It May Get Worse Before It Gets Better for Kliff Kingsbury and Texas Tech

Sometimes, a game cannot merely be summed up by its box score, or even with words. That's the case for Texas Tech's 45-35 loss to Oklahoma State Thursday night, which can be more appropriately summed up in a simple GIF of collective facepalms. 

CJ Fogler

Yeah, it was pretty bad. And that's not including the injury to starting quarterback Davis Webb, who reportedly sustained a dislocated non-throwing shoulder, per Red Raider Sports' Aaron Dickens. 

Tech continues to struggle in three primary areas: penalties, turnover margin and defense. Against the Pokes, the Red Raiders had a jaw-dropping 16 penalties for 158 yards—a game high for a Kliff Kingsbury-coached team—plus three turnovers.

Texas Tech did much better in that department in a Week 3 loss to Arkansas (five penalties for 60 yards) but obviously regressed Thursday night. As Jake Trotter of ESPN.com tweets, Texas Tech now leads the nation in most penalty yards per game. 

Kingsbury told Chris Level of Red Raider Sports after the game that the problem is undeniably and solely on his shoulders. 

As Dickens' tweet shows, penalties have been a problem for years in Lubbock. After 17 games with Kingsbury, though, Tech, in theory, should be playing smarter. 

The same logic applies with the turnover problems, which, as Zach Barnett of Footballscoop.com adds, extends all the way into last season. 

The streak speaks for itself, and Kingsbury will be the first to say that it's not acceptable. 

The last component, defense, actually deserves some leniency. Texas Tech has been thin on that side of the ball, and coaching turnover hasn't helped. Last week, defensive coordinator Matt Wallerstedt resigned for what was officially cited as "personal reasons," according to a Texas Tech email release. His replacement, co-defensive coordinator Mike Smith, became the sixth different DC for the Red Raiders in six seasons. 

It's tough to expect any kind of consistency or improvement with that level of turnover. 

In short, Texas Tech is a frustrating, if not borderline infuriating, team to watch. One can only imagine how Kingsbury feels. Playing smarter football has been a point of emphasis from him, and things aren't working out in that department. 

The doom and gloom theory for Tech isn't unfounded or hyperbolic. It's tough to win games when a team is constantly losing the turnover battle and/or shooting itself in the foot with penalties. Not surprisingly, Texas Tech is 3-7 in its last 10 games. 

Things may get worse before they get better, too. Big 12 play is underway, and the remaining schedule does this team few favors, as David Ubben of Fox Sports Southwest notes: 

"

A look down the schedule reveals just how difficult reaching the postseason will be for the Red Raiders. They'll have to win four of eight remaining games in Big 12 play and even Kansas may not be a sure thing, considering its running game may be a difficult matchup for Tech's front seven. Tech faces Iowa State in Ames and every single game on Texas Tech's slate the rest of the way is one it could lose. Without vast improvement, Tech may fall as far as 4-8. 

"

To be clear, Kingsbury is a bright coach who knows his stuff. His team has bounced back before. After a five-game losing streak to end the 2013 season, the Red Raiders had one of the best bowl wins of the post season in a 37-23 upset over Arizona State in the Holiday Bowl. 

The 2015 recruiting class is highlighted by 5-star quarterback Jarrett Stidham. If there's one thing Kingsbury does well, it's recruit quarterbacks. 

That's not going to solve all of Tech's problems by itself, but it adds to the theory that Kingsbury can turn things around. The obvious question is when it'll happen.

Kingsbury agreed to a contract extension in August, after just one year on the job, that would take him through 2020. His new salary starts at $3.1 million and increases by $200,000 annually. Obviously, Tech is paying Kingsbury on what it believes he can do, not necessarily on what he has done. 

And what Kingsbury hasn't done is fix his team's sloppy play. That's rarely something that can be fixed overnight, too.

It may eventually get better. Every team operates under the belief that it can. There just hasn't been anything thus far to indicate it will anytime soon.

Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.com. All quotes obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.