Double-T Nation News:
Since RaiderAde and I were both doing previews at the same time, I thought there was no point in duplicating what was essentially the same thing, so make sure and take in ayleein's preview of K-State.
I'll add my two cents here, which is I have no idea what to expect from a team adding 19 JUCO players, that's a lot of talent to add that should play immediately and then know how it's going play out for your team. Just a ton of variables. For instance, there were three JUCO signees in the 2007 class for Texas Tech, DeShon Sanders, Daniel Howard and Brandon Sharpe. We haven't seen Sanders and Sharpe play hardly at all, which means that they've got this year to prove that they're going to contribute something to this team. I think K-State faces a similar problem, but on a greater scale. Will Prince feel pressure to play these guys? Are they actually ready to contribute, physically? Etc.
Texas Tech Football:
At the end of this interview with Sonny Cumbie, Fox34's Jarrod Edwards mentions that SMU dropped Texas Tech from the schedule next season (still playing this year), which means that Texas Tech is going to have to find a replacement. At least SMU is giving Texas Tech plenty of time to find a quality replacement.
Fox34 is taking a look at Five Ways to Ten Wins for Texas Tech. The shortened version of the first two ways are as follows:
- Improve 3rd down conversion rate on defense, i.e. stop teams on 3rd down.
- Detron Lewis must be a playmaker on offense.
Although these guys have yet to reveal their other reasons, I hope one of the keys is for Texas Tech to quite simply stop the run. I'm sure that stopping opponents on 3rd downs includes doing a better job of stopping the run, but I think that if McNeill and some of those guys along the line can figure out a way to limit opponents running the ball then I think this defense improves quite a bit.
I'd also agree with the Detron Lewis issue, but would prefer to say that it just needs to be someone who steps up and fills the play maker void. Whether that be Britton, Walker, Lewis, or anyone else, someone has got to step-up for this offense to be great.
Mack Brown v. Captain Leach makes #18 of Coaches Hot Seat Blog's list of 25 Coaching Match-Ups that Coaches Hot Seat Will Pay to See in 2008:
18. Mack Brown vs. Mike LeachTexas at Texas Tech
November 1, 2008 – Lubbock, Texas
After the Texas-Texas Tech game in ’07 a frustrated Mike Leach got off several great lines when talking about some shaky calls from the video booth and the officiating in the game: Watch the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdKEWZP7nrE. Don’t think for a second that Leach want remember that ’07 game against Texas when the Longhorns come calling in Lubbock on November 1. Let’s just hope those Big 12 officials don’t miss any calls in this year’s game….. The winner is…..
CHS Winner: Mike Leach and the Texas Tech Red Raiders