Armchair quarterback: Baylor

That was not what I would call a pretty win. Or a football game in the intended definition of the word. But at the end of the day, a win is a win.

Recap

I don’t want to subject myself to recapping this game. Look, I love winning but this was just awful football. Both teams shot themselves in the foot over and over with occasional sparks of something reasonably competency. We all watched it, but besides the Schooler hit there is nothing really worth reliving.

Hero Spotlight

Colin Schooler - See the above, WHAT A FREAKING HIT. Schooler was all around good this game, proving to be the best transfer pickup by a wide margin. That hit showed exactly how to play linebacker. Schooler was sound in his assignment, taking away the releasing TE. He then threw the TE at Brewer like an absolute madman and proceeded to murder Brewer. It was vicious, but clean. His overall play was very solid, but that one hit changed the entire outcome of the game.

Jonathan Garibay - Gabribay came in never having kicked at the division one level, and Saturday he did a lot of it. The kicks aside, his consistency is what I want to highlight. Garibay does not have the boom of McNamara at punter, or the true specialists leg to be a kickoff guy but he was consistent. His field goal accuracy drew the eyes, but what shouldn’t be forgotten was that when he lined up to kick at every phase you knew how it was going to go. Tech has not bee able to say that often this year. I feel for Wolff, but Garibay made the big kicks and carved out a place in Tech lore. A big kudos to the big fella.

What grinds my gears

Playing for field goals - I fully understand the logic behind the slide, especially after the Texas debacle. But Texas should not be used as a measuring stick for games because that level of failure only occurs when all the stars align (bad coaching, bad execution, and bad luck). If Thompson scores there, Tech takes a touchdown lead with about 37 seconds left. I know, historically Tech has struggled to defend late leads because of a Prevent scheme. However, if you can’t hold for 37 seconds you don’t deserve to win.

In a game that saw a kick blocked already, it should be clear that any play that will decide victory or failure by itself is a situation to be avoided.
But something to consider in the argument was the called run in the first place. The coaches call that play because they want to center the snap before the try. I cannot state enough how risky that was. If Thompson is stuffed at the line, that was about a 47 yard try. Hell, even if he scampers for a few yards that is not a great distance. The wind was favorable, but that was by no means a guaranteed. Only great blocking and some Thompson quickness made that decision seem so justified. It made no sense to not try for the first down, and like I said if Thompson doesn’t make it happen that kick could have gone a whole different way. Against TCU Tech lost playing for field goals, it was was foolish to tempt fate against Baylor trying it again. I am beyond happy it worked, but can we please start coaching with some courage?

Throwing a fade - Ban the fade on third down or fourth down. ‘Nough said.

Team grade: C-

A win is in fact all that matters in football. Any win is better than any loss no matter the circumstance, but this was ugly football. I would say it was not HBU bad, as the defense played extremely well for large parts of the game.

The problem was the offense and more importantly the lack thereof. Tech football has turned into a real grind, something so different than the previous era. The bye week before a date with Oklahoma State needs to be focused around Bowman as the starter. He likely has the best arm, but really I don’t care at this point as long as one starter is dialed in. Pick the guy, and build in these two weeks around him to try and get a signature win against the Pokes.

Taking momentum into a bye week is always ideal, especially with the season nearly over. I want to see Tech go bowling, so getting this win was a step forward. Beating Oklahoma State might be enough to get over the finish line, so let’s ride the wave and get the job done.