One week ago, plenty of discussions were being had about highlighting how the Texas Tech offense managed to continue to thrive on the road in a hostile environment against one of the best defenses in the country. And I still maintain that those discussions should have been had.
There were still plenty of folks talking about the way the Red Raiders’ defense performed against a Utah team that had been otherwise productive and explosive, but I think we just got another data point that shows how we need to really sit and meditate on how good Texas Tech’s defense was last week.
Because while I totally understand how West Virginia is in the first year of a rebuild and had a new(ish) coach take over and plenty of things have changed with the Mountaineers, I really want to focus on just how impressive Utah’s offense was today.
West Virginia is a mess, but it really is impressive how Texas Tech could halt Utah’s offense while the Mountaineers couldn’t
The Utes simply had no real problem moving the ball at all on the road against the Mountaineers. Just no real problem at all.
This week, Utah's offense did the following:
- Gained 532 total yards
- Had one turnover
- Totaled 33 first downs throughout the game
- Converted on 8-of-13 third downs
- Converted on 3-of-3 fourth downs
- Held the ball for nearly 35 minutes of game time
- Racked up 48 points.
And it was balanced. Utah gained 290 yards through the air and 242 yards on the ground.
It was impressive. Truly. But what happened last week with Utah’s offense was basically exactly the opposite of that. I mean, it was still truly impressive, but because Texas Tech shut things down from Utah’s offense.
Last weekend, the Utes managed the following on offense:
- 263 total yards
- Committed four turnovers
- Had just 16 first downs
- Converted on just 4-of-14 third downs
- Was 0-2 on fourth down
- Had the ball for a little over 27 minutes of game time.
- Scored 10 points. Just 10 points.
So, in case you needed yet another reminder to feel a good bit better about the way Texas Tech’s defense has been playing this season, you need to sit back and just feel the way the Red Raiders are performing against some Big 12 competition. The sample size is still small, but things are looking good right now.