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Texas Tech Post-Mortem: UMass – Saddling Up for Conference
Posted by dedfischer on September 22nd, 2008 under Uncategorized
Since I was limited to radio transmission only, I couldn’t tell a whole lot about this game except that it sounded like we kicked their ass. And the box score would seem to confirm that. So instead, I want to focus a little bit more on trends and where this team is at as we head to the bye week.
Offense
Last week, the Batch/Woods combo totaled 30 touches for 301 yards. This week was a subpar performance with 29 touches for 284 yards. I like this trend…..a lot. That’s a two week average of 29.5 touches for 292.5 yards (AKA 10-YAT). They’ve also accounted for 4 TDs over that period. Over the first two games, the duo averaged 18 touches for 105 yards, and as a result, Harrell and crew struggled in the passing game. Now, all is well and our QB’s accuracy has miraculously returned……or, defensive linemen, linebackers, and safeties are busy doing something else besides pinning their ears back or dropping into zones. I’ve seen all kinds of stats and articles regarding our running and short passing game to the backs, and here’s an interesting one to me. Since the beginning of the 2005 season, Leach is 25-3 (89.2%) when his RBs receive 20 or more touches in a game and Tech averages 45 points per game. When below the 20-touch number, his record is 5-9 (35.7%) and Tech averages 25 points per game. Right now, we’re averaging 26 touches for 205 yards and 46 points per game. We’re also 4-0. *Sidenote: Leach’s Big 12 Record is 10-3 (76.9%) and 4-7 (36.4%), respectively, under the 20-touch scenario.
Now, granted, you could slice that record up several ways with legitimate, “yeah, but’s”, however, I think it’s a pretty clear that Tech’s odds of winning go down when we put the game squarely on our QB’s shoulders’ versus providing a little help and diversity in the playcalling. No QB can go out and win every game on his own. Not Tom Brady, not Peyton Manning, not Vince Young. Somewhere along the way, they hit an “off” game and the running game, defense or special teams bails them out and they win championships. Tech’s OL is blocking as well as they ever have in the running game, and if Leach/Harrell, will keep leaning on it even the first time they go down 10 this season, then we’ll be in every game from an offensive standpoint. That’s how you finish 6-2 in conference with Cody Hodges as your QB. Production in the running and passing game to the backs, just like with any offense, makes everything work better for Leach, and will ultimately keep you in games even when your QB is sucking. It’s not uncommon to see a team pass for 300 yards and lose. It’s pretty rare to run for 300 and not win.
Defense
Once again, the Tech DL dominated an opponent, holding them to 258 total yards and 7 meaningless points. And you know UMass can move the ball as evidenced by their 468 total yards against Holy Cross. I said in my season preview of this unit that Tech would be improved at getting pressure on the QB, and thereby, creating turnovers. That prophecy has proven true as Brandon Williams notched another sack to tie McKinner Dixon for the lead in the Big 12 at 4 each. Darcel McBath returned a pick for a TD in this game as well.
Obviously, the competition to date is questionable at best, but there is no question that this unit is improved from a talent standpoint. The list of MLBs playing better than Brian Duncan in the Big 12 becomes shorter and shorter every week. He and McKinner Dixon have reduced Tech’s rushing defense by 50 yards per game. The DTs are playing well, especially Henley, Whitlock and Sesay (in stretches). All that added together, and I still don’t think it’s enough to successfully defend the top tier rushing teams in the conference playing 2-gap technique with your MLB, but it should help. McNeill has been doing some interesting things with Daniel Howard as a standup LB/DE in almost a 3-4 look. Combined with Brandon Williams/Henley or Whitlock/Dixon, this look has shown to be surprisingly effective at containing zone read plays and QBs on the run. They’re going to need it.
