Texas Tech lost its Big 12 Conference opener on Saturday night, but it was hard to tell if you paid attention to some of the reactions from various media outlets and even a segment of Red Raider fans.
There seemed to be a consensus that, despite the 34-24 defeat at Texas, the Red Raiders did themselves proud.
Playing in front of the largest crowd to witness a football game in the state of Texas, and with a national television audience tuned in, many said Tech played the second-ranked Longhorns closer than they had expected, perhaps earning the program a greater measure of respect. And for several Tech fans who I spoke with over the weekend, or who posted comments to our stories on redraiders.com, that was satisfying enough.
And there’s been praise all around for quarterback Taylor Potts – who was making his first start on the road, withstood several hits in the pocket and still gave Tech a chance to win – as well as for how the defense performed without two regular ends and a starting safety.
The bottom line, though, is the Raiders are the only team with a Big 12 loss, and they already have as many regular-season losses as they did all of last year.
“I would rather play good and win at the same time,” Tech defensive lineman Richard Jones said on Monday. “I would just rather win and call it a win instead of a moral victory.”
The Red Raiders certainly can’t afford to be patting themselves on the back, because they’ll likely be 2-2 if they don’t bring the same sort of toughness, intensity and execution to Houston on Saturday night. They might need to play even better to beat a 17th-ranked Cougars squad that’s coming off one of the most significant wins in school history and a bye week.
Tech also will be thrust into another hostile environment as Houston is expecting a record crowd at Robertson Stadium, where the Cougars have won 10 in a row. Another national TV audience will come away with an impression of the Red Raiders, whether it’s good, bad or somewhere in between.
“We really respect how they play and what they’ve done,” Tech coach Mike Leach said of the Cougars, who have a former Tech assistant coach (Dana Holgorsen) and a former Tech quarterback (Kliff Kingsbury) on their staff. “We’ve got to go out and play well. We have to get a week better this week.”
Instead of singing each other’s praises for going toe-to-toe with the Longhorns – at their place, no less – the Red Raiders should be concerned with fixing the problems that contributed to the loss. A punt return for a touchdown by Texas’ Jordan Shipley might have ultimately made the difference, and Tech rushed for negative yardage while committing two fourth-quarter turnovers and a few drive-killing false start penalties.
Leach and those in the Tech camp are undoubtedly doing just that, and they’re probably anything but overconfident as they prepare to face the Cougars, who are favored by one point.
Tech fans should hope that’s the case, anyway, and that the Red Raiders haven’t been listening to everyone who’s telling them how good they are
Story courtesy of www.redraiders.com
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