10 Things: Texas Tech 34, BYU 7

1. Game Links:

2. Big 12 Champions. I never thought in my lifetime that Texas Tech would be the Big 12 Champions. For those of you who have been around a lot longer, I hope you soak it in and appreciate what’s happened. Not only did Texas Tech win, but Texas Tech won in dominating fashion, by 20+ points in 12 of their wins. We just haven’t seen this and I’m just not sure how to act. I certainly don’t talk trash to my colleagues or anyone else because I’ve never been able to do that. Texas Tech didn’t do the thing that I think that we all feared, which was crater in a game that wasn’t expected. They were dominant and I’m really proud about how well the entire team played. Enjoy your day.

3. Grades.

B	PASS OFFENSE
I feel bad giving the passing offense a B, although to be honest I thought the pass offense was really good when Morton had time. I thought he was under pressure way too much, but also realize that the BYU defensive line is really good. Regardless, I thought Morton and the receivers played really good, maybe 1 drop that I can remember so this is a bit of a weird grade.
B	RUN OFFENSE
Remember last week when I was writing about how the running game was real hit-or-miss and I felt the same way this game. Not the running backs at issue, but they needed a bit more space. And maybe that’s why the offense seems to work a bit better against BYU when J’Koby Williams is in the game because he can create a bit more than Cameron Dickey. Sack adjusted was 4.3 yards a carry (compared to 3.1 with the sack yardage).
A+	PASS DEFENSE
Difficult not to give the secondary huge props. I thought the one pass interference was legitimate, but other than that, they were really good and defended a ton of passes. Just 137 passing yards a game and 4.4 yards per attempt.
A+	RUN DEFENSE
Absolutely elite. That first drive was the only drive. For the game, the defense allowed 2.1 yards per rush and if you want to take out the sacks then it is still just 3.1 per rush.
B	SPECIAL TEAMS
Two missed field goals didn’t hurt you, but Harrington missed from 48 and 49 yards so not exactly chip shots and McGuire was hunting for some points for the 1st one. The punting by Burgess was elite and the coverage unit only allowed 1 punt return for 7 yards.
A-	COACHING
I hated not kicking the field goal to not go up a couple of scores, but things sort of worked out. I don’t know the rational to actually go for it and not get the points in that situation and I can’t think of a good reason. That was for me the only big coaching decision of the game.

4. Bachmeier’s Ankle. When Bear Bachmeier hurt his ankle early in the game, this eliminated a pretty significant advantage that BYU utilized in the first drive of the game. Bachmeier was able to scramble early and that created some pressure points, but after her hurt his ankle that option wasn’t available. Not only that, but BYU was then in a lot of 21 personnel, leaving in another running back to help block and keep Bachmeier upright. But I’d also say that the Texas Tech defense adjusted really well after that first drive. They started jumping those lateral passes and the defensive backs were ready after the Cougars scored 7. That wasn’t going to be a viable potion. When those side to side passes weren’t available, BYU was playing 21 personnel and fewer receivers in the backfield while Texas Tech was able to just rush 4, then BYU’s offense was cooked.

5. The Offense Adjusted Too. I think the offense and defense do similar things. They both sort of poke and prod and really figure out where the game is headed. The offense was flat in the 1st quarter, but then things got heated up in the 2nd, ran for 67 yards, scored 13 points, converted on 4 of 6 3rd downs, and that’s all that was needed. Texas Tech took advantage of a turnover in the 3rd quarter, scored 8 and the game was over with an entire quarter to go. The turnovers in the 4th quarter were just icing on the cake and the offense was essentially running out the clock while being opportunistic.

6. Penalties. Son of a gun this has to be figured out. Of the 5 penalties, 4 were false start penalties and this is the team’s kryptonite. I don’t get why the offensive line can’t get it, but it was Jados, Ponton, Sampson, and Wilson. Davion Carter, come on down, you did not get a penalty.

