Texas Tech football fans are now turning their attention to week two and the season's first road test. Sure, plenty will continue to talk about the lackluster showing against Abilene Christian, but one big performance against Oregon State on Saturday evening will quiet many of the critics.
Last season, the Red Raiders dismantled the Beavers in Lubbock 45-14 in a game that was 38-0 entering the fourth quarter. Now, Tech will look for a similar type of performance in Corvallis.
Oregon State opened the season with a competitive performance in a 33-20 loss at No. 23 Houston. In that game, they were down just 26-20 with under six minutes to play before a late Houston TD decided the outcome.
Of course, last year, Oregon State played Houston in Corvallis, taking the favored Cougars to OT before falling 27-24. What's more, in that game, the Beavers actually led 24-10 with six minutes to play before collapsing.
That should serve as a reminder that the Beavers are a feisty team when playing at home, even though they are struggling to find their footing as a program since the reshuffling of the PAC-12. On the other hand, there is a critical aspect of this matchup that should tilt heavily in Texas Tech's favor, one that makes the Red Raiders a matchup nightmare for Oregon State on both sides of the ball.
Texas Tech should absolutely dominate the line of scrimmage against Oregon State
In any football game, the team that owns the line of scrimmage is going to have a huge advantage. That's especially true if one team can own the line on both sides of the ball. That's what Texas Tech should do on Saturday evening.
If week one is any indication, Oregon State is not built to handle the Red Raiders' talent on either side of the line. Of course, teams are allowed to improve from one week to another, but the Beavers are going to have to make giant strides in one week if they hope to compete with Tech.
Against Houston, OSU struggled along the line regardless of who had the ball. Most notable was the poor play of the offensive line.
The Beavers ran for a measly 25 yards on 26 carries. It doesn't take a math major to understand how poor that average per rush is.
As a result, they had to throw the ball 48 times. However, that was a dicey proposition too, given that they allowed four sacks.
Meanwhile, the Tech defensive line was the star of the defense in week one against Abilene Christian. The Red Raiders allowed only 75 rushing yards while collecting three sacks and six tackles for loss.
What's more, the Red Raiders expect to add another key player to the defensive line rotation this week. True freshman LaDamion Guyton, the former 5-star high school recruit from Georgia, is expected to make his debut on Saturday night after sitting out the first game with a minor injury. Though he won't be expected to be the second coming of David Bailey right away, his presence will only strengthen a Red Raider pass rush that was active and effective against ACU.
When the Red Raiders have the ball, we should see a steady dose of the rushing attack. That's because Oregon State was gashed on the ground by the Cougars last Saturday.
Houston ran for 228 yards and 3 TDs on just 41 carries in week one. That's an average of 5.6 yards per rush.
A year ago, OSU was average against the run giving up 157.4 yards per game. That was 81st nationally. And against Tech, the Beavers surrendered only 121 yards on 40 rushes (3.0 per carry).
This year, though, Tech expects to be a better rushing team given its dangerous trio of running backs and its bigger, more physical offensive line. So look for Tech to try to impose its will on the ground early and often.
Finally, when Tech does ask Will Hammond to put the ball in the air, he should have a clean pocket. Tech didn't give up a single sack in week one. Meanwhile, OSU registered only one sack against Houston on 31 pass attempts.
There is no way to look at the week one Oregon State performance and see anything but struggles along the offensive and defensive lines. That's bad news for the Beavers as they welcome a Texas Tech team that has made it a priority to invest significant money in both lines of scrimmage in the past two offseasons.
It seems unlikely for OSU to make huge improvements along the line in just six days. So, if Texas Tech plays up to its paper along both sides of the line, this game could be a nightmare for Oregon State.
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