Nate Night Thoughts: Can Texas Tech win without Bowman?

Lubbock is always a difficult place to play, but this is especially true at night. With the tortillas flying, the students heckling the opposition and a passionate alumni base, the atmosphere at the Jones has led to rattled opposing teams at times. Even with another night under the lights in Lubbock, the Red Raiders face more adversity with the pestering lung injury to Alan Bowman.

Alan Bowman’s injury is apparently not as severe this time around, but, with a nagging injury, I expect the medical professionals advising Alan Bowman to err on the side of caution for this weekend’s matchup against the Longhorns.

So now what?

Assuming McLane Carter is healthy from his week one high ankle sprain, which quarterback should the Red Raiders turn to in case of another Bowman absence? Frankly, I’d say both Carter and Duffey should play on Saturday. Duffey is a fantastic athlete, but I haven’t seen the passing capability from him as more times than not he makes an inaccurate throw or quickly brings his eyes down to scramble.

While we haven’t even seen a full game of action from McLane Carter, he showed some promise in the opener against Ole Miss this season. If Kliff chooses to play both quarterbacks, it can throw the Texas defense for a loop with some surprise packages and play calls. With Duffey being a threat on the ground and a healthy Carter to sling the ball around, the Red Raider offense can certainly get creative with some players that don’t have much on film to study from if you’re the Longhorn defense.

Without Bowman playing, Tech is certainly at a disadvantage. Bowman has proven himself to be the quarterback for Texas Tech for the foreseeable future, but the Texas Longhorns are banged up as well. Remember that guy that said he wanted to hurt Patrick Mahomes last time the Longhorns came to Lubbock? That’s right, Breckyn Hager is coming off of a dislocated radius (forearm) and is questionable to play this weekend. Additionally, cornerback Davante Davis and safety Brandon Jones are uncertain to play for the Texas defense this Saturday.

These injuries to the Texas defense could lead to some inexperienced players on the field for the Tech offense to possibly take advantage of. Without Alan Bowman, this will be a tough battle in Lubbock, but I believe in Kliff and the offense can do enough to come out with a win this weekend.