Red Raider Gridiron: Terrific Running Game; RIP Guy Griffis; Doege to Start

Terrific Running Game. The LAJ with a nice look at why the running game has been so good and as you might imagine, offensive line coach Lee Hays gives credit to Davis Webb and DeAndre Washington for making the correct reads:

"I think anytime we have success running the ball, it's really a group effort, and that's not coach-speak," Hays said Tuesday. "It's the quarterback seeing the check. Davis (Webb) does an unbelievable job checking into the right run to the right look, the line knows their assignment, and then the backs have done a great job with their reads - really, really hitting some stuff.

"Dre (Washington) was on fire that Oklahoma State game."

Eric Morris credits the offensive line and the work Hays has done on the line, which has been really fantastic.

Five Things. DMN's Tommy Magelssen writes five things you need to know about Kansas State:

1. Back to fundamentals: Kansas State leads the league in average time-of-possession per game (31 minutes, 20 seconds), and it will try to limit Texas Tech's series like Arkansas did in the Hogs' 49-28 victory over the Red Raiders. Look for running back Charles Jones and quarterback Jake Waters to run as much as they can on Saturday. The Wildcats got away from their efficient style of football in a 20-14 loss to Auburn two weeks ago, where turnovers and missed field goals essentially cost them the game, but K-State bounced back last week in a rout of UTEP - the same Miners team Texas Tech barely beat, 30-26.

RIP Guy Griffis. Think good thoughts for the family of former Texas Tech footballer Guy Griffis, who passed away yesterday:

Guy Griffis came to Texas Tech to play football in the 1960s, not knowing how much the place would grow on him and that he'd become one of the Red Raiders' biggest fans.

An all-purpose player, Griffis was a safety, a quarterback and a punt-return man during the Donny Anderson era. Five decades later, he was still in Lubbock spending Saturdays at Jones AT&T Stadium.

Before Griffis went in for surgery this summer, he made one request to his friend and former teammate Clyde Windom.

"He said, ‘If something happens to me, I want to be buried in the same clothes I wear to the Texas Tech game,'" Windom said. "I'm in the boot business. I got him a brand-new pair today. He's going to be buried in some brand-new boots."

Don't Hold Back. Good stuff from the Kansas City Star on Texas Tech and how head coach Kliff Kingsbury is searching for answers:

Kingsbury doesn't want his team to hold anything back.

One thing that separates him from other head coaches is his youth. At 35, he can relate to his players in ways others cannot. He talks to them about music and dating, and that helps him guide them on the field. Time will tell how the remainder of the season, and Kingsbury's career, will play out, but for now his players believe in his message.

Doege to Start for Saskatchewan. Former Texas Tech footballer and current player man for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Seth Doege, is expected to start Friday night against the Calgary Stampeders:

"It will be no problem for him in a stadium like this," Allen said with a chuckle after it was announced Wednesday Doege had supplanted Tino Sunseri as the starter. "This stadium is probably the size of his stadium in high school." Doege knows about being in the spotlight as a high school and collegiate quarterback in Texas. After graduating from high school, he was a quarterback with the Texas Tech University Red Raiders. Doege signed with the Riders during the off-season after spending a year on the practice roster of the NFL's Atlanta Falcons. Doege, who wasn't made available to the media Wednesday, said earlier this week Saskatchewan football reminded him of Texas.

Miscellaneous. FoxSports David Ubben is predicting all of the Big 12 games, including Texas Tech at Kansas State . . . a nice Big 12 notebook from the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram . . .