The Drive Chart is a look at each and every drive by both the Texas Tech offense and defense. Thoughts, comments and opinions appreciated.
TEXAS TECH DEFENSE
Drive #1
Carona, Donnie kickoff 70 yards to the EWU0, Nicholas Ramos return 27 yards to the EWU27 (Collier, Blake).
E 1-10 E27 Matt Nichols crossing pass intercepted by Duncan, Brian at the EWU30, Duncan, Brian return 0 yards to the EWU30 (Aaron Boyce).
--------------- 1 plays, 0 yards, TOP 00:11 ---------------
What a great way to start the game, even though it was off of a deflection, one of the things that this Texas Tech team has lacked was forcing turnovers, so I'll take them any way I can get them.
Drive #2
Carona, Donnie kickoff 68 yards to the EWU2, Nicholas Ramos return 20 yards to the EWU22 (Mitchem, F.).
E 1-10 E22 EASTERN WASHINGTON drive start at 12:43.
E 1-10 E22 Dale Morris rush for no gain to the EWU22 (Duncan, Brian).
E 2-10 E22 Matt Nichols pass incomplete to Brynsen Brown (Nickerson, B.).
E 3-10 E22 Matt Nichols pass incomplete to Brynsen Brown.
E 4-10 E22 Fritz Brayton punt 41 yards to the TT37, Morris, Eric return 0 yards to the TT37 (J.C. Sherritt).
--------------- 3 plays, 0 yards, TOP 00:57 ---------------
Again, very encouraging and nice to see Duncan get right back up and make a play stopping the run the very first play. From listening to the radio coverage, Nichols was having a tough time connecting with his receivers and it sounded like it took him some time to get into a groove. Nice to see Brent Nickerson with a pass break-up.
Drive #3
Carona, Donnie kickoff 64 yards to the EWU6, Nicholas Ramos return to the EWU26 (Sanders, DeShon), PENALTY TT offside (Collier, Blake) 5 yards to the TT25, NO PLAY.
--------------- 10 plays, 78 yards, TOP 03:14 ---------------
Carona, Donnie kickoff 70 yards to the EWU5, Nicholas Ramos return 18 yards to the EWU23 (Charbonnet, T.).
E 1-10 E23 EASTERN WASHINGTON drive start at 08:32.
E 1-10 E23 Matt Nichols middle pass complete to Matt Martin for 6 yards to the EWU29 (Duncan, Brian).
E 2-4 E29 Matt Nichols middle pass incomplete to Dale Morris (Williams, M.).
E 3-4 E29 Matt Nichols sideline pass incomplete to Brynsen Brown.
E 4-4 E29 Fritz Brayton punt 29 yards to the TT42, Morris, Eric return 1 yards to the TT43 (Nicholas Ramos).
--------------- 3 plays, 6 yards, TOP 00:58 ---------------
Nice to see DeShon Sanders make a contribution, even though it may be on special teams and T. Charbonnet is making plays on special teams (see other examples below). As stated above, it took a couple of series for Nichols to find his rhythm. First penalty on the defense with Collier offsides. In actuality, it didn't matter as on the 2nd kickoff, EWU returned the ball to the 23, and they would have been at the 25 without the penalty. Both M. Williams and B. Duncan right there to break up passes over the middle.
Drive #4
E 1-10 E17 EASTERN WASHINGTON drive start at 06:47.
E 1-10 E17 Dale Morris rush for 1 yard to the EWU18 (Jones, Richard), PENALTY TT face mask (Jones, Richard) 15 yards to the EWU33, 1ST DOWN EWU.
E 1-10 E33 1st and 10.
E 1-10 E33 Matt Nichols pass complete to Tony Davis for 4 yards to the EWU37 (Collier, Blake).
E 2-6 E37 Matt Nichols sideline pass complete to Tony Davis for 9 yards to the EWU46, 1ST DOWN EWU (Collier, Blake).
