What a difference a month makes for the Texas Tech football team. After a 37-16 loss to Washington State on September 7, the Red Raiders were reeling from poor results in their first two games of the season.
At that point, few thought Texas Tech would be 3-0 and atop the Big 12 just a month later. But following this weekend’s 28-22 win at Arizona, head coach Joey McGuire will put his team there.
In the preseason, it was widely expected that the Red Raiders would begin conference play at home against Arizona State and Cincinnati. But the trip to Tucson was supposed to be a roadblock for the tech company.
That wasn’t the case. The Red Raiders entered the desert to pick up their fourth road win of the McGuire era, but the win over the Wildcats was arguably Tech’s best road performance over the past three seasons.
So let’s continue to enjoy the victory by observing the players at the Red Raiders game, handing out imaginary game balls to the players who led the way.
The story of the night for the Red Raiders was the defensive performance of the Red Raider defense, which was missing its top four outside linebackers and starting safety Chapman Lewis. Despite the missing pieces, the Red Raider defense will be useful against an Arizona team that features the Big 12’s top QB/WR duo.
The leader of the attack on that side of the ball was middle linebacker Jacob Rodriguez. The redshirt junior played the best game of his career and helped his team win the championship.
He made 13 tackles (tying a career high) and was active all over the field. Additionally, he was recognized for a sack, a pass defensed, and a forced fumble.
On Saturday night, the Red Raiders managed to score three points. Two of those were directly Rodriguez’s fault.
In the first half, he blitzed Arizona QB Noah Fifita on a pass attempt. That sent the pass flying through the air and into the hands of Red Raider defensive tackle Quincy Ledet. Six plays later, the Red Raiders would find themselves in the end zone for a 15-3 lead.
Late in the game, with Tech leading 22-19 in the final quarter, Rodriguez cornered Arizona WR Tetairoa McMillan and punched the ball out of his hands, allowing the Red Raiders to recover a fumble. I showed you. That turnover led to Taj Brooks’ third TD of the game and the winning goal on the ensuing possession.
Rodriguez has 54 tackles this year and is on pace for a 100-tackle season. And from Saturday night into Sunday morning, he had one of his best performances as a Red Raider and won one of our game balls.
This offseason, Texas Tech brought in Caleb Douglas from Florida to add a big-play element to the offense. On Saturday night, he made his biggest impact of the season with just five receptions for 116 yards.
Like Rodriguez, Douglas made two big plays that helped turn the game in Tech’s favor. The first was a 57-yard catch-and-run down the sideline on Tech’s final possession of the first half.
After the Red Raiders put the Wildcats ahead in the end zone, the ball moved from the Tech 12 to the Arizona 31 with 15 seconds left in the first half. As time expired, Gino Garcia made a 30-yard field goal and the Red Raiders headed back to the locker room with an 18-3 lead.
With 3:55 left in the game and Tech trailing 19-18, Douglas took a back-shoulder pass from QB Behren Morton for a 32-yard gain. This moved the ball to the Arizona 24, where Garcia eventually made a 41-yard FG to put Tech back on top.
The Red Raider passing game struggled for much of the second half, resulting in Morton throwing for only 214 yards in the game. Additionally, the Red Raiders’ leading receiver, Josh Kelly, was held to just 27 yards on five catches.
Fortunately, Douglas was Tech’s go-to receiver against the Wildcats, accounting for more than half of Tech’s receiving yards. As a result, he also earns winning balls.
Finally, we need to take a moment to evaluate the performance of running back Taj Brooks. Yes, his night will be remembered in part for the two second-half fumbles he lost. But he more than made up for those uncharacteristic mistakes.
In this game, Brooks ran for 128 yards and three touchdowns on just 21 carries. That’s an average of 6.1 yards per rush.
His rushing ability has moved him to third place on the Red Raiders’ all-time rushing list. He passed Ricky Williams and was now chasing only Byron Hanspard and James Gray.
Brooks is proving once again that he is arguably the best running back in the Big 12. What’s more, he’s racking up yards even though every opponent knows he’s going to be a key player in the Red Raider’s offensive game plan. .
No running back is perfect, and Brooks wants to recover the two fumbles that cost Arizona six points. However, with the game in jeopardy, he scored a game-clinching 32-yard touchdown scamper late in the fourth quarter to win the game.
Brooks currently has seven TD runs in six games. He is also on pace for 1,358 yards, which ranks atop Texas Tech’s career rushing list. And again against Arizona, he led the Red Raiders to a victory on the ground.
