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Well.....what a difference a week makes huh?
After a monumental rout and giving up 70 points, the Texas Tech defense turned 180 degrees and only gave up 20 against West Virginia in Morgantown.
Now before we get in to the grades, it needs to be mentioned that West Virginia obviously is no where close to Texas when it comes to offense. Leddie Brown is no Bijan Robinson. Jarret Doege is not better than Casey Thompson, and he is certainly not close to the same caliber as his brother was when he donned the Scarlet and Black.
With all of that being said, it is easy to see why there was such an improvement.
West Virginia did take advantage of a depleted Tech secondary, throwing for 330 yards, however, Brown who has been touted as one of the better running backs in the Big 12 only ran for 57 yards on 17 carries, an average of 3.4 yards per rush, his lowest average of the season.
Keith Patterson had an excellent game plan and the defense looked rejuvenated and eager to play, which to be honest was a surprising, but welcome sight.
I’ll get on to the grades below:
DEFENSIVE LINE: A
A week after getting gashed for over 300 yards on the ground, the D-Line had a redemption game, with Tony Bradford Jr., Jaylon Hutchings, and Tyree Wilson all having quality outings. Hutchings had a sack, Bradford had a QB pressure, and Wilson was around the ball on the run game all afternoon. Devin Drew also had a fumble recovery late in the first quarter.
LINEBACKERS: A+
The linebackers had the biggest turnaround last week, and they were a big reason, along with the line, that West Virginia only had 94 total rushing yards. Colin Schooler and Riko Jeffers were the top two tacklers on the team for the game, and Schooler had what some would say was the play of the game, when he had a strip sack of Doege late in the first quarter.
SECONDARY: B
On my own grading scale I can’t give anything higher than a B after giving up 330 yards through the air. I am giving this group a B because they are the most injury riddled position group on this team at the moment. Eric Monroe and Adrian Frye had good games and Dadrion Taylor-Demerson is really starting to come into his own with the more snaps he gets.
OVERALL: A-
This defense could’ve come out hanging their heads after getting torched for 70 points the week before, however, they didn’t. West Virginia had no points in the first half, and the defense stood tough when it needed to in the second half. The stats aren’t too pretty, but when the groups heal up, I imagine those stats will improve.
Folks, a win is a win and this team is 4-1 through 5 games.
The defense looks to further improve this coming week against a TCU team that has what could possibly be the worst quarterback in the Big 12. As long as they limit the damage Max Duggan does with his feet, the defense should be primed for another strong showing.