E 1-10 E46 Matt Nichols screen pass complete to Brynsen Brown for 3 yards to the EWU49 (Hunter, Victor).
E 2-7 E49 Matt Nichols sideline pass complete to Nathan Overbay for 4 yards to the TT47 (Wall, Jamar; McBath, Darcel).
E 3-3 T47 PENALTY EWU false start (Ryan Forney) 5 yards to the EWU48.
E 3-8 E48 Matt Nichols deep in pass incomplete to Nathan Overbay.
E 4-8 E48 Fritz Brayton punt 38 yards to the TT14, Morris, Eric return 6 yards to the TT20 (Adam Macomber), PENALTY TT holding (Britton, Edward) 10 yards to the TT10, 1st and 10, TT ball on TT10.
--------------- 6 plays, 31 yards, TOP 02:34 ---------------
Another good stand for the defense, this is the 4th excellent series for the defense, but this is the series where Nichols starts to find something, completing short passes for 4, 9, 3 and 4 yards before stalling out with a false-start penalty and eventually having to punt. I'm guessing that the 2nd defensive unit was playing this series as R. Jones, Hunter and Coller made plays during this drive. Of course the series began with a a penalty, 15 yard facemask on R. Jones, which accounted for almost 1/2 of EWU's yards on this drive, while Britton ends the drive by being called for a 10 yard penalty on the punt-return.
Drive #5
Carona, Donnie kickoff 66 yards to the EWU4, Nicholas Ramos return 15 yards to the EWU19 (Charbonnet, T.).
E 1-10 E19 EASTERN WASHINGTON drive start at 00:48.
E 1-10 E19 Matt Nichols sideline pass incomplete to Brynsen Brown.
E 2-10 E19 Dale Morris rush draw play for loss of 2 yards to the EWU17 (Ratliff, Jake).
========END OF 1st QUARTER=========
EASTERN WASHINGTON 0, TEXAS TECH 21
===================================
E 3-12 E17 Start of 2nd quarter, clock 15:00.
E 3-12 E17 Matt Nichols sideline pass incomplete to Brynsen Brown (Wall, Jamar).
E 4-12 E17 Fritz Brayton punt 52 yards to the TT31, Morris, Eric return 14 yards to the TT45 (Adam Macomber), PENALTY TT illegal block 10 yards to the TT35, 1st and 10, TT ball on TT35.
--------------- 3 plays, minus 2 yards, TOP 01:05 ---------------
T. Charbonnet with another special teams tackle. Ratliff makes a nice play for an EWU loss. Wall with a pass break-up as well. Another, penalty for an illegal block on the punt return.
Drive #6
E 1-G T07 EASTERN WASHINGTON drive start at 14:32.
E 1-G T07 Matt Nichols pass incomplete to A. Alexander (Bird, Bront).
E 2-G T07 Matt Nichols pass incomplete to Aaron Boyce, PENALTY TT roughing passer (Riley, Sandy) 4 yards to the TT3, 1ST DOWN EWU, NO PLAY.
E 1-G T03 A. Alexander rush draw play for 2 yards to the TT1 (Hines, Anthony).
E 2-G T01 A. Alexander rush for 1 yard to the TT0, TOUCHDOWN, clock 13:45, PENALTY TT offside declined.
Felipe Macias kick attempt good.
==EASTERN WASHINGTON 7, TEXAS TECH 21==
--------------- 3 plays, 7 yards, TOP 00:47 ---------------
EWU is on the Texas Tech 7 yard line because of a Harrell interception, while Sandy Riley doesn't help things with a roughing the passer penalty, which is probably in reaction to Harrell being knocked around a bit by EWU, giving EWU a 1st and goal from the Texas Tech 3, rather than 3rd and goal from the Texas Tech 7. The Red Raider offense and defense essentially gave EWU a touchdown. And for good measure, Texas Tech was offsides on the 1 yard touchdown run.
