Things weren’t perfect for Joey McGuire and the Texas Tech football team as the Red Raiders took on the Utah Utes in Salt Lake City on Saturday. Honestly, much of this game was a little worrisome. Yes, this is a game that Texas Tech won in lopsided fashion, but the first three quarters were a bit closer than I think anyone associated with Tech really wanted to see.
Thankfully, the fourth quarter was magical and we got to see Texas Tech win in blowout fashion. Texas Tech just took down one of the best scoring defenses in the country and managed to do so with a 24-point win.
That’s solid and impressive stuff. And there are obviously a few interesting stats that we should talk about from this game.
So, let’s take a look at them.
No. 1: The third down efficiency gap that existed between Texas Tech and Utah
One of the most interesting things about this particular game is how the Red Raiders managed to convert on over half of their third down attempts (despite the fact that Utah has a fantastic and physical and dominant defense).
And then when you contrast that with how the Utes offense wasn’t able to convert on even a third of their third down attempts (because Texas Tech also happens to have a fantastic and physical and dominant defense), things feel pretty good for Red Raider fans right now.
Texas Tech managed to get 9-17 third down attempts converted. That’s good for about 53 percent, if I’m doing my math right. And that’s impressive. Meanwhile, Utah went 4-14 on third downs. Which is also impressive, but for the Red Raiders defense.
Now, bear in mind that entering this game, Utah was converting on 71 percent of their third downs while the Utes’ opponents were converting just 22 percent of their third downs.
That’s such a noteworthy thing to talk about from this game.
No. 2: Will Hammond’s passer rating was phenomenal and should be getting a ton of attention after his relief effort for the Red Raiders
I mean, I don’t think we can talk about this enough. And plenty of people are going to talk at length about the way that Texas Tech backup quarterback Will Hammond stepped in for an injured Behren Morton and then played a phenomenal game that was notably better than what Morton had provided up to that point in the game.
And I’m sure that Morton was dinged up and playing hurt and also that Utah wasn’t exactly prepared for what Hammond brought to the table. Film on Texas Tech’s backup quarterback was limited, relatively speaking. And then there’s also the fact that Utah’s defense was almost certainly worn down a bit by the time that Hammond got the offense rolling in the fourth quarter for Texas Tech.
But for the redshirt freshman to complete 13-of-16 for a couple of touchdowns while not having a single interception is just impressive stuff.
And the one stat that really stands out is Hammond’s 211.2 passer rating. That, my friends, is something to celebrate and acknowledge. That’s insane. He played an efficient half of football that needs to be discussed and also studied in depth.
The future certainly looks bright for Texas Tech at quarterback.
No. 3: Texas Tech had plenty of explosive plays while the Utes were incredibly limited in that regard
Entering this game, one of the signature points of Mack Leftwich’s brand of veer-and-shoot offense was the way that he was able to get his group to generate explosive plays seemingly at will. And that was something that was worth watching out for while the Red Raiders faced a Utah defense that played disciplined and limited huge plays.
Texas Tech still had explosive plays. Quite a few of them. Some of them even being game breaking plays that the Utes just couldn’t answer easily.
In total, the Red Raiders had six plays that went for 20 or more yards. 207 of Texas Tech’s yardage came from said explosive plays. Meanwhile, the Utes had just one play that managed to go for at least 20 yards against TTU’s defense.
If the Red Raiders can do that against arguably the best and most physical defense in the Big 12 (outside of what is present in Lubbock, that is), then the rest of the conference should really pay attention to what is possible for this offense.