Texas Tech Vs. Northwestern: Ticket City Bowl Preview
The first ever playing of the Ticket City Bowl in Dallas’ historic Cotton Bowl will witness the clash of teams who achieved identical 7-5 marks in two totally different ways.
Northwestern shot out of the 2010 gates and reeled off five consecutive victories but then, upon reaching the meat of their schedule (and subsequently losing their star QB), dropped five of their last seven contests to finish 7-5.
The Red Raiders of Texas Tech under new coach Tommy Tuberville (in the very real shadow of dearly departed Mike Leach) looked all but finished after their October 30th 27-45 drubbing at the hands of rival Texas A&M.
Indeed, the then 4-4 Tech team was staring down the barrel at consecutive games against top-ranked Missouri and on the road in Norman versus Oklahoma. The only thing sure at that point was that it could get really ugly.
The Red Raiders’ 24-17 triumph over Missouri the following weekend was nothing short of miraculous, and suddenly bowl eligibility and the air of respectability seemed within reach. The forecast for ugly did come true in Norman, but wins against FCS Weber State and Houston secured what was an unlikely and suddenly welcome 7-5 mark.
So, who will leave frosty Dallas with a much coveted eighth win?
The following slideshow provides a sweeping preview of No. 23 of the 35 bowl games slated for the 2010-11 postseason college football extravaganza.
Overview
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The TicketCity Bowl
The Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas
January 1, 2011
12 PM EST
ESPNU
Big Ten No. 7 vs. Big 12 No. 8
Northwestern (7-5) vs. Texas Tech (7-5)
Texas Tech favored by 10 points.
$1,200,000 payout
Series History
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Texas Tech and Northwestern have never met.
Texas Tech is 2-5 all time vs. the Big Ten.
Northwestern is 21-8 all time vs. teams currently in the Big 12.
The Big Ten is 225–162 all time vs. teams currently in the Big 12.
Bowl Records
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Texas Tech
Overall: 11-21-1
Last Decade: 6-4
Last Season: Defeated Michigan State 41-31 in the Alamo Bowl
Northwestern
Overall: 1-7-0
Last Decade: 0-5
Last Season: Lost to Auburn 35-38 in the Outback Bowl
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Texas Tech Overview
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2010 Overall Record: 7-5
2010 Big 12 Record: 3-5
2010 Wins: vs. SMU, at New Mexico, Baylor (in Dallas), at Colorado, vs. Missouri, vs. Weber State (FCS), vs. Houston
2010 Losses: vs. Texas, at Iowa State, vs. Oklahoma State, at Texas A&M, at Oklahoma
Coach: Tommy Tuberville, first year at Texas Tech (7-5), overall 117-65, 6-3 in Bowl Games
Quick Facts:
They only won consecutive games twice in 2010, which were the first two and the last two games of the season (vs. SMU and at New Mexico and then vs. FCS Weber State and vs. Houston).
The last time Texas Tech finished the regular season with fewer than eight wins was in 2006 (also 7-5) when they managed their eighth win in a thrilling comeback victory over Minnesota in the Insight Bowl.
2006 was also the last season that the Red Raiders did not win three consecutive times throughout the entirety of their campaign. The 2010 squad could achieve three consecutive wins with a victory over Northwestern in the TicketCity bowl.
Players to Watch:
Lyle Leong WR: Leong did not lead the Red Raiders in receptions in 2010 (that was Detron Lewis with 70 grabs) but amassed 17 touchdowns in 2010 which earns him the No. 2 spot nationally.
Brian Duncan LB: seven sacks, 12 tackles for a loss, 58 tackles.
Northwestern Overview
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2010 Overall Record: 7-5
2010 Big 10 Record: 3-5
2010 Wins: at Vanderbilt, vs. Illinois State (FCS), at Rice, vs. Central Michigan, at Minnesota, at Indiana, vs. Iowa
2010 Losses: vs. Purdue, vs. Michigan State, at Penn State, vs. Illinois, at Wisconsin
Coach: Pat Fitzgerald, five seasons at Northwestern, 34-28 overall, 0-2 in bowls.
Quick Facts:
Ticket City Bowl represents a record third consecutive bowl appearance for Northwestern.
The Wildcats have enjoyed three consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 1958-60.
Northwestern has not scored a bowl victory since the 1949 Rose Bowl.
The Wildcats gave up 118 points in their last two games.
Players to Watch:
Evan Watkins QB: redshirt freshman, will play QB in place of Dan Persa who was injured during the win over Iowa.
Bryce McNaul LB: One Sack, five tackles for a loss, 61 tackles
Texas Tech Offense Vs. Northwestern Defense
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Overall
Texas Tech’s No. 34-ranked scoring offense (averaging 32 points per game) faces Northwestern’s No. 67-ranked scoring defense (allowing an average of 28 points per game).