Drive #7
Carona, Donnie kickoff 69 yards to the EWU16, A.J. Jimerson return 14 yards to the EWU30 (Howard, Julius).
E 1-10 E30 EASTERN WASHINGTON drive start at 10:54.
E 1-10 E30 Matt Nichols screen pass complete to Dale Morris for 11 yards to the EWU41, 1ST DOWN EWU (Wall, Jamar;Williams, M.).
E 1-10 E41 Matt Nichols pass incomplete to Brynsen Brown.
E 2-10 E41 Matt Nichols sacked for loss of 7 yards to the EWU34 (Williams, M.).
E 3-17 E34 Matt Nichols middle pass complete to Nathan Overbay for 27 yards to the TT39, 1ST DOWN EWU (McBath, Darcel).
E 1-10 T39 Matt Nichols pass complete to Tony Davis for 1 yard to the TT38 (Wall, Jamar).
E 2-9 T38 Matt Nichols pass complete to Tony Davis for 15 yards to the TT23, 1ST DOWN EWU (Hines, Anthony).
E 1-10 T23 Timeout Texas Tech, clock 08:52.
E 1-10 T23 Matt Nichols pass incomplete to Nathan Overbay.
E 2-10 T23 Matt Nichols pass complete to Aaron Boyce for 1 yard to the TT22 (Hines, Anthony).
E 3-9 T22 Matt Nichols pass intercepted by Henley, Rajon at the TT21, Henley, Rajon return 12 yards to the TT33 (Matt Nichols).
--------------- 9 plays, 48 yards, TOP 02:55 ---------------
Nichols is really starting to move the ball in chunks here, so much so that Texas Tech calls a time out. The Red Raiders had EWU with a 3rd and 17 and Nichols completed a pass for 27 yards. That's unacceptable. Nichols then completed passes for 1 and 15 yards, hence the time out. EWU drove all the way to the Texas Tech 22 yard line before Nichols just threw the ball to Henley. Nice job by Henley to be able to catch the ball and then throw on top of the interception, a 12 yard return. Put this dude at fullback (I kid).
Drive #8
E 1-10 E46 EASTERN WASHINGTON drive start at 05:45.
E 1-10 E46 Matt Nichols rush for 6 yards to the TT48 (Bird, Bront).
E 2-4 T48 Matt Nichols pass complete to Nathan Overbay for 8 yards to the TT40, 1ST DOWN EWU (Bird, Bront).
E 1-10 T40 Dale Morris rush for 5 yards to the TT35 (Jones, Richard).
E 2-5 T35 Matt Nichols pass complete to Tony Davis for 11 yards to the TT24, 1ST DOWN EWU (McBath, Darcel;Charbonnet, D.).
E 1-10 T24 Matt Nichols pass complete to Brynsen Brown for 20 yards to the TT4, 1ST DOWN EWU (Nickerson, B.).
E 1-G T04 Dale Morris rush for 3 yards to the TT1 (Charbonnet, D.).
E 2-G T01 Matt Nichols rush quarterback sneak for 1 yard to the TT0, TOUCHDOWN, clock 02:44.
Felipe Macias kick attempt good.
==EASTERN WASHINGTON 14, TEXAS TECH 28 ==
--------------- 7 plays, 54 yards, TOP 03:01 ---------------
EWU started out at their own 46 due to another penalty. Again, pretty decdent size chunks. Nichols completes passes for 8, 11, and 20 yards and EWU did a good job of mixing the run and pass this drive. EWU was able to get the ball in the endzone in only two chances from Texas Tech's own 4.
Drive #9
E 1-10 E38 EASTERN WASHINGTON drive start at 01:09.
E 1-10 E38 Matt Nichols pass complete to Dale Morris for 11 yards to the EWU49, 1ST DOWN EWU (Williams, M.).
E 1-10 E49 Timeout Eastern Washington, clock 00:41.
