Let me begin this week by discussing the state of affairs concerning my buddy Leeson’s most hated part of the Texas Tech gameday experience; the jumbotron production. I didn’t totally agree with most of his comments from the first game mainly because I didn’t see anything glaringly wrong with it. But since reading his letter to the athletic department I have tried very hard these last two games to pay more attention. Let me just say that if Leeson was embarrassed by what he saw the first game, he would be hiding under a rock after what happened these last two. Here are a few examples of what I’m talking about:
- Random shots of people in the stands just sitting. Also those “fans of the game” things are rigged. No way that 60 year old guy sitting on the first row of the 50 yard line has raised his voice above a whisper all game.
- The microphone did not work when giving the “scores from around the country” segment. All we saw was a dude moving his mouth. Then the mic comes on and its blaring way too loud.
- Ron Roberts gave the weather update as Tech is trying to kickoff. At least he didn’t tell us to run for the hills this time (I love Lubbock inside jokes).
- Tramain Swindall caught a pass early in the game and as he was going down fumbled the ball. The announcer then proceeds to say “12 yard reception by Tramain Swindall for a Red Raider FIRST DOWN” right as one of the UMass players picks up the ball and runs it in from 40 yards out for a touchdown. I was more frustrated with the announcer than the actual fumble once the play was over. I know they have spotters talking to them all the time, but come on.
- And during last week’s game the jumbotron guy decided to play the Underarmor “We Must Protect This House” clip right as SMU was lining up to snap the ball on a critical 3rddown play. This caused June Jones to walk out on the field to yell at the ref. The ref then gets on his mic and publicly asks the production crew to not play anything after the teams break the huddle. A public reprimand from a ref. Shesh.
Only one word for it all. Embarrassing. And now, the Gameballs:
Offense – Shannon Woods. I would like to officially welcome you out of Leach’s doghouse. Woods has been running like the 2006 first team All-Big XII player that we love and remember. Woods ran with purpose last night, and showed off some of his great moves. During his 35 yard TD run he took the handoff down the left sideline and then made a crazy cut towards the middle that left two linebackers that had the angle on him picking up their jocks when the play mercifully ended. Woods had 3 catches for 53 yards to go along with 10 rushes for 108 yards and 3 TDs. Woods is back, baby.
Honorable Mention – I have to go back to my comeback player of the year, Baron Batch. His stats aren’t as gaudy as what Woods had last night ( 5 catches for 68 yards, 11 rushes 55 yards) but it was how he picked up his yardage that was impressive. Batch never went down on first contact. Never. On Tech’s first possession they were faced with a 3rdand 15. So Leach dials up a screen that will either get a first down or enough yardage to give Carona a chance to miss wide left. Batch catches the ball and has clear sailing for about 10 yards but then he is met by three UMass players with about 5 yards to go for the first. Batch lowers his head and plows through the would be tacklers and then struggles the last yard with another player holding onto his foot. I have never seen an offensive player get a standing ovation for a first down, but Batch got one last night. Batch and Woods combined have accounted for half of Tech’s total offensive yards the last two games. The key to the offense this year will start and end with the running backs. Against SMU they used the run to set up the vertical passing. Last night they used the run to set up the underneath, 5-10 yard passes that were wide open when the linebackers started cheating in. It was the most efficient game that the Tech offense has played all year.
Defense– Darcel McBath. Tech only had one interception last night (seems kinda smallish compared to last week’s five) but they sure made it count. McBath jumped an out route and, after juggling if for what seemed forever, took off for the endzone. He was barely able to outrun the qb who had the angle on him, but he scored nonetheless. The funny part was in the postgame interview where they asked him if he was worried about the qb catching him. He gave a little laugh and said “Nah, I was just joggin.” The reason why he laughed was because during the game they showed the replay of him running in the int and you could see the strain on his face as he was trying to avoid the qb. He knew his teammates would never let him forget it if he had been caught. The swagger and competition within this unit is awesome.
Honorable Mention – The entire defensive line. Once again they were dominant. They seem to be very comfortable with the rotation, which will keep our guys fresh for the conference run. The new guys play with such a mean streak that everyone is catching on. They are my favorite part of the defense to watch every week.
Special Teams– This is a bit of an odd one, so stick with me. During the break between the third and fourth quarters they always bring a fan on the field to kick for free rent at some nice apartments. Well, this college kid comes out and sends the 30 yard field goal into the student section down the middle. It would have been good from 40-plus. Everyone starts going crazy and the people around me start joking about replacing Carona with this kid. Come to find out this dude kicked field goals in high school as well as at Tarleton State. I can’t confirm the school part entirely. It’s just the word on the street from multiple sources. Now he is at Tech and could still play. Apparently Leach spoke briefly with him and he is coming into see Leach on Tuesday about the possibility of him joining the team. When asked about it after the game, Leach just said that you can never have enough good legs on your team, even if it is just for practice purposes. Now, I doubt he will go and replace our scholarship kid (who looked great on all 8 extra points, and yes, that is a big deal), but a little competition never hurts. Neither does a good story that ESPN might be able to grasp onto.
Next week is a bye, and the first that Tech has had in years. After that we go up to Kansas State to play a pretty good Wildcat team who looked like world beaters until they laid an egg this last weekend. I expect a Tech win, but it should be a really good game. My way too early prediction: Tech – 38 KState – 28.
When asked about the lack of play from the backups at the end of the game, here’s what Leach had to say: “Guys sit there with their arms folded, eat ice and think they should be out there ahead of somebody else,’’ Leach said. “Then all of a sudden, you give them reps and we’ve got about two-thirds of our second offense and two-thirds of our second defense battling really hard and about one-third of them are just wasting their time.’’
I love Leach’s honesty and would hate to be on his bad side as a player. Here is a link to a video that shows his postgame comments on the greatness of our two running backs. Enjoy:
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.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
