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10 takeaways from the wild 2018 Tech football season

Let’s just say this season turned out a WHOLE LOT DIFFERENTLY than our staff originally expected.

By Zach Mason
NCAA Football: Texas Tech at Iowa State Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports

The 2018 Texas Tech football season was about as unpredictable as it could get.

Who would’ve thought Alan Bowman, who many expected to be the third-string quarterback heading into the year, would take over for an injured McClane Carter and lead the team in passing?

Having said that, who could have conceivably guessed Jett Duffey, the other backup quarterback, would end up leading the entire team in rushing? Seriously, this season was wild.

Here’s a look at the results from our preseason predictions:

VTM Staff Predictions

Staff member Predicted regular season record Best win Worst loss Leading passer Leading rusher Leading WR Top tackler Most sacks Bowl game? Bowl win? (n/a) KK returns? Total correct
Staff member Predicted regular season record Best win Worst loss Leading passer Leading rusher Leading WR Top tackler Most sacks Bowl game? Bowl win? (n/a) KK returns? Total correct
Zach Mason 5-7 Houston @ TCU M. Carter D. Ward T. Vasher J. Brooks E. Howard No No No 4
Andrea Cornaglia 5-7 Ole Miss Oklahoma M. Carter D. Ward J. High D. Allen E. Howard No No No 3
Jeramey Gillilan 8-4 Oklahoma @ TCU A. Bowman T. King T. Vasher D. Allen B. Washington Yes Yes No 2
Liz Rodriguez 6-6 Ole Miss Oklahoma A. Bowman T. King T. Vasher D. Allen E. Howard Yes Yes No 2
Albie Shore 6-6 Houston WVU M. Carter D. Ward T. Vasher D. Allen E. Howard Yes Yes No 1
Emory Lyda 7-5 West Virginia @Iowa State M. Carter D. Ward D. Bowman D. Allen K. Hill Yes Yes Yes 1
Michael Macon 8-4 Oklahoma State WVU M. Carter T. King T. Vasher D. Allen E. Howard Yes Yes Yes 1
Casey Montalvo 8-4 Ole Miss WVU M. Carter T. King T. Vasher D. Allen Kolin Hill Yes No Yes 1
Jacob Harris 7-5 @TCU Oklahoma M. Carter D. Ward T. Vasher D. Allen E. Howard Yes No No 1
Tyler Dipprey 8-4 Oklahoma WVU M. Carter D. Ward T. Vasher D. Allen E. Howard Yes Yes Yes 0
Dylan Smyth 7-5 Texas @TCU M. Carter T. King T. Vasher D. Allen E. Howard Yes No Yes 0
Michael Canipe 6-6 West Virginia Oklahoma M. Carter D. Ward T. Vasher D. Allen T. Jones Yes No Yes 0
Correct answers 5-7 Oklahoma State Ole Miss Alan Bowman Jett Duffey Antoine Wesley Jordyn Brooks Kollin Hill No n/a No

As you can see, it was I, the leader of this cohort, who eeked out a victory with four accurate predictions on the season. That’s really not saying much, but I’ll take it.

10 key takeaways:

  1. No one thought Antoine Wesley would lead the team in receiving
  2. Jett Duffey leading the team in rushing is just sad. He only tallied 369 yards on the season. Not having a 1,000 yard rusher is fine, but failing to have a running back even account for 400 yards is pathetic. Also sad: Duffey was also responsible for the team’s longest run of the year...WHICH ONLY WENT FOR 38 YARDS.
  3. Hey, shoutout to Kollin Hill for surprising everyone with his team-leading five QB sacks
  4. I said all along, Dakota Allen is the better player but he won’t record more tackles than Jordyn Brooks. I was right.
  5. No one predicted the 20-point beatdown at the hands of Ole Miss would be our worst loss of the season
  6. Only one person predicted Oklahoma State would be Tech’s best win (they were ranked No. 15 when Tech beat them on the road)
  7. Only two people correctly predicted our season record, and those two people finished first and second in the rankings.
  8. Like many Tech fans, our staff was split on whether or not Kliff Kingsbury would retain his job.
  9. TJ Vasher was a disappointment, finishing with just 687 receiving yards - third place on the team.
  10. The worst prediction of all was Emory’s choice of De’Quan Bowman leading the team in receiving. He finished the season with 10 catches for 90 yards.

What are your takeaways from this season? Leave a comment below!

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