Texas State

Texas State vs. #25 Texas Tech -09/22/13

LUBBOCK, TEXAS-

No fox. No problem. 

Stripe-out, black-out, white-out, I guess the only thing Texas Tech's athletic department hasn't come up with is a red-out. (I still think there will be red jerseys worn at some point this year). Fingers crossed. Texas Tech came into tonight's game ranked No. 25 in the AP poll and favored by 26 points over the Bobcats of Texas State University. While the gameday presentation and crowd involvement was once again on-point, there definitely was a more subdued feeling throughout. I'm not sure whether this was a result of the crowd being less than thrilled with QB play or just a natural regression from the insanity that came last week with TCU. Anyway...

My "10 takeaways" from last night:

1. Quarterback-ing- Texas Tech as a whole gave no indication of any kind of "let down" performance following the TCU victory. However,  the offense struggled mightily due in large part to the very freshman-like play of the two Texas Tech slingers: Webb and Mayfield. I don't know that any particular miscue or situation could deduce why they each struggled so much other than they are still trying to become acclimated to the speed of the game and as freshmen seem to be prone to big plays and costly mistakes. The upcoming bye week should serve as a welcome opportunity for both Mayfield and Webb to address the issues that have plagued them. Also, an extra week of reps opens the door for Brewer to come back.
2. Cody Davis 2.0?- Tanner Jacobson, a true freshman walk-on was literally flying to the ball the entire night. Jacobson accounted for 4 solo tackles and assisted in another 2. Not bad for his first career start.
3. Temper- Your expectations for this offense. Last night's game was a microcosm of what it means to have a pair of freshmen quarterbacks leading your team. The intent and talent is there but the end result is somewhere between awesome and disastrous. Inconsistent quarterback play combined with a young "musical-chair" offensive line is going to hold this team back until the possible return of Brewer. He may not solve all of his teams problems but you can't beat out system experience and the leadership aspect he brings.
4. White-Out- Looks like I didn't give enough credit to the Red Raider faithful. I honestly didn't see the "White-Out" panning out but the end result shown at kick-off was rather impressive. My only complaint: I would have rather seen the team go full storm trooper mode and wear the all whites a la SMU.
5. Jump Balls- of the four or so jump balls thrown by Davis Webb two ended up being crazy-good awesome plays while the other two were INTs or near INTs. NO MORE JUMP BALLS. MY HEART CANNOT TAKE IT.
6. Measuring stick- I mentioned last week after the TCU game that we still had no idea how good or not good we were. While I still think their exist too many variables to have a concrete answer I do know this: our defense is legit and they will probably keep the team in many games, especially if the offense continues to struggle. 
7. Penalties- The penalty situation did not improve significantly when compared to last week's game. You can't kill your own momentum when you are already struggling offensively.
8. Underrated- Being able to handle the spotlight. Good feelings were in the air following Texas Tech's victory over then ranked TCU but there was a fear that the team would follow it up by playing like "Typical Tech" against Texas State. They avoided the same let-downs that following huge victories in 2011 and 2012.
9. Overrated- this conference, the Big XII. West Virginia got blanked by Maryland 37-0 and Texas somehow broke its five game losing streak to Kansas State. Short of Oklahoma State and Baylor no other teams have looked impressive, although the argument could be made that they have yet to play anyone with a pulse. 
10. Game ball- Texas Tech defense. INTs, fumbles returned for touchdowns, huge stops on third and fourth down. This is as dominant a Texas Tech defense as we have seen in awhile.