Advantage: Texas Tech
Passing
The Red Raiders No. 8-ranked passing attack (averaging 315 yards per game) will face the Wildcats No. 80-ranked pass “D” (allowing an average of 231 yards per game).
Advantage: Texas Tech
Rushing
Texas Tech’s No. 82 ground game (averaging 138 yards per game) is pitted against Northwestern’s No. 91-ranked rushing defense (allowing an average of 185 yards per game).
Advantage: Even
Northwestern Offense vs. Texas Tech Defense
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Overall
Northwestern’s No. 74 scoring offense (averaging 25 points per game) faces Texas Tech’s No. 85-ranked scoring defense (allowing an average of 30 points per game).
Advantage: Northwestern
Passing
The Wildcats No. 40-ranked passing attack (averaging 243 yards per game) will face the Red Raiders No. 120-ranked pass “D” (allowing an average of 306 yards per game, worst in all of the FBS).
Advantage: Northwestern
Rushing
Northwestern’s No. 68 ground game (averaging 150 yards per game) is pitted against Texas Tech’s No. 65-ranked rushing defense (allowing an average of 157 yards per game).
Advantage: Even
Turnovers/Sacks
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Fumbles
Texas Tech has fumbled the ball 24 times in 2010, and 14 of these drops have been lost for good. Northwestern has coughed up the ball 25 times and lost 13 of these drops.
Interceptions
Northwestern’s quarterbacks have combined to throw nine picks in 2010; notably, four of these have been thrown in the 49 attempts hurled by Evan Watkins in relief of the injured Dan Persa.
The Red Raiders starting QB Taylor Potts has thrown nine picks in his 495 attempts in 2010.
Sacks
Texas Tech’s defensive unit has scored 24 sacks in 2010, while the Red Raiders offensive line has given up 21 sacks.
The Wildcats “D” has registered 17 sacks on opposing quarterbacks, while their “O” line has allowed a whopping 39 sacks (tying them with Louisiana Lafayette for the fifth most allowed sacks in the nation).
Interesting Stats
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Northwestern’s six victories (removing the FCS Illinois State from the mix) went 24-48 in 2010. The Wildcats beat only one team with a winning record in 2010 (their victory at home over Iowa).
Texas Tech’s six FBS wins (taking FCS Weber State out of the numbers) went 36-38 in 2010. The Red Raiders beat three teams that finished the season with a winning record (vs. SMU, vs. Baylor and vs. Missouri).
According to the Congrove Computer Rankings, Texas Tech’s strength of schedule for 2010 was No. 31 while Northwestern ranked No. 63.
Northwestern ranks No. 115 overall in extra points made. The Wildcats are 32-36 or 88.9 percent on extra point attempts.
In Northwestern’s seven victories they allowed an average of 111 yards per game on the ground, while in their five losses they gave up an average of 289 rushing yards per game (including 519 to Illinois and 329 to Wisconsin).
In Texas Tech’s seven victories they rushed for an average of 155 yards per game, while in their five defeats they average only 114 yards per game (including minus-14 vs. Texas).
The Bottom Line
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Texas Tech and Northwestern are eerily similar squads: Both have been successful through the air offensively, struggled to get a ground game going, and both have been disappointing from a defensive standpoint.
You have to assume that Texas Tech (ranking a dismal and dead last 120th in pass defense) has gotten a bit lucky to face a Northwestern squad minus emerging star QB Dan Persa who simply dazzled the Big Ten until his season-ending injury on the winning play vs. Iowa.
Persa, a junior from Bethlehem PA, has been selected by the Big Ten coaches as the first team all-conference quarterback for his onfield performance in 2010, which included 2581 yards on 301 attempts, a completion rate of 73.5 percent, 15 touchdowns and only four interceptions.
Persa’s replacement, red shirt freshman Evan Watkins, has gone 26/49 for 302 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions (three vs. Wisconsin in the finale) under center.
The big question in the Cotton Bowl on the New Year’s Day inaugural playing of the Ticket City Bowl will be if the Texas Tech defense can manage stops against a Wildcat offense that has been somewhat tamed by the loss of Persa.
Texas Tech’s best defensive strategy all season has been establishing a running game that moves the ball, eats the clock and keeps the opponent's offense on the bench.
The Red Raiders have been slow starters all season, while the Wildcats have tended to begin with a huge bang and then dwindled into the fourth quarter.
If Texas Tech can manage to get their offense going early (which has been seismically inconsistent) and force QB Watkins and Northwestern to play from a hole, forcing mistakes, Tech will have a chance to pull off an unlikely 8-5 record in a 2010 campaign which has been laden with off-field distractions and challenges.
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