Texas Tech Narrowly Defeats Winless Jayhawks – Recap and Thoughts

Photo CC: John E. Moore III/Getty Images

Anyone who listened to Erik Ezukanma’s post-game knows how he feels. And he’s not wrong…

Ezukanma has progressed into an All-Big 12 receiver this year and deserves to speak after his lack of use, posting only 2 catches for 20 yards. You can tell from his demeanor and words that he was not happy with the play calling. I am sure he’s not the only player that feels that way.

So, Kansas get any worse? It just did in a big way.

I want to reiterate stats that speak for themselves. Against one of the worst teams in the country, third down’s prevail (again) as a perennial choice for evaluation purposes. Going three of fifteen on third downs versus Kansas is more than atrocious, it’s humiliating. Every fan should be sickened with Yost’s 2019 offensive impotence. If you were watching the Iowa State game, you heard the commentator use that word to describe Tech’s offensive woes, going 0-10 on third downs.

Let’s review third downs for the last time this season –

Houston Baptist (10-15)

Texas (8-16)

Kansas State (9-18)

Iowa State (0-10)

West Virginia (8-16)

Oklahoma (4-11)

TCU (3-16)

Baylor (6-16)

Oklahoma State (4-16)

Kansas (3-15)

That would be 36% from third downs for the season. In half of the games this season, the Red Raiders had four or fewer third down conversions. Say that previous sentence a few times. Bet you get more irritated. Not only that, but in the last five games of the season, Yost posted a whopping 27% on third, ending with 3-15 vs Kansas at home. This is not progress, its failing.

Play Calling  

If you were watching the game, you might have seen a few drives with some interesting play calling, where it looked like the same play getting called over and over. Now it might have been a different type of run play, but my eyes saw Tech run at the same exact hole, on the right side of line three straight times. This happened on multiple drives. This happened not only during the Kansas game but also during Oklahoma State. Running the same plays over and over is what video gamers do, not college OCs. 

Myles Price running it in on a 70 yard reverse for a TD –

Sure, it’s a great run by Price. But at the time of the touchdown, Tech’s offense was struggling mightily with its play selection and seemed to use this as its only viable choice. It was as if Texas Tech’s offense had nothing else planned. Thankfully, Price maximized his opportunity for the score. Again, great run by Myles. But it was only the first quarter, and the offense already seemed very desperate. Did you feel that too? Bet you did.

The Good

If anyone deserves any praise it’s Xavier White, who posted a season-high of 135 yards on 14 carries, averaging 9.6, but yielding two fumbles. White has battled nagging injuries over the season, but his performance on the ground should give you a nice glimpse of what he will add to the possible running back by committee with Thompson and Brooks.

The Bad

Alan Bowman had what looks to be the worst game of his Red Raider career, going 15/26 for 117 yards, zero touchdowns, one int, giving him a 26.1 QBR. Is this the last we will see of Alan Bowman? With the transfer portal the way it is, never rule it out.

The Mixed Bag of Good and Bad 

Keith Patterson’s temp-HC stint saw his defense hold Kansas to 214 total yards (102 passing, 112 rushing), a season-low. Remember Kansas running back Hishaw? Yeah, he’s actually the third-string running back, and he got 87 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. Oklahoma St’s third-string was one thing, but Kansas? Sheesh…

Nevertheless, Patterson has been the gem of the season and should continue to as part of the staff moving forward. The Tech Program should do everything in its power to retain him.

BIG TAKES

Regardless of the circumstances of the season, there has to be a level of football ethics that alums and fans need to keep to. What was seen at the Jones was flat out unacceptable. In my time as a fan, this is the first that I have been speechless. If you haven’t had deja-vu throughout the season, you turned games off early (don’t blame you).

It is unanimous among everyone @GUNSUPNATION that Yost should be fired. The game versus Kansas needed to have been a blowout with an offensive explosion (generated by Yost) that hasn’t been seen all season. Against one of the worst teams in the country, Texas Tech looked worse, even with the win.

This is an all-time low for Texas Tech football, posting a losing record for five straight years. Sure there has been a coaching change, but since that change the offensive production has plummeted, especially in 2020. Even with Kingsbury only posting one winning season out of six, he still maintained a very high powered offense. Kingsbury looks pretty good right about now.

As the team moves forward, Coach Wells knows that his players are not happy. There have also been rumors about players talking about leaving unless changes are made. Wells knows that he needs to make a move now. Expect Yost to be fired at the beginning of the week. Anything less should warrant more consideration for Wells’ removal. 

Fact to end this take with – Changes are coming.

Some additional opinions from writers at  @GUNSUPNATION –

Andrew McCleary: The offense was flatter than the Lubbock horizon. One week after exploding against a quality defense on the road, this was a very disappointing effort both out of the players and the play calling. Too many times, the play calls, especially on 3rd down, Tech made it clear they were more than content to settle for a field goal attempt against one of the worst defenses in all of FBS football. It was great to see the seniors get a win in their last game at the Jones, but a team that beat Houston Baptist and Kansas by a combined 6 points have underachieved offensively in all but 2 games this season. Fire Yost.

Trent Wycoff: After yet another display of offensive ineptitude, it is impossible to defend David Yost, and arguably Matt Wells and Alan Bowman as well. The skill-position talent is simply too good to struggle so mightily to score against Kansas at home. The offense is predictable and far too often ineffectual.  It is difficult to think that this effort would have been enough for a win against any quality opponent, so Tech was arguably lucky to face one of the precious few worse P5 teams. This is a conference in which an inability to score points almost directly translates to losses, so there is little reason for optimism going forward with things the way they are. Changes should be made and likely will be.

Coby Mote (Graphic Designer): Disappointed, but not surprised.

RC Maxfield: As many Tech fans have expressed their frustration with the offense in virtually every game in 2020, the Kansas game was the preverbal final straw. The offense and its vast inefficiency showed their ugly head against the Jayhawks in ways unseen even in a season where the Red Raiders were the epitome of predictable and not in a good way. The KU performance made the voices calling for offensive coordinator David Yost’s job and to some degree head coach, Matt Wells’ job evolved into roars. Changes need to be made on the offensive side of the football at the very least. With the offseason officially underway, those rumors mentioned above will continue to roar until the predictable offense is addressed. Those issues that need to be addressed may happen sooner rather than later.

Got an opinion? Agree? Disagree? Drop a comment below and follow @GUNSUPNATION for all your Texas Tech sports news!