7. Stats.

BYU had 3 1st down turnovers. Texas Tech had 2 1st down touchdowns. Quite the swing.
Third downs was a big deal and by quarter was maybe the more interesting statistic. 1st quarter: BYU 3-3; and TTU 3-5. 2nd quarter: BYU 1-4; and TTU 4-6. 3rd quarter: BYU 2-5; and TTU 1-3. 4th quarter: BYU 0-2; and TTU 0-5. By the 4th quarter, Texas Tech had decided they were just going to run out the clock so that 0-5 almost doesn’t count and through the 3rd quarter, BYU was 6 of 12 while Texas Tech was 8 of 14. BYU simply could not keep the Texas Tech offense off the field and by that time, Texas Tech was averaging 5.1 yards a rush.
BYU was only in their red zone once and they scored a touchdown. Not in their own red zone for the rest of the game.
We talk about the 4 actual turnovers, but BYU actually turned it over 6 times because they were 0-2 on 4th down.
The Texas Tech defense had 8 tackles for a loss for -37 yards.
BYU’s 2nd half drives ended as follows: FGA (miss); Interception; Punt; Fumble; Interception; Downs; Fumble; and Punt. Total yards for those last 7 drives (not including the field goal attempt) was 49 yards. That’s right, 49 total yards on BYU’s last 7 drives.

8. Idle Thoughts.

The reason why Texas Tech didn’t have any offensive guys show up on the All-Big 12 team is explained by looking at the box score. Reggie Virgil led the way with 8 catches for 86 yards, but no touchdowns. Coy Eakin had 3 for 66 and 2 touchdowns. Caleb Douglas, had 1 for 23. Terrence Carter, Jr. had 3 for 22 including a 2-point conversion. Collectively they are really tough to stop and there’s no reason to be offended by that. The individual numbers aren’t going to look great because they haven’t had a dominant guy, but that’s the reason why this offense is tough to stop.
When Ben Roberts went out, freshman Brock Golwas was inserted and BYU immediately attacked him with that tight end that’s so mobile. It worked and I think that Golwas is a step slow in coverage and I think that’s okay, but it does demonstrate how good Roberts is.
Holy smokes, Lee Hunter, David Bailey, Romello Height, Anthony Holmes, Dooda Banks, Terrell Tilmon, Ansel Nedore, and Braylon Rigsby all brought it. That defensive line was unbelievable and as good as some defensive lines have been, this has got to be the best that ever was.
The players that had a part in a tackle for a loss: Rodriguez, Curry, Pollock, Bailey, Hunter, Jordan, Holmes, and Height. Quarterback hurries: Pollock, Bailey, Holmes, and Height. Pass break-ups: Curry, Wisniewski, Roberts, Boyd, and Esters. Such a collective effort.
Eakin’s 1st touchdown was a spectacular catch and his 2nd touchdown he made the play. On Carter’s 2-point conversion the BYU defensive backs had no interest in tackling him at all.
Combined effort from Cam Dickey and J’Koby Williams: 33 rushes for 152 rushing and 4 catches for 18 yards. Williams was able to make things happen because of his ability to miss and that’s exactly what the offense needed. Dickey is a battering ram, but he doesn’t have the side-to-side that Williams has. Not a knock, just it is what it is.

9. Coach Comments.

JOEY McGUIRE: I want to start out with making — when the Selection Committee starts looking at teams, I truly believe the Big 12 deserves two teams in the playoffs. When you look at BYU, they’re 11-2, and their two losses are to the No. 4 team in the nation. I have so much respect for Kalani. That’s a really good football team. I hope the committee looks at it because there’s going to be two-loss teams out there, but there’s not going to be an 11-2 loss team. They did a great job throughout the season getting here. For us, man, I’m so happy. Four years ago I sit in a room in Waco, Texas at the airport with Dusty Womble and Cody Campbell and President Schovanec and Kirby Hocutt, and they changed my life. Man, I can’t say how much I appreciate you guys, I appreciate your friendship, I appreciate your belief in us. Then I just can’t say enough about Cody Campbell and the Matador Club and just forward thinking that he has to help us create this team. These guys up here really helped us put this team together. These guys, you have Jacob Rodriguez, who slept on the floor as a walk-on to be a Red Raider; Ben Roberts, he actually told me, I recruited him, and he committed to Tech. I was at the other school, and he said, Coach, I love you, man, but I’m a Red Raider no matter what. Whether you’re the coach or not, I’m going to be a Red Raider. And then this is a guy right here who was born and raised in Lubbock, Texas. He was actually my very first commit in my very first full class. As you all can see, they have elite mustaches. Just proud of them. I’m so proud of this team. I think we’ve got the best coaching staff in the world. We’ve got the best administration staff in the world. We’ve got the best fans in the world. Proud of the way we played today. Man, I can’t wait to see where the CFP is going to put us tomorrow. We’re looking forward to the bye. We’re hoping and expecting that that’s where we’ll be because we’re football banged up, and if you let us get healthy, I really believe we’ve got another gear. With that, open it up to any questions for me or any of these guys. Let me say one more thing. Take my hat off to our training staff. We’ve got the best medical staff and training staff in the country. You probably saw Ben Roberts goes down on one knee. He’s from Eaton, so I don’t know how tough he is. He’s not from West Texas. We’re making him tougher. His ab, hip was really bothering him. Mike and his staff got it loosen him up, and all of a sudden we got two picks by this guy in the second half. Hat’s off to our training staff for getting him back in the game.

