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5 takeaways from Texas Tech football's humbling loss to Washington State
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- 5 takeaways from Texas Tech football's humbling loss to Washington State
Things started to unravel early and the Texas Tech football team was never able to recover in a 37-16 loss to Washington State on Saturday in Pullman.
Behren Morton was erratic and unable to throw much beyond the line of scrimmage. Head coach Joey McGuire's desire for the Red Raiders to perform better on the road was unfulfilled, Texas Tech lost a number of key players to injury throughout the game and lost star running back Tahj Brooks before kickoff.
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Texas Tech had four live-ball turnovers and another four on failed fourth-down conversions. The offense never found a rhythm and the defense wasn't able to keep John Mateer bottled up as the Cougars' quarterback ran for 197 yards.
Here's what else stood out in the game.
Sep 7, 2024; Pullman, Washington, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders wide receiver Caleb Douglas (5) is brought down by Washington State Cougars defensive back Jackson Lataimua (2) in the first half at Gesa Field at Martin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-Imagn Images
Sloppy, sloppy first half for Texas Tech football
The Red Raiders couldn't even possess the ball before their first giveaway. Washington State pooched the opening kickoff and recovered the fumble. Chapman Lewis came up with an interception to get the ball back to the Red Raiders.
It wasn't much better after that. Josh Kelly was stripped of the ball on a short pass route that the Cougars returned to the 2-yard line and scored one play later. Tech also failed to convert on a pair of fourth-and-short situations, one of which led to a 43-yard TD run from Wayshawn Parker on the very next play.
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Morton had a pass sail on him leading to an interception. The Cougars capitalized when Kyle Williams completed the tip drill for a 20-yard score in the final minutes of the first half.
In total, Texas Tech had three turnovers leading to 13 points (not including the failed fourth-down attempts) and were penalized six times for 55 yards in the first half.
Where did the Texas Tech football offense go?
Some can point to Brooks' absence being a major issue, and it's not minor, but that doesn't explain the ineptitude of the Texas Tech offense in the first half.
Texas Tech tried to work around Brooks being out by calling more passes. That didn't exactly work out very well. Morton completed just one pass that was more than 2 yards ahead of the line of scrimmage, and that went about six yards. Everything else was either at or behind the line on screen plays. Kelly and Caleb Douglas were able to turn some of those into big gains, but the majority were for minimal gains.
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Morton was 16 of 33 in the first half for 144 yards, averaging nine yards per completion. Take away the 62 yards on the plays broken by Douglas and Kelly (whose came on the final play of the first half), and Tech gained 82 yards on the other 14 completions (an average of 5.8 yards).
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This was a far cry from the offense that had a 300-yard passer, 100-yard rusher and 100-yard receiver against Abilene Christian.
Oh, and about those other running backs? They got a total of 11 carries for a total of 64 yards, an average of 5.8 yards per attempt. So, no, it wasn't Brooks' injured arm that plagued the offense.
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Drae McCray is being neutralized
Drae McCray was one of the best kick returners in the nation last year and averaged 55 yards per attempt against Abilene Christian . But McCray only got three such attempts because the Wildcats wised up and started kicking away from him.
Washington State must've gotten that memo as well. The pooched opening kickoff was just the first of the Cougars completely avoiding McCray, either kicking very short or bombing it out of the end zone.
Teams are most likely going to continue this trend to keep the ball out of McCray's hands in the open field. How will the Red Raiders adjust?
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Texas Tech still can't handle running quarterbacks
Doesn't matter who the head coach or defensive coordinator is, it seems. Texas Tech, try as it might, just can't handle a mobile quarterback.
Mateer needed only 13 carries to reach 117 yards after a 32-yard sprint all the way around the Red Raider defense extended Washington State's opening drive of the half. To compare, Mateer only had 15 pass attempts, completing seven, for 61 yards when he reached the century mark on the ground.
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Injuries and bad vibes piling up early in the season
Texas Tech started releasing an availability list every Monday and 45 minutes before each game. The list of players on the Monday list is usually longer than the Saturday one, and that will certainly be the case again this week.
In the third quarter alone, Texas Tech saw four different starters, two on each side of the ball, exit with injuries. Maurion Horn was able to return, but left guard Vinny Sciury had to be wheeled out. Left tackle Sterling Porcher and defensive tackle Quincy Ledet Jr. each headed to the locker room. Add in the already-out Brooks, plus a few other depth players on defense, and the ejection of Chapman Lewis for targeting in the first half, absent bodies are starting to stack up.
As are the bad vibes. After the Abilene Christian game, all fingers were pointed at the defense. Now those same fingers will be pointed at the offense, and the coaching staff as a whole. McGuire preached about Texas Tech's need to start the season on a better foot than previous years, about needing to win on the road and needing to play complimentary football. The Red Raiders accomplished none of these things against Washington State.
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Now what seemed like a very easy first five games of the season has seemingly become more difficult not because the opponents seem better than they did in early August, but because of how the Red Raiders have performed in the first two weeks.
Up next
Texas Tech starts a three-game homestand by hosting North Texas on Saturday. The game is scheduled to kick at 11 a.m. and air on FS1.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: How Texas Tech football fell hard at Washington State