E 1-10 E49 Matt Nichols pass complete to Brynsen Brown for 15 yards to the TT36, 1ST DOWN EWU (Nickerson, B.).
E 1-10 T36 Matt Nichols pass complete to Tony Davis for 5 yards to the TT31 (Nickerson, B.).
E 2-5 T31 PENALTY EWU false start (Ryan Forney) 5 yards to the TT36.
E 2-10 T36 Matt Nichols pass complete to Tony Davis for 5 yards to the TT31 (Rowland, Jordy).
E 3-5 T31 Timeout Eastern Washington, clock 00:17.
E 3-5 T31 Matt Nichols sacked for loss of 7 yards to the TT38 (Dixon, McKinner).
E 4-12 T38 Timeout Eastern Washington, clock 00:02.
E 4-12 T38 Felipe Macias field goal attempt from 55 GOOD, clock 00:00.
==EASTERN WASHINGTON 17, TEXAS TECH 28 ==
E 1-G E30 End of half, clock 00:00.
Drive #10
E 1-10 E03 EASTERN WASHINGTON drive start at 11:49.
E 1-10 E03 Dale Morris rush for 1 yard to the EWU4 (Henley, Rajon).
E 2-9 E04 Matt Nichols pass incomplete (Whitlock, Colby).
E 3-9 E04 Matt Nichols pass complete to Aaron Boyce for 9 yards to the EWU13, 1ST DOWN EWU (Wall, Jamar).
E 1-10 E13 Matt Nichols pass incomplete to Nathan Overbay (Charbonnet, D.).
E 2-10 E13 Matt Nichols pass incomplete to Aaron Boyce.
E 3-10 E13 Matt Nichols middle pass complete to Tony Davis for 9 yards to the EWU22 (Williams, M.).
E 4-1 E22 Fritz Brayton punt 43 yards to the TT35, Morris, Eric return 0 yards to the TT35, fumble by Morris, Eric recovered by EWU Nicholas Ramos at TT35.
--------------- 6 plays, 19 yards, TOP 01:38 ---------------
The defense showed up on this drive, with what appears to have been a battled down pass by Colby Whitlock and three incomplete passes by Nichols. The defense almost gave up another 3rd and long with a 9 yard completion, but the defense held and they deserve some credit for doing that. The bad part is that the EWU punt led to a Eric Morris punt return that was fumbled. Mental mistakes.
Drive #11
E 1-10 T35 EASTERN WASHINGTON drive start at 10:11.
E 1-10 T35 Matt Nichols pass incomplete to Aaron Boyce.
E 2-10 T35 Matt Nichols screen pass complete to Dale Morris for 14 yards to the TT21, 1ST DOWN EWU (Williams, M.).
E 1-10 T21 Matt Nichols deep out pass incomplete to Aaron Boyce.
E 2-10 T21 Matt Nichols sideline pass complete to Nathan Overbay for 3 yards to the TT18 (Bird, Bront).
E 3-7 T18 Matt Nichols sacked for loss of 12 yards to the TT30 (Williams, B.).
E 4-19 T30 Felipe Macias field goal attempt from 47 BLOCKED, recovered by TT Williams, M. at TT39 spot at TT39, clock 08:17 (blocked by Charbonnet, T.), Williams, M. for no gain to the TT39.
--------------- 6 plays, 5 yards, TOP 05:20 ---------------
EWU has excellent field position, at the Texas Tech 35. After an initial completion for 14 yards, the Texas Tech defense stepped up big time, with a nice stop by Bird for only a 3 yard gain, a B. Williams sack on Nichols for 12 yards and a blocked field goal by T. Charbonnet. Again, lots of praise here for guys MAKING PLAYS and blocking a punt.
Drive #12
Carona, Donnie kickoff 70 yards to the EWU0, A.J. Jimerson return 23 yards to the EWU23 (Rowland, Jordy).
