The Texas Tech offensive output through the first four games of the season has been incredible. Truly, so much of that side of the ball has been so enjoyable to watch and embrace. What Mack Leftwich is doing for the Red Raiders has been great.
But while this offense has been dangerous and dynamic and thrilling to keep up with, things certainly haven’t been perfect. And I think the Week 4 road trip to Salt Lake City to face the Utah Utes is a pretty good example of that. It might just be the perfect example of that.
Penalties, time and time again, were such an issue as the Red Raiders faced off against the Utes in Rice-Eccles Stadium. One area that was particularly egregious was up front on the offensive line where the Red Raiders saw a number of false start penalties.
But, it sounds like continual improvement is the goal and it sounds like that’s happening with the Red Raiders offensive line.
Texas Tech offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich compliments improvements made by Red Raiders offensive line
On Monday, Mack Leftwich got the chance to talk about that in a press conference.
“I think those guys are just kind of starting to gel together,” Leftwich said. “They’re getting, you know, we had a couple new pieces that you’re plugging in, so I think those guys are getting used to playing together.”
That’s a pretty important thing for any position group, but it might be one of the most important things an offensive line can do.
“I think that’s one group that, if you look from week one through the Utah game, I think they’ve made steady improvement,” Leftwich said.
That’s an interesting observation, and it might be true, but I suspect a lot of Texas Tech fans will fixate and focus on the way the Red Raiders had so many false starts from the offensive line against Utah.
Which is where continual improvement comes in.
“They’ve taken the challenge and they’ve gotten better every single week,” Leftwich noted. “You know, that’s the message really for every unit. What can we do to be better than we were last week and last game.”