Chapter 1: The Setting
Good Guys: Texas Tech Red Raiders (3-0, 0-0)
Bad Guys: Utah Utes (3-0, 0-0)
Where: Rice-Eccles Stadium | Salt Lake City, Utah
When: Saturday, September 20th @ 11:00 am
TV & Streaming: FOX
Radio: The Varsity Network
The Line: Utah -3
Game Notes: Texas Tech | Utah
Weather Report: Partly Cloudy, High 78, Low 61
Chapter 2: The Cast
QB Devon Dampier (5-11/210): Dampier is the former New Mexico Lobo who has done quite well for himself in two games for Utah. Utah was snakebit last year at quarterback, injuries and young players who just weren’t ready and Dampier sort of bridges the gap with some young quarterbacks who have some talent. Dampier is completing 73% of his passes, 7.1 yards per pass with 7 touchdowns and no picks thus far, while he’s run for 198 yards and that leads the team in rushing.
RB’s Wayshawn Parker (5-10/205) & NaQuari Rogers (5-10/210): Utah is running the heck out of the ball, but it isn’t just one guy. Dampier has a big part of the rushing game, but Parker and Rogers will carry the load I think. Parker has 192 yards on 27 carries and averages 7.1 yards a carry with 2 touchdowns, while Rogers has 152 yards on 36 carries and 4.2 yards a carry with 4 touchdowns.
WR’s Ryan Davis (5-11/181) & Smith Snowden (5-10/185): Again, a lot of players here that are targets, but Davis and Snowden appear to be the main players. As an aside, Snowden also plays cornerback. Davis leads the team with 19 receptions and 171 yards, 9 yards a catch. Snowden has 10 receptions for 52 yards.
DE John Henry Daley (6-4/255): Daley already has 5 sacks on the year, which is a bit insane, but he’s really the only guy getting to the quarterback and of all things, he only has 13 tackles so close to half of his tackles are sacks. Daley is also a transfer from BYU, so I’m sure that’s a big deal at Utah.
OLB Lander Barton (6-5/240): Utah has a similar issue to Texas Tech in that they haven’t had a guy get a ton of playing time. Barton is also going to be pressuring the quarterback opposite of Daley.
SS Jackson Bennee (6-2/190) & FS Nate Ritchie (6-2/207): Bennee has 12 tackles, but it is his 3 passes defended and 2 picks thus far, including a 57 yarder returned for a touchdown. Rabbit Evans is out and he was a decent part of the defense. In is place is Ritchie who has 5 tackles on the season.
Chapter 3: The Conflict
Big Ugly Matchup: Right tackle Spencer Fano (6-6/308) is mocked as the #1 pick and if you focus on anything, it might be a good to focus on that battle, most likely the power of Skyler Gill-Howard or the pass rush skills of Romello Height and David Bailey. I’d be remiss by saying that LT Caleb Lomu is very good, but it is Fano that’s supposed to be great. It’s going to be fun as heck. And John Henry Daley against Howard Sampson should be a show as well when Texas Tech has the ball. I also wanted to mention that junior DE Logan Fano (6-5/260) is obviously the brother of Spencer and he’s no slouch and will probably be opposite of Daley.
Time for Morton to Shine: the stats don’t lie. Texas Tech on the road has been rough. His quarterback rating (not via the ESPN site) at home is 152 and on the road is 121. It’s time for him to silence the critics and whatever thoughts he has in being the leader of this team. The opportunity is right here for him and the entire team. And I hope that Morton doesn’t feel like he should do it on his own, he’s got more help than he’s ever had, let everyone lift each other up.
Bringing Linebackers: Just one more thing to consider, which is that the linebackers will be brought as a blitz. Linebackers Lander Barton has 3 QB hurries, Johnathan Hall has 4, Levani Dumuni has 2 and Cyrus Polu has 2 as well. Just something to watch, they will pressure with their linebackers so the offensive line will need to deal with that 4-man front.
Video Notes:
I am focused on that right tackle #55 and the quarterback. Spencer Fano is the stud offensive lineman and he looks like an absolute fireplug . . . The Utah defense looks like they are playing what pretty much everyone else is playing, 4 down linemen with some rush edges, two linebackers with a hybrid that can cover . . . John Henry Daley end gets there pretty quick, so we’ll see how the offensive line does at working against guys who are that much quicker . . . Dampier is slick as hell and he will run at the drop of a hat . . . They are doing some fun things on the offensive line, lots of misdirection and they are a pretty mobile group, but Wyoming is doing a pretty good job of swarming . . . The Wyoming offensive line is pretty well overmatched . . . Lots of RPO’s for Utah and you might be able to count the number of deep balls from Dampier, more than 15 yards, on 1 hand . . . Will Leftwich try to play smash football with Wyoming and just try to dominate them on the line . . . Run fits on defense is going to be incredibly important . . .
Chapter 4: The Charts & Graphs
Uniforms:
Stats:
Sharp Football is still catching up a bit. The Texas Tech offense has been quite efficient offensively, and pretty darn explosive, so that all checks out. The effective pass is also pretty accurate. Utah is probably better than these numbers indicate, some of last year is baked into that and they are better than this. The Utes are a top team rushing the ball and that effective rush is accurate, but probably not indicative as to how good they’ve been. The disruptive play allowed says a lot about their line and that 3rd down rate is special. And should also state that Texas Tech’s figures aren’t bad at all and very good.
Defensively, Utah has always been good and that’s indicative as to these numbers. I am guessing that they do a great job of stopping the run and they are great at creating disruptive plays. Texas Tech is probably similar to the Utah offense in that these numbers are probably better than indicated. The disruptive play rate is ridiculous.
As mentioned last week, I added more ratings from Kelly Ford and this looks a lot more accurate. these look like two teams that are about as evenly matched as you can get. I think just looking at the data and seeing the differences is fun as heck. I think the SP+ is probably the most accurate, you are seeing a great offense in Texas Tech going up against a great Utah defense and vice versa.
Chapter 5: The Conclusion
This is an absolutely delicious game. this is fun. The build up and the anticipation and knowing that these are two very good football teams is fun. I love that these coaches respect the heck out of each other and I also appreciate how Texas Tech’s sole motivation is how everyone just doesn’t believe that they can do this, the funny thing is that depending on who you ask, Utah had 21 transfers which is the same number as Texas Tech and they paid their players too. Utah is dangerous because of Dampier and the two excellent running backs (not trying to diminish other players, but they are clearly to me the best players). I think Texas Tech is dangerous because of Cam, J’Koby, Behren, Terrence, Johncarlos, Reggie, Coy, and Caleb. The biggest question is if I can believe in the Texas Tech defense. Is it a mirage or is it real. I should also add that the line has moved from Utah -3.5 to Utah -3 and I’ve already done the poll so I don’t have time to change it, but there is movement and it says that 100% of the public bets are on Texas Tech.