E 1-10 E23 EASTERN WASHINGTON drive start at 04:51.
E 1-10 E23 Matt Nichols slant pass complete to Matt Martin for 3 yards to the EWU26 (Bird, Bront).
E 2-7 E26 Matt Nichols middle pass complete to Tony Davis for 6 yards to the EWU32 (Duncan, Brian).
E 3-1 E32 Toke Kefu rush for 3 yards to the EWU35, 1ST DOWN EWU (Dixon, McKinner).
E 1-10 E35 Matt Nichols pass incomplete to Aaron Boyce.
E 2-10 E35 Matt Nichols pass incomplete to Dale Morris.
E 3-10 E35 Matt Nichols pass incomplete to Brynsen Brown, PENALTY TT pass interference (Wall, Jamar) 15 yards to the 50 yardline, 1ST DOWN EWU, NO PLAY.
E 1-10 E50 Matt Nichols pass complete to Tony Davis for 10 yards to the TT40, 1ST DOWN EWU (Duncan, Brian).
E 1-10 T40 Matt Nichols pass complete to Aaron Boyce for 2 yards to the TT38 (Wall, Jamar).
E 2-8 T38 Matt Nichols pass complete to Tony Davis for 5 yards to the TT33 (Duncan, Brian).
E 3-3 T33 Dale Morris rush for 2 yards to the TT31 (Charbonnet, D.).
E 4-1 T31 Matt Nichols rush quarterback sneak for 1 yard to the TT30, 1ST DOWN EWU (Hunter, Victor).
E 1-10 T30 Matt Nichols pass complete to Tony Davis for 30 yards to the TT0, 1ST DOWN EWU, TOUCHDOWN, clock 00:21.
Felipe Macias kick attempt good.
==EASTERN WASHINGTON 24, TEXAS TECH 35 ==
--------------- 11 plays, 77 yards, TOP 04:30 ---------------
Another solid drive by EWU, more of the dink and dunk variety rather than the big plays of the previous drives. The killer in this drive was a pass interference penalty on Wall, which got EWU out of a 3rd and 10 situation. After than, Nichols marched EWU down the field, even converted a 4th down. Notice that Duncan is making a couple of stops as it was apparent that EWU was exploiting the linebackers here. The big killer was a 30 yard completion, again, I think on Wall. This was not an inspired defensive effort.
Drive #13
Carona, Donnie kickoff 66 yards to the EWU4, A.J. Jimerson return 16 yards to the EWU20 (Fuller, Lance).
E 1-10 E20 EASTERN WASHINGTON drive start at 12:20.
E 1-10 E20 Matt Nichols pass complete to Tony Davis for 4 yards to the EWU24 (Williams, M.).
E 2-6 E24 Matt Nichols pass intercepted by Charbonnet, D. at the EWU43, Charbonnet, D. return 17 yards to the EWU26 (Nathan Overbay).
--------------- 2 plays, 4 yards, TOP 00:39 ---------------
Another turnover by Texas Tech and the Charbonnet brothers are making plays all over the field. Great to see DCharbonnet make this play. Really wish the Red Raiders could have converted this into points (subsequent drivewas where EWU blocked the Carona kick).
Drive #14
E 1-10 E30 Matt Nichols pass complete to Dale Morris for 18 yards to the EWU48, 1ST DOWN EWU (Williams, M.).
E 1-10 E48 Matt Nichols pass complete to Nathan Overbay for 19 yards to the TT33, 1ST DOWN EWU (Charbonnet, D.).
E 1-10 T33 Matt Nichols rush for 5 yards to the TT28 (Wall, Jamar). E 2-5 T28 Dale Morris rush for 6 yards to the TT22, 1ST DOWN EWU (Riley, Sandy).
E 1-10 T22 Matt Nichols pass complete to Brynsen Brown for 7 yards to the TT15 (Nickerson, B.).
E 2-3 T15 Matt Nichols deep out pass incomplete to Aaron Boyce.
