The Texas Tech football team's 53-25 rout of Arizona State on Oct. 17 temporarily tamped down discontent. Good for the Red Raiders, bad for the weekly Tech football Q&A. No need to vent over 28-point victories.
So I called an audible and answered a question many have been asking lately: Why is the NCAA fighting so many fifth-year eligibility cases in court?
This week, it's back to business as usual. The Red Raiders were 37-24 losers on Saturday, Oct. 24, at Cincinnati, so in came the questions. Too many questions to do justice to, in fact. My apologies if I didn't get to yours. I'll try to circle back next week.
iceberg?
Q: Is this the game that motivates Tech for the rest of the season? — Drew
DW: Hey, Drew. I don't think motivation is an issue as much as this team just being not that great. I thought at the beginning of the season, due to the watered-down Big 12, there was no team on the regular-season schedule the Red Raiders couldn't beat. It's become apparent, though, that they aren't good enough to run the table. Thus, I've written recently they probably had a loss or two coming.
Saturday was eyebrow-raising, though, in that Tech gave up 255 rushing yards, most against a Shiel Wood-coached defense in 50 games — since Army rushed for 279 yards in a 2022 game against Wood's unit at Troy. Tech's four-game stretch that started with Cincinnati consists of teams that are top 10 in the FBS in rushing offense (Cincinnati and West Virginia) or passing offense (Arizona and Oklahoma State). If Tech couldn't stop the Bearcats from doing what they do best, how confident can you be against the next three?
Q: Would like to know the head coach's reaction to Cody Campbell’s tweet. — DCS
DW: For those who missed it, Tech Regents chairman Cody Campbell posted after the game, "There is no excuse or reason to lose a game like this. We have to be better." He tagged the Texas Tech football account.
I didn't think to ask about this on Monday, but I expect Joey McGuire agreed with the sentiment and probably didn't mind the delivery method.
Q: Don, what was the Nippert Stadium atmosphere like? It sure looked like a raucous crowd on TV. Also, it seems like Cincy had the right ingredients to pull off an upset. What say you? — John
DW: Pretty much as you described, John. It's a small stadium — listed capacity and announced crowd both 38,088. The location (middle of campus, surrounded by some tall buildings) and design might give visitors a claustrophobic feel. So my sense is it maximizes crowd noise pretty well.
Then mix in that Tech's was an anticipated arrival, Brendan Sorsby or no Brendan Sorsby, and the Bearcats both ran and threw the ball effectively, so the crowd for its 100th homecoming stayed involved.
Q: Please ask Joey when we’re going to start to see Tech up 40 and still throwing in the end zone at the end of games. Also when is the offense line going to be able to run so that we don’t need to throw the ball. — Bruce
DW: I told Joey McGuire after the fourth game that people were getting impatient to see their team with a 40-point lead in the fourth quarter and still throwing, another check written by one C. Campbell for him to cash.
"Me, too," McGuire said. "If we can clean up the first half, then we should get to it fairly easily. But until we play a clean a game, it's going to be tough."
McGuire has sort of distanced himself from the up-40/still-throwing promise by saying it's not the same team without Sorsby and that the vow was directed at only a few specific opponents who were publicly critical of Tech's handling of the Sorsby matter.
Tech is still in or near the top quarter of the FBS' 138 teams in rushing offense (tied for 36th), yards per carry (35th) and rushing touchdowns (24th). Those numbers surprised me when I looked them up, so the run game isn't as troubled as people are making it out to be. I agree, however, it's less than expected based on the breakout seasons Cameron Dickey and J'Koby Williams had last year.
With the passing-game struggles, established running backs need to carry the load. Having Dickey back this week ought to help.
Q: When will Mack stop being so conservative in play calling to open the game? Only a few deep balls on one of the worst passing defenses in FBS? We always get the apology tour "I should have called more shots" well WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO CALL THEM? — Ramblin' Wino
DW: I don't think they have a lot of confidence in making deep throws at the moment, at least in terms of having a good chance of success. On Monday after the Cincinnati game, offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich said there was nothing wrong with Hammond's arm.
"That's just something we're working through is his deep-ball feel and accuracy, something that we've been really trying to focus on all season and improve where we can," Leftwich said. "There's been times where he's thrown some great — perfect, in stride, right where you want a deep ball. Just making it more consistent is something we're working to get better at."
Q: What is the reason for ineffective quarterback play this year: execution, scheme, or coaching? — Oldschool
DW: Will Hammond's missing nine months recovering from knee surgery, having only two returning receivers with whom he's played a lot (Coy Eakin and Terrance Carter Jr.) and starting from scratch in August with a bunch of others. That he's not had much success the first seven weeks also seems to have made him indecisive and taken a toll on his confidence, which he's previously seemed to show in abundance.
And Mack Leftwich hasn't been able to coach him back up to pre-injury form.
Q: Ask Coach his plan going forward to develop QBs to be future stars instead of trusting the open market. This is still Sorsby fallout. — Greg
DW: I agree to the extent the offense has struggled, a big reason is because Tech spent all winter and spring planning for and practicing with one quarterback and it never materialized. That forced the Red Raiders to rush back Hammond, who more or less began in August training with mostly new receivers.
I think McGuire and his staff do want to develop QBs to be future stars — they've invested a lot of time and resources in Hammond, who was a high-school signee, and want to do the same with Kavian Bryant, the national top-100 recruit from Palestine Westwood.
However, they're going look to land the player who gives the Red Raiders the best chance to win now. With their financial resources, the landscape of college football and Tech's place in it, I can't blame them.
Q: Who should be the starting QB next week? — DWS
DW: Hammond's last in the Big 12 in touchdown passes with 6 and tied for second in interceptions with 6. Going with Thomas Castellanos means reconfiguring the offense on the fly to his strengths, the QB run game. Midway through the season. With a player who arrived in late August and, thus, is way behind in facilitating continuity. Tech's usage of him says as much, given that he's been used almost exclusively as a low red-zone — not even red zone; low red zone — package player.
I understand the sentiment that something has to change. I just don't think there's an obvious great option.
Q: Dirk West needs to draw a cartoon with Tech heading back to Lubbock with tail between their legs. — Allan
DW: Funny you should mention this, Allan. I was just pining for the late Dirk West myself last week. With the hubbub about the Texas Longhorns and their new Bevo Lab AI platform, I envisioned a Dirk cartoon with Steve Sarkisian at a big IBM mainframe computer. It would have a sign with "Dr. Sark's Super Compooter" or somesuch. There would be a Bunsen burner, a beaker and some test tubes scattered around. Dirk would've had a field day with that story.
Tech's loss at Cincinnati would have, as you know, resulted in the first bullet hole of the season in Raider Red's hat.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Making sense of a no-show at Cincy | Texas Tech football Q&A