Overall
There are some holes in this team, but outside of the top 5 teams in the country, I’m not sure Tech’s are any bigger than the teams ranked around them. When I look at this team on offense, I see a good OL, solid QB, good RBs, and a gamebreaker at WR. On a bad day, we’ll still put 24 points on the board against the rest of the teams on our schedule. On defense, I don’t quite think we can hold every team we play under 24, but we’ve got playmakers at all three levels in Dixon, Duncan and Charbonnet. We’ll end up 9-3 one way or another and be about the 15th best team in the country, but 3rd in the Big 12 South. Harrell’s good for two meltdown games a year; and, I think our running and passing game to the backs, and defense might be improved enough to overcome one of them, for a possible 10-2 finish. Shit, I’d be happy with that.
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Ibas water bottle wrote a new blog post: What ever happened to Luke Schenscher? 15 seconds ago
We earned a 7 seed and will face Georgia Tech in Milwaukee on Thursday. If we survive that we face Ohio State in the second round. Shoot well and we can make the sweet 16. I’m relieved that Lunardi missed on his 8 seed projection for us. I’m much less worried about Ohio State than
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Kevin Berger commented on the blog post NCAA Selection show open thread 28 minutes ago
Virginia Tech not getting in is a joke.
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Kevin Berger commented on the blog post NCAA Selection show open thread 31 minutes ago
Baylor may be the best team in the South.
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Kevin Berger commented on the blog post NCAA Selection show open thread 33 minutes ago
Wow, louisville as a 9 will give Duke all they want in the second round.
The TAMU vs. UTAH state battle of the aggies might be played in the 40’s.
Siena will beat Purdue. Bank it. They probably win their next game.
Nova as a one seed an overseed.
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Kevin Berger commented on the blog post NCAA Selection show open thread 33 minutes ago
Wow, louisville as a 9 will give Duke all they want in the second round.
The TAMU vs. UTAH state battle of the aggies might be played in the 40’s.
Siena will beat Purdue. Bank it. They probably win their next game.
Nova as a two seed an overseed.
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Kevin Berger commented on the blog post NCAA Selection show open thread 35 minutes ago
The South, Duke will lose to AK Pine Bluff, mark it down. I kid.
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Kevin Berger commented on the blog post NCAA Selection show open thread 39 minutes ago
Don’t listen to Seth Davis, Texas is a shell and Wisconsin is over seeded as a four. Kentucky will run them out of he gym. Kentucky walks to elite 8 where WVU will have something for them.
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Kevin Berger commented on the blog post NCAA Selection show open thread 40 minutes ago
It won’t matter because Marquette will beat New Mexico in the second round game.
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Kevin Berger commented on the blog post NCAA Selection show open thread 41 minutes ago
West Virginia draws New Mexico as the 3. Kansas fans do triple face palm.
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Kevin Berger commented on the blog post NCAA Selection show open thread 42 minutes ago
Kentucky gets screwed by drawing WVU. The good news is the Cats got a pretty good top of the bracket draw.
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Kevin Berger commented on the blog post NCAA Selection show open thread 43 minutes ago
Texas gets a manageable first round game. UK will smoke us.
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Kevin Berger commented on the blog post Texas Basketball is Dangerous 44 minutes ago
We’re live blogging the selection show over here if you’re interested.
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Kevin Berger commented on the blog post NCAA Selection show open thread 47 minutes ago
The West is the weakest bracket. Perhaps the weakest I’ve seen in some time if Onuaku isn’t 100%
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Kevin Berger commented on the blog post NCAA Selection show open thread 49 minutes ago
In the West, Syracuse has a walk to the sweet sixteen, but Butler can give them problems.
Syracuse gets KSU as their two so it looks like either Kentucky or Duke is stuck with WVU. Tough break. Pitt as a three is a joke. If I’m Self I’m really pissed now. KU
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HenryJames commented on the blog post As if we didn’t already like Traylon Shead enough… 51 minutes ago
What’s the background on this photo?
The AP captions reads
Cayuga’s Traylon Shead, a Texas recruit, flashes the ‘Hook ‘Em Horns’ sign to Gov. Rick Perry during the awards presentation after Cayuga beat Bronte 66-60 to win the Class A, Division 1 basketball championship. Perry went to Texas A&M.
