The Red Raider offense needed to respond after a terrible game vs. West Virginia and they did. Patrick Mahomes broke and tied NCAA records and the receivers came ready to play. However, the offensive line and the running backs showed little improvement.
Overall Grade: B-
Mahomes had his best game statistically as Texas Tech's starting quarterback. He broke one and tied two NCAA records. Tech's receivers benefited from Mahomes record-breaking night as Jonathan Giles and Keke Coutee continued to thrive as his favorite targets. My grade would've been higher had the offensive line and the running backs played better.
Quarterback Grade: A
Patrick Mahomes played his best game at Texas Tech on Saturday, even though he thought he could've played better. He completed 52 of 88 passes for 734 yards, threw five touchdowns and ran for two more. Now listen to this. He broke the NCAA record for most total yards in a game with 819. He also tied the FBS record for passing yards and missed the FBS record for pass attempts by one. This game proved to me that Mahomes is one of the best QBs in all of college football and the nation is starting to take notice. The only reason I could not give him an A+ is he had one interception that was an underthrow by the endzone that could've made a difference in the game had he thrown it for a touchdown. Other than that one blemish, he had an unbelievable game and I got a great feeling there will be more to come!
Running Backs Grade: C
I don't want to criticize this group too much because it was clear Mahomes was on a hot streak all game and Kingsbury wanted to keep him going. Yet again, Mahomes was Tech's leading rusher with 85 yards on 12 carries. Freshman Da'Leon Ward got the most carries out of all the backs and he did take advantage of those chances as best he could. He had 31 yards on seven carries and a rushing touchdown. The grades I give to the running backs for the rest of the season might stay consistent in the "D" or "C" range since Kingsbury so far this year shows little interest in establishing the running game with an absolute stud at quarterback.
Wide Receivers Grade: B+
As he had done all season, Mahomes did a great job of spreading the ball around as eight different receivers recorded a catch. Coutee and Giles were the two that stood out as both had ten catches. Coutee had 172 yards and one touchdown while Giles had 167 yards and two touchdowns. Cameron Batson and Reginald Davis also had a touchdown of their own. Even without Derrick Willies and Dylan Cantrell, this group still played very well and contributed heavily to Mahomes' record-setting performance.
Offensive Line Grade: C-
This group played slightly better than last week, but still could use a lot of improvement. Mahomes was only sacked once, but the protection broke down on several occasions. I have nothing against Mahomes trying to improvise and make plays while running for his life, but I would like to see the line block better for longer periods of time when he drops back. The biggest knock I have on this group is the countless penalties. How many times am I going to say that the rest of this season? Several big plays and a few touchdowns were called back due to penalties. Had just a few of those penalties not happened, Tech would've had a chance to win. I hope to see improvement as these players age during their time in the program, but I don't expect to see much improvement for the rest of this year.
Patrick Mahomes and his stable of receivers were Texas Tech's offense against #16 Oklahoma. They did the best they could with almost no help from the defense and only lost by six. It seems like the offense has their confidence back after their terrible outing a week ago. If they can put up this kind of effort against teams left on their schedule like TCU, Oklahoma State, and Texas, the Red Raiders will have a good chance to win if their defense can make a few stops.
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