When the Texas Tech Red Raiders go to Morgantown, West Virginia, the 10-1 team leading the Big 12 standings will have a chance to lock up a spot in the Big 12 championship game for the very first time in program history. In this matchup, the Texas Tech offense will have a shot to continue playing at the level the Red Raiders were operating at against the UCF Knights
But that game was back in Lubbock, Texas. This matchup is very clearly not there. So, what can we expect from Texas Tech on offense as the Red Raiders meet up with the West Virginia Mountaineers defense?
If you ask Mack Leftwich, the offensive coordinator for the Red Raiders, it sounds like he’s expecting Texas Tech to run into a rather aggressive defensive effort from the Mountaineers.
Texas Tech offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich points to West Virginia’s aggression on defense ahead of matchup with Mountaineers
In a press conference, Leftwich was indeed asked about West Virginia’s defense and he said just that.
“You know, I think they’re really aggressive on defense,” Leftwich noted. “One of the highest blitz percentages that we’ve seen so far this year.”
And it sounds like pressure will come from a variety of different angles from West Virginia’s defense.
“They do a bunch of different stuff from a pressure standpoint,” Texas Tech’s offensive coordinator explained. “They present a bunch of different looks for you in the box, and so I think for our guys, the good thing is this week it will be a challenge in preparation.”
Texas Tech will need to limit mistakes if West Virginia is going to be aggressive, but I generally feel pretty good about the Red Raiders’ ability to do just that.
“This is the type of defense, if you’re not locked in, if you’re not communicating at a high level, they can cause a sack or tackle for loss, big negative play,” Leftwich said. “We’ve got to be on top of our game for sure whenever we go out there.”