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ghostofagroundgame commented on the blog post NFL Draft: A Mockery 55 minutes ago
Carlos Dunlap is going to be an incredible pro. If he goes to the Ravens that is going to suck for their opponents.
I can’t see McClain going that high. And I keep hearing that Claussen has dropped.
What are the chances of the Steelers drafting a QB early? They can’t feel
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Kevin Berger commented on the blog post NCAA Selection show open thread 56 minutes ago
Georgetown as the 3 seed in the midwest make this a monster bracket.
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Kevin Berger commented on the blog post NCAA Selection show open thread 57 minutes ago
Ohio State vs. Kansas should be championship game, not an elite 8 game.
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Kevin Berger commented on the blog post NCAA Selection show open thread 58 minutes ago
Holy crap, KU got screwed by getting the toughest two seed. I’d be pissed if I was Self.
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Kevin Berger commented on the blog post NCAA Selection show open thread 58 minutes ago
Midwest 1 goes to Kansas, no surprise they deserve it. They’ll face Lehigh who happens to have a pretty athletic frontcourt for a 16.
Kansas got a tough breaking drawing Maryland on the four line. There was talk the terps could be a 3.
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ghostofagroundgame commented on the blog post As if we didn’t already like Traylon Shead enough… 1 hour, 1 minute ago
That is really great. An auspicious beginning.
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Kevin Berger wrote a new blog post: NCAA Selection show open thread 1 hour, 4 minutes ago
Syracuse gets screwed by getting the fourth number one seed.
Midwest 1 goes to Kansas, no surprise they deserve it. They’ll face Lehigh who happens to have a pretty athletic frontcourt for a 16.
Kansas got a tough break drawing Maryland on the four line. There was talk the terps could be a 3.
Holy crap,
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Kevin Berger wrote a new blog post: Evan Turner is the Best Player in the Country 1 hour, 7 minutes ago
For my money the race for Player of the Year isn’t all that close. Sorry John Wall. My apologies Wes Johnson. Evan Turner is the most dynamic and talented player in the college game today. He’s built like a hybrid wing, handles like point guard, and shoots it like a sniper.
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Nate Heupel commented on the blog post Trey Metoyer to the Oklahoma Sooners 1 hour, 10 minutes ago
Ripley,
Agreed 100%. I meant only to observe that Metoyer wasn’t a guy like Stills (once recorded running a 4.36) who just really impresses you with his speed, too. That’s one of the reasons I think Stills ends up being the 4th WR in the rotation by conference play.
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Scipio Tex commented on the blog post Texas Basketball is Dangerous 1 hour, 36 minutes ago
We’re as dangerous as a switchblade comb.
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With another two-goal effort following his midweek brace against Milan, Wayne Rooney is simply lighting up the English game, and as a result, Manchester United have never looked more dangerous than right now. Will anyone be able to stop, nay, contain this all-around phenom and derail United’s quest for more glory?
Enough to make any
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Luke commented on the blog post Another game vs. Kansas, another loss 1 hour, 50 minutes ago
Neon, you might be right about Kentucky, but I’m still worried about their athleticism and I’m not sure K-State has anyone to match up with Cousins inside. Plus, it’s KSU’s offense that has been struggling lately, so I would be afraid of getting into a high-scoring game, even if Kentucky isn’t great defensively. As for
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bigdukesix commented on the blog post As if we didn’t already like Traylon Shead enough… 1 hour, 52 minutes ago
The look on the face of the kid next to Shead is hilarious too.
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Trips Right commented on the blog post Basketball Bets 3/12 1 hour, 59 minutes ago
Wow, glad I let it ride.
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Nickel Rover commented on the blog post Damion…prepare for glory 2 hours, 2 minutes ago
Well I won’t disagree that Syracuse plays a better zone than Baylor but I think the strengths of the Texas offense still give them some good answers for a zone. Syracuse invites teams to get the ball inside where James and Johnson are comfortable even if they are contesting it much better from there than
Old Coach said:
September 22nd, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Great summary…
For the first time since Leach arrived, Tech has a three legged stool to balance the future of this team on. The passing has always been there, the running has been there at time but the defense was never there. There are some true playmakers on defense, especially on the front four, and there is a definitely improvement in team speed.
