Week 8 Discussion

[lynchmob42]

Baylor rolls, and shows their lack of class in the process. I understand the "defenses" job to stop them argument, but there were lots of things that could have been done to keep this game at 50 points.

Neither TCU nor KU has any offense. KU had 1 second half first down and about 30 total yards for the half. Heaps was 5 of 13 for 16 yards. Two of his completions gained more than 1 yard.

Big upsets in the SEC. A&M, LSU, and Georgia all lose.
Thank goodness L'ville lost! I did not want them going undefeated with their weak schedule.

[longhorn99]

I believe Nebs dropped 70s a couple of times on ISU. Baylor is just rolling right now and trying its best to earn style points. Style points however only prove so much as a good defense can reduce these point totals significantly (into 30s or even 20s).

[tetonhawk]

@big12conference: #Big12FB Baylor has scored in less than a minute on 21 of its 49 touchdown drives this season.

[archie]

I don't have a problem with a team scoring points in a blowout. Teams have to be allowed to keep playing the game regardless of the score. When one team downshifts their effort and the other team is still playing hard, then that's where injuries happen. So scoring points isn't the classless part. If players are high steppin' or hot doggin' in any way during a blowout, then there's legit criticism. If they're just executing their plays and lining up for the next one, then I have no problem with it.

As for the SEC, last year the top 6 teams played 9 total games against each other out of a possible 15. Those 6 teams went undefeated against the other 8 teams in the conference. 2 of those 8 teams went winless, and 2 more had one win. The SEC was as top heavy as could they possibly be. This year, those teams are fighting back, Auburn was 0-8 last year in the SEC, today they're ranked #11. Tennessee was 1-7 last year, this year they take Georgia to OT and beat South Carolina. It's just plain old parity. Last year, a few teams had terrible seasons, and it boosted the records of a few others to where 6 teams finished in the top 10. This year, those teams turned it around and are winning games, and only 2 teams are in the top 10.

[archie]

I know this is crazy and premature, but if Texas Tech comes out of Norman with a win this weekend, they're a national championship contender! Tech is an underdog, so I'm not taking it for granted. However, Oklahoma is vulnerable right now, Blake Bell has not come along as a passer. The running game is good, and the defense is stout, but this OU team is very beatable. If Tech wins, we're 8-0 with home games against Oklahoma State and Kansas State coming up.

Tech is not a flawless team, we still make too many unforced errors. The defense is well coached and makes the fundamental, routine plays, but they don't make the big plays though. So as we sit today, this team is overrated at #10 in the rankings. They're getting better each week though and building confidence every game, a win this week is not out of the question. A win over two beatable teams at home after that is also not out of the question. If we're sitting at 10-0 with Baylor and Texas to close the season, who knows what's possible!

[lynchmob42]

Texas Tech is not good, and hasn't played anyone good.

Any team that is undefeated is technically a contender. I believe Tech will lose four games.

[archie]

So I'll put aside the pie in the sky championship talk. That's just me getting all starry eyed.

To say Texas Tech hasn't played anybody good is accurate, that's a fair point. To say they're not any good means you haven't watched them play. They're 6-1 this season vs. the spread, they've covered as underdogs and they've covered as favorites. That means they're exceeding expectations every week.

So basically Tech has a 5 game schedule: @oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Baylor (n) and @texas. We knew in August that Tech's season would come down to how they did against these 5 teams, these are after all the same 5 teams we lost to last season. The only difference is that 4 of those 5 teams are decidedly worse than last year, while Tech is better. I think winning 2 of the final 5 games is a modest expectation, 3 or 4 of the last 5 is very possible.

[lynchmob42]

I've watched Tech against TCU, Kansas, and West Virginia.

In none of those games would I say Tech looked like a good football team.
I think if Tech wins two of those final 5, it will have been a very good season, and many fans will feel like the team finished poorly. Not that they will have underachieved by any means, but that the expectations have been built up by the current record more than the ability of the team.

You said yourself, archie, that Tech was going to be an undeserving Top 15 team. Now they're #10, and clearly not a top 10 team.

[longhorn99]

Tech schedule appears to be slightly backloaded

That said, an unbeaten record is still an unbeaten record. These are college kids and psychology is just as important as talent and preparation. See Texas. I think Tech plays harder as an unbeaten than let's say if they had a couple of losses.

Not saying Tech is gonna win out but fans can definitley dream. Few things going against Tech:

1) backloaded schedule
2) tough road games coming up
3) new QB, new coach not sure if there is a precedence for teams winning out with this configuration.

