10 Thoughts On Texas Tech - Iowa State

1. I love starting fast

Settling for a field goal on the first drive kinda sucked, but that Tevin Madison pick and the subsequent 30 second drive were very nice. I love the way we get after whoever we're playing from the very beginning.

2. There must have been an emphasis on downfield blocking this week

Even without Devin Lauderdale, crackback blocker extraordinaire, the Red Raiders blocked excellently today. It started at the opening whistle and didn't stop until the last one.

3. The defense has to stop playing as individuals and play as a unit

I hate using coach speak in analysis, but this is just Football 101. It seems like we have every single person trying to get to the ball as an individual instead of setting up our teammates for success. DL has to stay in position and let the LBs mop up runs. LBs have to hit gaps hard.

4. Patrick Mahomes is the best QB in the country at scrambling.

I don't care if this is a hot take. It's just true at this point. No one in the country can do what he does consistently. Every week he does something else that just leaves you breathless.

5. I had completely forgotten how fast we are in the open field.

Jakeem Grant and DeAndre Washington absolutely carved ISU up in the open field. When you play teams like Baylor and TCU who can match you in speed, it's easy to forget how fast you actually are. When we got the ball to anyone with 5 yards of space, they were gone, no questions asked.

6. Despite struggling early, the defense stepped up.

Gary Moore had a key sack, and the Red Raider defense did just enough to hold Iowa State back.

7. Iowa State was 11th in the nation in sacks, and they didn't sack Patrick Mahomes once.

This is a good stat. Mahomes has only been sacked once this season. Our Offensive Line is spectacular.

8. While playing very well on the run, Mahomes is looking a little inconsistent from the pocket.

He's much better when he improvises. No one can do what he does on scrambles, yes. But on the off chance he gets contained, we might see a much different Mahomes.

9. I love seeing the young guys get playing time.

We're rolling in a lot of young guys on offense and defense. I don't think I need to remind y'all that this is still a very young team, particularly in the secondary and at WR. The trial by fire is going to pay off.

10. This was a good win, but not a great one.

I expected our defense to step up and show me more than they showed me today. We ranged from serviceable to pretty bad. I still don't think we're playing to our potential on the defensive side of the ball. We've got to be better if we want to take the next step from a pretty good program to a good or great one.