So often, I feel like Texas Tech football fans find themselves focusing on how impressive an offensive performance was. And that’s something that we’re still able to do tonight after the way Mack Leftwich’s offense performed against the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions.
But that’s not the only group that truly thrived in Texas Tech’s season opening win. We got to witness just how well Shiel Wood’s defense looked against an actual opponent in an actual game. And the Red Raiders weren’t perfect on defense, but they were pretty effective and managed to shut down the Golden Lions throughout the game.
And that’s an encouraging thing. While yes, this was against an FCS foe, the fact that Texas Tech’s defense didn’t struggle (like last year’s season opener against an FCS foe) is a very good thing to see for the Red Raiders.
Texas Tech’s defense actually looked solid as the Red Raiders steamrolled Arkansas-Pine Bluff in Week 1 win
Texas Tech managed to limit the Golden Lions to just 175 total yards of offense on 59 total plays in this game. That equals out to an average of 3.0 yards per play, for what that’s worth. And interestingly enough, Texas Tech really thrived in shutting down Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s rushing attempts.
This is a rushing offense that managed to gain a grand total of 52 yards against Texas Tech’s defense. The Golden Lions averaged 2.0 yards per carry. And I don’t know if that’s a result of the Red Raiders jumping out to a sizable lead and being able to force the Golden Lions to throw the ball a bit or what.
All I know is the Red Raiders didn’t have an issue with Arkansas-Pine Bluff trying to run the ball on them. And that is encouraging to see.
On top of that, Texas Tech thrived in shutting the Golden Lions down in both third down attempts and by keeping Arkansas-Pine Bluff out of the Red Zone. Arkansas-Pine Bluff was able to convert on just four of their 14 third down attempts and then the Golden Lions were only able to get into the red zone on one occasion.
Texas Tech prevented big plays, explosive plays, fun plays, and so on and so forth from Arkansas-Pine Bluff. And that’s encouraging tosee for a defense that has routinely allowed for opposing offenses to average over 400 yards per game in seasons past. Like last season’s 460.2 yards per game for opposing defenses.
So, yeah, I’m a bit excited about seeing Texas Tech keep Arkansas-Pine Bluff to just 175 yards. That’s something to enjoy.