Nate Night Thoughts: Texas Tech handled a bad Lamar team, so what?

The Texas Tech Red Raiders pitched there first shutout since 2006. While the shutout was against an FCS team in Lamar, there is plenty to look forward to after Saturday’s game.

While Kliff has not committed to one quarterback, it’s appearing that Alan Bowman is doing exactly what the coaches are asking of him. After going 22/25 with 282 yards and 2 TDs he seems to be pulling away from Jett Duffey. While we don’t know what will happen when McLane Carter returns from injury, if Bowman has consistent showings in the coming weeks Carter might be demoted to second string.

With Tre King and Da’Leon Ward out against Lamar we had a steady dose of Demarcus Felton, Ta’Zhawn Henry, and SaRodrick Thompson. Each back looked fantastic as each one had 2 TDs during the game. Ta’Zhawn Henry looked like a diamond in the rough from this past recruiting class as he showed incredible flashes of speed and agility. If it weren’t for some bad penalties on the offense, Henry would have had 4 TDs.

While Texas Tech seems to be moving to a more balanced attack, many wide receivers still put up great numbers and showed how lethal this group can be moving forward. Antoine Wesley led the group with 87 yards and a 66-yard TD where he broke a tackle and scampered down the sideline for a score.

Another standout was KeSean Carter who caught 6 passes for 76 yards. KeSean came into Lubbock as a former track star and boy did he show it. There were a few catches where he began to blow by defenders with his speed and he is sure to bring some jaw-dropping moments during his time as a Red Raider.

Defensively, this team needed a good showing to gain some confidence after last week’s debacle in Houston and boy did they do their job. Lamar is not a good team, but to shutout an opponent is quite impressive considering Lamar had 16 possessions throughout this game. Every player on defense ran to the ball even late in the game and Riko Jeffers showed why he will be Texas Tech’s next premier linebacker with 9 tackles, 2 TFLs, and 1 QB hurry.

The defense looked like it had something to prove not only to the Red Raider faithful, but to themselves. After an off-season promotion of “Things Have Changed”, a shutout is a good way to distract everyone from a tough day against Ole Miss.

The Houston Cougars will be a great test to really see what this team is made of. A win gives this team plenty of momentum heading into Stillwater, but a loss might doom this team to another losing season.