As the Texas Tech Red Raiders get set to face off against the Oregon Ducks in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal in the Orange Bowl down in Miami, Mack Leftwich and the Red Raiders offense are having to account for one of the most impressive defenses in the country.
Dan Lanning, a brilliant defensive mind, has assembled a rather impressive group in Eugene, Oregon and the Ducks have put together a bunch of really impressive defensive performances this season.
Oregon’s defense has been holding opponents to just 16.3 points per game (which ranks at No. 10 in the country when it comes to scoring defenses). Heck, the Ducks weigh in as the No. 7 team in the country when it comes to total defense heading into this Orange Bowl.
So, what will Leftwich and the Texas Tech offense do to help account for a defense that is that talented, physical, and impressive? Well, it doesn’t look like we can expect to see Red Raider quarterback Behren Morton running around too much against the Oregon defense.
Texas Tech offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich breaks down how the Red Raiders might incorporate Behren Morton into the run game
With Morton getting healthy again, it was asked at a recent press conference if the Texas Tech starting quarterback was going to play a significant role in the Texas Tech rushing attack.
“I mean, that’s not really, he’s not really too much of a runner to begin with,” Leftwich explained. “So that’s not something that we’ll major in.”
Which isn’t shocking. Running definitely isn’t Morton’s strength. At least not in the way that Will Hammond is able to evade defenders and run right through opposing defenses.
“I do think he’s to the point where he’s mobile enough now, like a third down scramble, he could go run for a first down and those kinds of things,” Leftwich continued. “So you feel a little bit better about him being able to avoid pressures and those kinds of things, but he’s not going to turn into Taysom Hill out there.”
I don’t think anyone will really be shocked by that sort of answer. And with how much Morton has been dinged up, I would really prefer it if the Red Raiders avoided having him run around too much against the Ducks.
“We’ll still kind of limit him in the run game still,” Leftwich said.
And that’s good news.