E 3-3 T15 Dale Morris rush for 1 yard to the TT14 (Duncan, Brian).
E 4-2 T14 Matt Nichols pass incomplete to Nathan Overbay (Duncan, Brian).
--------------- 8 plays, 56 yards, TOP 00:00 ---------------
EWU gets the ball at their own 30 after blocking the Carona field goal attempt and other than 18 and 19 yard completions to start the series, the Texas Tech defense clamped down in EWU's last set of downs. Texas Tech held on 2nd, 3rd and 4th downs with Brian Duncan making 2 of the 3 plays. Congrats to Duncan, who had an outstanding game.
Drive #15
E 1-10 E30 EASTERN WASHINGTON drive start at 06:22.
E 1-10 E30 Matt Nichols pass incomplete to Tony Davis (Duncan, Brian).
E 2-10 E30 Matt Nichols pass complete to Brynsen Brown for 15 yards to the EWU45, 1ST DOWN EWU (Wall, Jamar;Charbonnet, D.).
E 1-10 E45 Matt Nichols pass complete to Brynsen Brown for 6 yards to the TT49 (Wall, Jamar).
E 2-4 T49 Matt Nichols pass complete to Brynsen Brown for 7 yards to the TT42, 1ST DOWN EWU (Bird, Bront).
E 1-10 T42 Matt Nichols screen pass complete to Dale Morris for 3 yards to the TT39 (Nickerson, B.).
E 2-7 T39 Timeout Eastern Washington, clock 04:13.
E 2-7 T39 Timeout Texas Tech, clock 06:28.
E 2-7 T39 Timeout Texas Tech, clock 10:38.
E 2-7 T39 PENALTY EWU false start (Brice Leahy) 5 yards to the TT44.
E 2-12 T44 Matt Nichols pass complete to Aaron Boyce for 16 yards to the TT28 (Hines, Anthony), PENALTY EWU holding (Chris Thomas) 10 yards to the EWU46, NO PLAY.
E 2-22 E46 Matt Nichols pass complete to Brynsen Brown for 9 yards to the TT45 (Rowland, Jordy).
E 3-13 T45 Matt Nichols pass incomplete to Brynsen Brown.
E 4-13 T45 Timeout Eastern Washington, clock 03:02.
E 4-13 T45 Matt Nichols pass incomplete to Aaron Boyce.
--------------- 8 plays, 25 yards, TOP 03:25 ---------------
Chunks of yards, again to start the drive, apparently picking on Wall a bit. Not sure why there were 3 timeouts taken right in a row, but after those timeouts, EWU promptly committed two penalties, setting them back to 2nd and 22 and having to go for it on 4th and 13 to stay in the game.
Drive #16
Carona, Donnie kickoff 64 yards to the EWU6, A.J. Jimerson return 19 yards to the EWU25 (Richardson, P.).
E 1-10 E25 EASTERN WASHINGTON drive start at 02:08.
E 1-10 E25 Tyler Hart rush for 9 yards to the EWU34 (McBath, Darcel).
E 2-1 E34 Tyler Hart rush for 5 yards to the EWU39, 1ST DOWN EWU (McBath, Darcel).
E 1-10 E39 Alex Smart pass complete to Ashton Gant for 7 yards to the EWU46 (Nickerson, B.).
E 2-3 E46 Alex Smart pass complete to J.T. Leggin for loss of 1 yard to the EWU45 (Wall, Jamar).
E 3-4 E45 Tyler Hart rush for loss of 1 yard to the EWU44 (Rowland, Jordy).
E 4-5 E44 End of game, clock 00:00.
--------------- 5 plays, 19 yards, TOP 02:08 ---------------
Last drive of the game and Nichols had been replaced by Alex Smart. EWU had conceded but Texas Tech had not as it appears that most of the starters were on the field, or at least the starters for the dime package. Not much to see as EWU ran out of time.