech fans had better just get used to Joey McGuire’s risky analytics decisions

If I ever get ahold of the analytics book that Joey McGuire and his coaching staff live by, I’m going to burn it so thoroughly that there won’t even be ashes left.  However, it is clear that McGuire is as dedicated to that strategy as the Pope is to Catholicism and we had all just better learn how to live with the highs and lows that come about as a result.

For the game, Tech went for it only three times on fourth down.  However, the one failed attempt could have been massive.

With Tech leading 20-14 in the third quarter, McGuire had the offense go for it on 4th-and-2 from the Red Raider 34-yard line.  On the play, Tech decided to have Brooks take the direct snap against a nine-man box and TCU easily snuffed it out for no gain.

It would take the Frogs only five plays to find paydirt on the ensuing possession to take what would be their only lead of the game.  That could have been a huge turning point and it was reminiscent of an earlier gamble that did contribute to a close loss.

Against Oregon, McGuire rolled the dice on a 4th-and-2 from its own 33, and a Tyler Shough run didn’t pan out.  That would lead to an easy Oregon field goal, a score that would loom large in a game that saw Tech trailing by a point late in the 4th quarter before the game-clinching pick-six sealed the loss.

I hate McGuire’s analytics obsession.  I don’t care that at times it has led to big wins.  Too often, his refusal to use common football sense is putting this team in a bad situation.

This Red Raider team isn’t talented enough to continually overcome being put in perilous circumstances by its head coach’s decisions.  Sure, at times, as was the case against TCU, it all works out for the best but the rewards aren’t always worth the risk, regardless of what some stupid book of numbers put together by math nerds says.

However, McGuire is going to live and die by that dang book.  We had better just get used to it and learn to live with the results, even when they don’t pan out.  Fortunately, that didn’t cost the Red Raiders another win on Thursday night.