Red Raider Ravioli: deep breaths

Buonasera a tutti!

College football is back, Texas Tech is back, and the frustration is back. Good Sunday, everyone!

The game finished a few minutes ago, and I’ll try to talk about it with lucidity. I’ll sit down for a moment, I’ll take some deep breaths (very deep), I’ll have a herbal tea, I’ll close the bar (I’m still working, yessir), and I’ll come back writing.

Let’s start with a recap. The starting quarterback injured himself after few snaps (and it seems really severe, at least watching it on TV), two defensive backs disqualified for targeting, defense, expected to be the strong unit of the team, that allows 40 points and 546 yards. Is it enough?

Uh, I forgot a punter who doesn’t know how to punt and a running back who never played a snap in college that runs for 204 yards and two touchdowns.

It’s hard to talk about a game in which everything that could go in the wrong way did so, but we have to. Ole Miss demonstrated to be a better team, and probably the Red Raiders lost their concentration after Carter’s injury, but there are some things that have to be said.

Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports

First of all, if the defense will lack discipline as it made against the Rebels, so good luck. Too many penalties and I am perfectly right with a comment I read earlier today, saying that poor penalties by players are a coaching thing. It has always has been and always will be.

So, it’s time to talk about coach Kingsbury. It’s obvious, simply obvious that he didn’t imagine to face this kind of problem with the quarterback on the first game, but he immediately became the Kingsbury we met in 2016 and 2017, full of fears and not inclined to risks. 37 seconds in the first half, already losing, and not even trying to reach the field goal range?

The season risks to be very long, dear friends, but at least I saw two positive things. Alan Bowman seems to be a good quarterback: he was thrown on the field in a horrible situation and he had many repetitions against a strong defense, so it has been a useful appearance for him, I hope. In addition, it seems we have a kicker again, after last season’s struggles.

But you know...

And if the Emperor of China in Mulan said so, we’ve got to believe him.

Alla prossima!