[archie]

The backloaded schedule is definitely difficult, but in Tech's case it helps because it's such a young team that needs the opportunity to build up each week. If a few of these games were early in the season, Tech surely would've lost and it would've killed the confidence of a young QB. It also kills the momentum that new coaching staffs need to build belief in their team. So having them later in the season helps. That said, there are difficult road games ahead and the youth on the coaching staff and a few key positions on the field definitely work against Tech's favor.

The TCU game early in the season is a good example of what I'm talking about. That was a tough game early in the season for a young roster, and the game was certainly sloppy and ugly. Tech didn't look good in that game, they looked like a team fighting hard and playing their heart out, but not a good team. If you didn't think they looked good against Kansas or West Virginia though, then I don't know what game you were watching. After a slow start against KU, Tech rolled off 52 straight points on the road. How does that NOT look like a good team? Also on the road against West Virginia, the defense gave up some yards on the ground, but bowed up over the last 25 minutes of the game and allowed 1 first down while scoring 24 straight points to lock up the game. Is number 10 in the country too high? Yes, I don't think we're quite that good, I think 18 or 19 is more like it. Like I said though, a win this week against OU and all of a sudden that top 10 ranking won't look so crazy.

[lynchmob42]

Scoring 52 straight against Kansas doesn't look that good, because it's Kansas. You can quickly balance the positives by saying, "we were down 10-0 to Kansas through one quarter". Then, you've got Chaz Bono outsmarting himself with a fake punt on 4th and 10 from the 13 in a tie game. That play ended the game.

[archie]

What else are you supposed to do against a team like Kansas? Would you be more impressed if they only rolled off 25 straight points after falling behind? Because that's exactly what OU just did after being in exactly the same position as Tech. Rolling out 54 consecutive points on the road against a bad team like Kansas is exactly what a good team is supposed to do. To say those 54 points are canceled out because they got off to a slow start is pretty weak.

I'm trying not to overstate Tech's accomplishments to this point, and I'm not trying to say they're going to win it all this season. I think if they lined up against any of those teams in the top 10 right now, they'd get outclassed by the skill and composure of those teams. Those teams have played big games many times this season and last, Tech has not. So if they lined up today, they'd lose, plain and simple! The point I am making is that Tech is positioning themselves well to challenge that upper class of teams as the season moves on. They've played better and better each week and grown up quite a bit. If they can find a way to beat a quality, ranked opponent like OU, who is good but not a national championship contender, then they'll be one step closer to that level. One more win, and the entire narrative surrounding Texas Tech's season changes completely. The outlook for Tech has already changed from "lucky to get to 6 wins and a bowl game" to "should be able to win 9 games and go to a major bowl".

I did say before the TCU game that if Tech wins that game, there's a chance to start 7-0 and move up to an undeserved top 10 or 15 ranking. The reason I'm more optimistic than that today, and the reason I said 7-0 instead of 10-0 is that I didn't expect Tech to be ranked ahead of the next two teams on the schedule when we play them. I thought at the time that OU and OSU would be firmly established in the top ten. Those two games aren't quite as daunting today as I thought they'd be in September. They're good teams, but not the great teams I thought they'd be.

[lynchmob42]

I think I should back off from saying theyre "not good". A team that wins 7 or 8 games is good. Tech is not "very good". What happened at KU want just a slow start. It was being controlled by a bad team for a whole quarter. Making a comparison to OU doesn't help your case, because they're not very good, either.

TTU has done all it can do to this point. My feeling is still, that based on performances to this point, they could be the weakest 7-0 team this conference has ever seen. That's why I think they'll win no more than two of their final 5 games. Anything more than that would astonish me, and have me very scared about being a conference opponent over the next handful of years.

[archie]

I can agree with that. Tech is a weak 7-0. My comparison earlier in the year is that we'd be the Mississippi State of this season. Last year, they got out to 7-0 and a #11 ranking by unconvincingly beating 7 nobodies before losing 5 of their last 6 games. I'm more encouraged and confident that Tech won't finish the season that badly because of what I described already, the steady progress and growth each week. Honestly, I'm fine with winning 2 of the last 5, a 9-3 season in Kliff's first year is a great start! Especially if we get a bowl win and finish with 10 wins. I think winning 4 of the 5 is not unreasonable, but for that to happen it would probably mean that teams like OU and Texas come down to our level instead of us rising to theirs.

The team is WAY more energetic and confident than they were under Tuberville, and it shows on the field. Tuberville always had bland, even backhanded, compliments that he would pay to his team. He'd say things like "well we're not a good team yet", or "we don't have the speed or athleticism, but we're getting there". That drove me nuts! This team is still young, still making youthful mistakes, still very thin on the depth chart, but they're doing a lot of things right and I think they're only scratching the surface.

[lynchmob42]

I'm glad for you and the Tech fans, archie. There's no doubt a young coach should be able to inspire young players. If KK has the knowledge and maturity to run the organization, he's well on his way.