Television executives have tried to rob college football sickos of our beloved #Pac12AfterDark. That was George Kliavkoff fumbling it away. But a Texas Tech week two trip up to the state of Washington gives college football die-hards that coveted late-night slot back one more time. The Red Raiders took a big tumble in the Big 12 power rankings this week. What can they do to ensure they stay undefeated after a game that will kick off at 10 pm EST? Can this team show it has grown and get its first true road non-conference win since 2017?
Nothing Changes on Offense
Just like Shrek once said, “The Red Raider offense is like an onion. It has layers.” Maybe he wasn’t exactly talking about Zach Kittley’s offense. But the first impression of this offense can beat anyone through the air or the ground. After week one, the Red Raiders are the only team in college football who has a 300-yard passer, 150-yard rusher, and 150-yard receiver in a game. Do not start yelling at the screen that it was “just week one.” Teams scoring a ton of points typically lean towards doing it one way much better than the other. But early returns suggest that the three-headed attack of quarterback Behren Morton, running back Tahj Brooks, and Washington State transfer wide receiver Josh Kelly will find the defense’s weakness and exploit it.
Brooks Climbing Up the Career Ranks
For all of the naysayers who are continuing to mutter, “It was week one against a FCS opponent,” what does the opponent think of this Red Raider attack? Washington State head coach Jake Dickert said on Tuesday “I believe at the end of the season, 12 games from now, Texas Tech’s offense will be top-ten in the country.” The Texas Tech week two game against Washington State presents another opportunity for Morton, Brooks, and Kelly to put up similar numbers again.
Portland State still moved the ball a ton (449 yards of total offense) in their 70-30 defeat at the hands of Washington State. Most notably, the Cougars surrendered 234 rushing yards in the game. Brooks only needs 37 yards to pass Taurean Henderson for sixth place all-time in Texas Tech history. If Brooks has a massive game (over 206 rushing) he would pass Deandre Washington for fifth. But it is not the offense anyone is worried about.
Read the Same Sheet of Music
There is no sugarcoating it; the Texas Tech defense played one of its worst games in recent memory. Getting a 50 burger served by Texas last year is one thing. But when surrendering over 600 yards of offense when christening a $300 million renovation in front of a sold-out crowd is another. For Red Raider defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter, it can only get better.
The pass rush was almost non-existent all game. But a lot of it wasn’t their fault. When the quarterback doesn’t have to look off of his first read in the play, the ball comes out very quick. It can wear down the big guys up front mentally when they start believing that they have no chance of getting close to the quarterback. McGuire mentioned how there was a lot of miscommunication between players in the secondary. Receivers were not being passed off properly, hence why so many times there was a receiver left all alone. Whether it is a man or zone coverage, if the defense is not singing the same song, the result is a flat note sung by the opposing offense.
Washington State lost its star quarterback (Cam Ward) and 26 total players to the transfer portal at the end of a disappointing 5-7 campaign in 2023. But the Cougars will have a very similar looking offense from a scheme standpoint when compared to the Red Raiders. If Texas Tech continues to be out of sync, Washington State will make them pay just as much as Abilene Christian did.
Texas Tech Week Two Prediction
Texas Tech was originally supposed to be traveling to Eugene, Oregon to take on the Ducks. However, due to the massive realignment moves, this game was rescheduled in its place. Washington State published a terrific game poster this week. The poster was a nice ode to both the Red Raiders and Cougar’s late head coach Mike Leach. The Red Raiders are a whopping 2-0 lifetime against the Cougars, with the last meeting coming in 1964. Who could forget that classic?
The Red Raiders secondary should be improved this week. However, there is no universe in which teams who Leach left a distinct impression on would play anything other than a shootout. This late kickoff marks on the seventh time in team history in which the game starts at 10 pm EST or later (they have lost their last two in 2019 and 2016). Last week, Texas Tech took it down to the final play of overtime to survive with a win. In a track meet, Texas Tech gets the ball last and scores the game-winning touchdown with three seconds remaining. The late-game heroics push the Red Raiders to a thrilling 2-0 start.
Texas Tech 56, Washington State 52
