Well, it’s generally a good thing for a team to go out and get a shutout win. There’s not really too much to complain about when your favorite team manages to win by 42 points, right? And Texas Tech fans should certainly be celebrating right now, even if Texas Tech’s offense wasn’t perfect when the Red Raiders matched up with Oklahoma State on Saturday.
Still, a 42-0 win is a good win and Texas Tech was able to score in all three aspects of the game. It was great seeing the opening kickoff run back for a touchdown and for the Red Raiders to get a scoop and score from Jacob Rodriguez. This was a fun win, even if it wasn’t perfect.
And as with most things in my life, I’ve got a few thoughts that I’d like to chat about.
This whole quarterback finding success off the bench thing for Texas Tech is kind of weird and I’m not sure what to do with it
Behren Morton has been dinged up throughout the season. Today, against Oklahoma State, backup quarterback Will Hammond got dinged up. Now, the Red Raiders turned to Mitch Griffis, a 5th-year senior who previously played for Wake Forest, and they found the ability to really torch the Cowboys defense this afternoon.
I have absolutely no clue why Texas Tech is able to turn to a backup quarterback when the starter is injured, but we saw this happen as Morton got injured earlier this season and the Red Raiders turned to Hammond.
Now we’re seeing it play out again. And I, for one, would like for the Red Raiders to stop having quarterbacks get injured. It’s not ideal. But this whole trend of finding a backup quarterback to come in and scorch the opposing defense? That’s fun to watch.
It was great to see Texas Tech wide receiver Caleb Douglas go out and absolutely thrive against Oklahoma State
The offense was a bit up and down today as the Red Raiders faced Oklahoma State. Will Hammond, when he was healthy, didn’t play a great game against the Cowboys. That said, he did alright and didn’t make an overwhelming abundance of mistakes.
Still, one key aspect of Texas Tech’s offense that found plenty of success today was Caleb Douglas, who went out and managed to catch five receptions for 98 yards and a touchdown. And that’s so good to see.
Entering the season, I assumed that Texas Tech’s passing attack would have spread the ball around a bit more and helped a multitude of receivers end up in the end zone on a very regular basis, including Douglas.
It hasn’t played out the way I expected as Douglas only has two touchdowns this season. But he got one today as part of a really solid performance, and that matters and is worth celebrating.
Joey McGuire is off to a solid start and his role as a CEO sort of coach seems to suit him well
There are some head coaches out there who seem to thrive in playcalling and being involved in everything that is happening on one specific side of the ball. That doesn’t seem to be the case for Texas Tech Red Raiders head coach Joey McGuire, who just secured his 30th victory as the head coach out in Lubbock.
McGuire seems to operate as a CEO sort of coach, where he organizes everything at the top and surrounds himself with assistants and coordinators who can step in and run their area well. And while things aren’t perfect, things are going well for McGuire and the Red Raiders.
Texas Tech is off to a 7-1 start, which is the best start through eight games in a dozen years, and the Red Raiders are 4-1 in Big 12 play, which is their best start in conference play since the 2013 season. All seven of Texas Tech’s wins this season have come by 24 or more points.
That’s good. Really good.
Now, much of the success that McGuire is experiencing this season should absolutely be attributed to the fact that he’s been able to appropriately maximize the resources that are at his disposal. And I think that should be celebrated that he’s using the resources available to him in a way that yields wins.
He’s got two great coordinators and is winning games and building a roster that looks capable of thriving in the long run. Things are going well for McGuire and the Red Raider football team.