Texas Tech’s Defense Shows It’s Here to Stay

Writing the morning after Texas Tech’s 49-14 trouncing of the 5^th ranked West Virginia Mountaineers is still somewhat of a head scratcher until you give the game another look.

The Red Raiders (5-1, 2-1 Big 12) held West Virginia (5-1, 2-1 Big 12) to 405 yards of total offense on Saturday, 151 yards less than their total offense average.

By the time West Virginia got on the board at the 4:21 mark in the First quarter, Tech had already put two touchdowns on the board and piled up 144 yards of offense.

West Virginia had fallen behind before on the season to Baylor and Texas, but in both of those games they were able to match score with score. What happened in Lubbock Saturday that was different from those previous games?

Texas Tech’s defense is actually making a turnaround that is on historic proportions in 2012. Through the first half of the season, the Red Raider Defense has given up 98 points. That is an average of 16.33 points per game. The last time Tech has done such a thing? It was the 2000 season when the Red Raiders gave up only 59 points through the first six games.

Geno Smith and crew weren’t adversely affected by the West Texas wind as Mountaineer Head Coach Dana Holgerson wants some to believe.

Holgerson said in the postgame press conference, “Geno let the wind affect him.  I've played around here for eight years, and it wasn't any windier today.  It's a nuisance, but if you let that be an excuse, it's going to mess with you and I think it did.”

Smith said in post after Holgerson about the wind affecting him, “The wind didn't bother me.  Anyone that says that doesn't know football at all.  There are no excuses for what happened today.  I was off.  I wasn't hitting my targets.” Ouch.

They were pressed more by the Texas Tech secondary and Smith was forced to make quicker decisions due to the pass rush of Texas Tech. The Red Raiders did blitz some, but the front line rush caused the problems for the Mountaineers.

Geno also said it was a, “Stupid question,” when asked about what Texas Tech did differently than other teams. Classy, Geno.

Texas Tech Head Coach said after the game, “

The West Virginia Defense continued to show how much it will hinder the Mountaineers this season as the Red Raiders jumped out to a 35-7 halftime lead and compiled 418 yards of offense. No team can win a conference, much less a national championship with a defense as bad as the Mountaineers have.

Bottom line for Texas Tech is this: The defense is here to stay in Lubbock and its sweet vindication for Tommy Tuberville and crew in Lubbock.

Texas Tech Defensive Rankings:

Total Defense: 4th in NCAA 243.0 yards per game

Passing Defense:  4th in NCAA at 143.66 yards per game

Rushing Defense: 12th in NCAA at 99.33 yards per game