It was a massive matchup in the Big 12 this past week, as Texas Tech defeated BYU 29-7. Texas Tech has moved to 9-1 on the year, and is one of the best teams in college football. The dominant fashion of the victory over BYU shows that the Red Raiders are going to be a major threat and a team that others will not want to face in the College Football Playoff.
Texas Tech is closing in on a berth in the Big 12 title game. They are 9-1 on the year and 6-1 in conference play. The lone loss of the season was a 26-22 loss to Arizona State on the road. Regardless, with just one loss in Big 12 play, they are currently the top team in the conference. BYU is 5-1 in conference play, but Texas Tech now has the head-to-head tiebreaker. Meanwhile, Cincinnati is also 5-1 in conference play.
Texas Tech faces UCF this upcoming week. With a win, they will all but be assured a trip to the Big 12 title game. Cincinnati and BYU still face off in Week 13, meaning one of them will be taking a second conference loss. If BYU loses, Texas Tech will then clinch a spot in the conference title game. If Cincinnati loses, Texas Tech needs another Cincinnati loss or to defeat West Virginia in the final week to assure a spot in the title game.
With a win in the conference championship, the Red Raiders will be playoff-bound. They were ranked eighth in the first College Football Playoff rankings, but will be moving up after beating BYU. With a high ranking, Texas Tech could still potentially make it as an at-large, but the easiest path is to win the Big 12. This will also be a difficult out for anyone facing them in the playoffs.
Behren Morton continues to play well
The Texas Tech offense has been stellar this year. They are sixth in the nation in points per game while sitting 17th in the nation in yards per game this year. The team is also 18th in passing yards per game this year. Behren Morton has been a major part of that. This year, Morton has passed for 1,96 yards with 16 touchdowns. He has also thrown four interceptions. The senior quarterback has also missed time this year.
He was injured in the game against Kansas, leading Will Hammond and Mitch Griffis to play the next two games. One of those was the loss to Arizona State. When Morton has been in and healthy, the team has not only won every game, but won them all by 20 or more points.
In his last two games, he has also been very impressive and looks to be growing as a quarterback. He has thrown for 468 yards and three scores in his last two games. With how Morton is playing, Texas Tech's offense will be hard to stop.
The ground game is dominant
The passing game is not the only top-quality piece to their offense. Texas Tech is 36th in the nation in running yards per game this season, averaging 176 yards per game on the ground. The run game has been led by Cameron Dickey this year. He has run the ball 157 times for 867 yards while scoring 11 times this year. Dickey has scored in eight of the ten games this year, while having a receiving touchdown in one of the games he missed scoring on the ground. He is coming off a massive game against BYU, where he ran for 121 yards and a touchdown.
Meanwhile, J'Koby Williams has also been great this year. He has run 105 times for 602 yards and five touchdowns as well. He ran for 77 yards against BYU while also bringing in 32 yards receiving. Williams has been a major part of the receiving game this year, with 23 receptions for 332 yards plus two touchdowns. The duo of Dickey and Williams accounts for 1,962 yards from scrimmage and 19 touchdowns this year. Slowing down the tandem while also having to deal with Morton will be difficult for any defense.
The Texas Tech defense is the best part of their squad
While the offense has gotten attention this year, the defense has been amazing. BYU was scoring over 28 points per game and managed just seven against Texas Tech. The Red Raiders are ranked second in FBS in opponent points per game while also sitting eighth in opponent yards per game. Further, they are the best in the nation against the run while sitting 37th against the pass.
A major reason for the defensive success has been the play of linebacker Jacob Rodriguez. The senior has 88 tackles this year while also adding a sack. Further, he has broken up five passes, has three interceptions, forced seven fumbles, recovered two fumbles, and has scored a touchdown this year. He was also a major factor in the Texas Tech win over BYU. In that game, Rodriguez had 14 total tackles, with a fumble recovery and a pick.
Meanwhile, David Bailey has been great at getting to the quarterback this year. He has 11.5 sacks so far this year, while also having three games with multiple sacks. Romello Height also has six sacks so far this year. The Red Raiders are 33rd in the nation in sack rate while sitting third in takeaways per game.
While the Texas Tech offense has been great this year, the defense has been dominant. The defense is going to lead them in the playoffs. With how well this team produces turnovers and gets to the quarterback. Texas Tech dominated on both sides of the ball in the game with BYU. They held the Cougars to just 255 yards of total offense while holding them to 3-14 on third down. Further, they forced three turnovers in the game. If this game against BYU proves anything, it is that any team having to face Texas Tech is going to have a difficult battle on its hands.