The game in two weeks at Manhattan is going to tell us a LOT about this team.
BRAGGonUT said:
September 22nd, 2008 at 6:17 pm
Very interesting…
Since the beginning of the 2005 season, Leach is 25-3 (89.2%) when his RBs receive 20 or more touches in a game and Tech averages 45 points per game. When below the 20-touch number, his record is 5-9 (35.7%) and Tech averages 25 points per game. Right now, we’re averaging 26 touches for 205 yards and 46 points per game. We’re also 4-0. *Sidenote: Leach’s Big 12 Record is 10-3 (76.9%) and 4-7 (36.4%), respectively, under the 20-touch scenario.
dedfischer said:
September 22nd, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Those losses were to UT in 2005, Missouri in 2006 and Oklahoma State in 2007. 2005 is as far back as I was willing to go.
Mister Mike said:
September 23rd, 2008 at 1:53 am
“The game in two weeks at Manhattan is going to tell us a LOT about this team.”
Tech should have no problem handling that Ron Prince coached high school. Defense (if one chooses to call it that) seems to be a theoretical concept there and the “Best QB in the Big 12″ gets frustrated easy. Raiders should hang 45+ on Prince’s bald head easy.
FtWorthHorn said:
September 23rd, 2008 at 4:37 am
Who cares? Both schools(UT,Wreck “em), like most big schools, should be embarrassed by their non-conference schedules. How hard is it to pad your stats against UMass? Maybe UMass is ok in B-ball, but football?? Texas has the same problem (FAU,Rice,UTEP)yah are offense looks good against bottom feeders defenses, again stats don’t matter until you play REAL competition!!!
ChicagoTTU said:
September 23rd, 2008 at 5:55 am
Well what is the reasoning behind a powder puff schedule? Is it really to pad stats, or is it simply playing it smart?
In the Big XII, especially the Big XII South, why would a UT or Tech (especially Tech) need to play a powerhouse or another ranked opponent in pre-conference? Their strength of schedule in conference is tough enough.
Tech played OSU a few years ago to open the season and got their dicks kicked in. Now, hypothetically, Let’s say Tech played OSU this year to open the season, lost, but only had one more loss for the season. Is a 10-2 Tech team that loses to the Buckeyes a better team than a 11-1 team that beats a Nevada, UMass or EWU.
For me, based on conference strength, I don’t feel the benefit is worth the risk so early in the season. Yes, Tech had two D1-AA opponents, but swap EWU for Tulsa, and I think the schedule’s right where it should have been.
dedfischer said:
September 23rd, 2008 at 6:12 am
I hear what you’re saying, but my point was in the first two games, Tech hit below the 20 touch number for the RBs and the offense struggled. In the last two games, we hit above that 20 number and things clicked right along. The key will be not losing focus of this aspect of our offense during conference play.
Bornahorn said:
September 23rd, 2008 at 6:13 am
“And you know UMass can move the ball as evidenced by their 468 total yards against Holy Cross.”
Was this facetious?
dedfischer said:
September 23rd, 2008 at 6:27 am
What do you think?
dedfischer said:
September 23rd, 2008 at 6:30 am
I was also directing my previous comment to ftworthhorn.
Phenomenal Smith said:
September 23rd, 2008 at 7:09 am
Mister Mike is right – Tech should have little problem with K State. K State will be lucky to get through UL-Lafayette unscathed. The Cajuns can run the ball and K State can’t stop the run.
Mack Brown said:
September 23rd, 2008 at 7:19 am
K State is very underrated. Everyone gets up to play Texas and that’s what happened last year, they were the best unranked team in the country.
Bornahorn said:
September 23rd, 2008 at 7:41 am
ded – beats me but it doesn’t really matter.
dedfischer said:
September 23rd, 2008 at 8:32 am
It was my light jab attempt at our strength of schedule in non-conference.