Things probably won’t be all that easy for Joey McGuire and the Texas Tech football team this week. The first three matchups of the season were pretty smooth and easy for the Red Raiders. No real problems for Texas Tech as the Red Raiders took on the likes of the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions, the Kent State Golden Flashes, or the Oregon State Beavers.
That almost certainly changes this weekend as the Red Raiders get to meet up with Kyle Whittingham and the No. 16 Utah Utes in Salt Lake City at 11 a.m. on Thursday.
It’s early in the season, but we’re going to see two of the best teams in the Big 12 meet up in a game that almost certainly alters the long term trajectory of both of these teams as well as the rest of the conference moving forward. This game features impressive offenses, potent defenses, and two teams that are likely a little underrated.
And it’s going to be a ton of fun (and likely a little stressful) to keep up with.
As the Red Raiders take on Utah in their home this weekend, let’s take a look at a few questions that Texas Tech needs to answer this week.
No. 1: How will Texas Tech’s passing attack match up with Utah’s secondary in Salt Lake City?
I’m a huge fan of the work that Mack Leftwich has done in developing his offensive approach, largely informed by the veer-and-shoot sort of philosophy that is thriving in several spots across the college football landscape right now.
And right now, it’s producing some incredible results for the Red Raiders. Behren Morton has to be having a ton of fun operating this system and Texas Tech currently ranks No. 2 in the country in total offense with over 600 total yards of offense per game. When it comes to throwing the ball around, the Red Raiders have the No. 2 passing attack in the country as well with 383.7 passing yards per game.
What this system is doing is remarkable.
Behren Morton is off to an impressive start as well as he’s completing over 70 percent of his passes and has thrown for 923 yards and 11 touchdowns against just one interception all while only playing in just a handful of quarters this season.
Utah’s defense is solid. They’re good at just about everything right now.Utah is allowing just 134 passing yards per game right now (which ranks at No. 20 in the country).
It could be difficult for the Red Raiders to find consistently solid opportunities to score from far and continue to thrive through the air. Especially if Utah’s defense continues to play as it has through the first three weeks of the season.
No. 2: What will the defense look like for Texas Tech as the Red Raiders try to slow Utah’s rushing attack?
Historically speaking, Texas Tech hasn’t had much fun when trying to stop opposing offenses doing literally anything. I mean, we’re talking about a side of the ball that has helped brand the type of program that Texas Tech has in a not so great way.
Things are different this year though! Tech actually has a defense that appears to be pretty solid. And when it comes to slowing opposing rushing attacks, the Red Raiders are doing a phenomenal job at that so far this season.
Texas Tech’s run defense is holding opponents to a grand total of 41.3 rushing yards per game on 27.3 carries per game right now. Averaging those numbers out and you’ll find that the Red Raiders are allowing opponents to get just 1.5 yards per carry through their first three games.
Now, Utah has a considerably better rushing attack than the Golden Flashes, Golden Lions, and Beavers. The Utes are averaging 290 rushing yards per game and 6.0 yards per carry.
No. 3: Will Mack Leftwich and Texas Tech be able to operate their fast-paced, explosive offense in Salt Lake City?
One of the best parts of Mack Leftwich’s offense is the pace that it is able to operate. This is a scheme that can move up and down the field in a hurry.
That includes explosive plays (Texas Tech has 26 offensive plays of 20 or more yards through the first three games of the season, beating out the likes of the USC Trojans, Arkansas Razorbacks, Ole Miss Rebels, Syracuse Orange, Indiana Hoosiers, and Texas A&M Aggies), which is good.
It’s also worth noting that Texas Tech’s offense hasn’t truly been tested thus far, but the Red Raiders have also demonstrated the ability to run a number of plays in a hurry if needed.
But how does that play out on the road for the first time? Behren Morton and Leftwich are working well together, but we haven’t seen this system with Morton take on a team on the road in a rowdy environment just yet. We also haven’t seen Texas Tech face a defense like Utah’s just yet.
The Utes have a disciplined defense (they’re not committing many penalties) and they’re stopping people on third down regularly (a 22.2 percent third down conversion rate). If the Utes are able to limit the explosive plays a bit and they force Texas Tech into methodical drives, what will the offense look like? How effective will it be if the Red Raiders can’t stretch the field?