Q. Coach, not only did you retain most of your defense, but a five-star receiver like Micah Hudson is coming back, that kind of helps recruiting too. Just on the offensive side of the ball where you were trying to piece together this offense and what the identity was going to be, how difficult was that, or was it pretty easy once you got the defensive guys to buy in?

JOEY McGUIRE: It starts with Mack and that coaching staff. That’s the thing too, man. Year one for these guys, we’ve got two brand new — an offensive coordinator and a defensive coordinator that’s brand new to Texas Tech. And they did a great job. It all started, too, with making sure our quarterback was coming back. He’s had an absolutely crazy year. In June, he and I both said we’re going to win the Big 12 Championship and we’re going to walk out of Cowboys Stadium together. It was really cool. His dad, Coach Morton, sent me a text this week and he said, just make sure I get a picture of you two walking out. So we both waited. I told him this morning, I said, when we win this thing, wait for me. I’m not leaving the field until you leave the field. Don’t do the same. We got to walk out together. It’s really cool, in the day and age that we live in, where all information is at your fingertips and anybody can say anything. We both at different times have been beat up for being a high school coach or being a guy that is injured and is not playing at a level. And, man, we came out on top today.

Q. Coach, you’ve been in championship scenarios. You’ve been in postseason scenarios before as a high school coach. How do you balance the looking forward and how to continue to improve versus looking at the now and celebrating the now?

JOEY McGUIRE: We’ll go 24 hours. It will actually be a little bit longer than 24 hours probably, but they won’t take long to get back focused. Once we figure out, one, who we could possibly play, we’ll start looking at that. The biggest thing is, looking at the schedule, I want to make sure these guys have some time, hopefully at some point they could go home for Christmas once we get our finals done and then get back and get back into who we’re going to play and how we’re going to practice. This is a vet team. We’re football banged up. We’ll find out tomorrow exactly who’s banged up and stuff like that. But today was a big day for us to win this game, to be the Big 12 champs, but also hopefully get that bye to let these guys’ bodies feel really good for our next opponent and when we play again.

Q. With your experience in Lubbock, Texas, tell everybody who’s never been to Lubbock, Texas, in one word what Lubbock, Texas, means to you?

JOEY McGUIRE: One word. Who wants to start it? Go ahead.

BEN ROBERTS: Grit.

JOHN CURRY: For me, my one word is just everything.

JACOB RODRIGUEZ: Hard-working.

JOEY McGUIRE: Man, it’s not one word. I’m going to tell you, it’s the greatest place on earth. I’ll be there for the rest of my life. I appreciate the administration for doing what they did last week. People think, well, that’s just — it’s not. I’m a Texan. I ain’t never been anywhere else. I’ll never be anywhere else. I’m proud to be the head coach at Texas Tech, and this team’s not done yet.

10. Tortilla Tossin’ Players of the Game.

This goes to Coach McGuire, Mack Leftwich, and Shiel Wood as well as the entire coaching staff. They had a plan, figured things out and made it happen with this group of players. To all of the donors, obviously Cody Campbell is the biggest name, but there are others who deserve credit. It’s impossible to mention every name that contributed, but you all contributed.

Reggie Virgil and Coy Eakin were too much for BYU. Virgil had 8 of 86 on 10 targets, while Eakin had 3 for 66 on 4 targets with 2 touchdowns.

The linebacker trio of Jacob Rodriguez, Ben Roberts, and John Curry. Hell, we might as well throw in Golwas as well. Rodriguez finished the day with 13 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss. Curry had 10 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss. Golwas had 6 tackles, and Roberts had 5 tackles, 2 incredible interceptions and a pass break-up.