PonyFans.com preview: TEXAS TECH

[PonyPride]

There's a new breed of Red Raider coming to Dallas Saturday for the game between SMU and Texas Tech. PonyFans old enough to harken back to Southwest Conference days will recall a run-based offense that featured the likes of former Doak Walker Award winners Byron Hanspard and Bam Morris.

This year's Tech team will not resemble the Red Raiders of yesteryear in the slightest. Third-year head coach Mike Leach (14-12 in two-plus years in Lubbock) has unleashed a passing-based offense that asks senior quarterback Kliff Kingsbury to carry the team with his right arm, and the 6-4, 210-pound senior from New Braunfels has been so prolific guiding the Tech offense that his school is touting him as a candidate for the Heisman Trophy.

Like SMU, Texas Tech opened its 2002 season with a thud, falling, 45-21, to Ohio State. Kingsbury completed 26-of-44 passes for 341 yards (of 372 total yards), three scores and an interception. Kingsbury often throws more than 40 passes in a game, but his effectiveness was limited when the Red Raiders fell behind and had to throw, allowing the Buckeyes to adjust their defense accordingly.

Three Tech receivers -- Wes Welker, Carlos Francis and Anton Paige -- caught a team-high five passes each against OSU. Welker racked up 117 yards and two scores, while Francis ran up 67 yards and a touchdown of his own. Paige turned his quintet of receptions into 44 yards.

Redshirt freshman Taurean Henderson led the ground game with three carries for 31 yards. Foy Munlin rushed seven times for 18 yards. The low rushing totals are not surprising; Ohio State has a stellar front seven on defense, and Tech's spread offense is geared to go through the air, often utilizing four or even five receivers to create more targets for the accurate Kingsbury.

Defensively, Tech's strength also lies in the front seven. Like SMU's Vic Viloria, Texas Tech's Lawrence Flugence is one of the nation's premier inside linebackers, and has earned preseason consideration for the Butkus Award, is given to the nation's top linebacker. There are some who say Flugence, a 6-2, 244-pound bruiser, has eclipsed Zach Thomas as the school's best linebacker ever. A third-team AP All-American as a junior last year, Flugence also was named first-team all-Big 12 after leading the Tech defense -- and the conference in tackles for the second consecutive season, piling up 145 last year. His 17 tackles against Texas A&M were the most by a Red Raider in a single game all year in 2001. This year, he already exceeded that total with a team-high 19 stops (15 solo) against Ohio State.

Leading the defensive line is senior defensive end Aaron Hunt, who registered a sack against Ohio State to break the school's career record, formerly held by Montae Reagor. He registered 12 sacks last year alone, including a career-high three against Kansas State.

The secondary is led by strong safety Ryan Aycock, who was second to Flugence with 12 tackles against Ohio State, and cornerback Byron Johnson, who had 10.5 tackles against the Buckeyes. Johnson and cornerback Ricky Sailor are considered Tech's best cover corners.

Punter Clint Greathouse averaged 40.8 yards per punt on six tries against OSU, with one down inside the 20.

Welker is the team's primary punt returner, averaging 9.8 yards per return on four returns. On kickoffs, the Red Raiders have an extremely dangerous weapon in Ivory McCann, a track star who's blinding speed allows him to be very agressive; against Ohio State, he brought two kickoffs out of the end zone that came down nine yards deep in the end zone, and he nearly broke one of them for a 100-plus yard touchdown. SMU's coverage will need to be excellent to contain the speedy McCann, who averaged 24.5 yards per return in the team's opener.

SMU head coach Phil Bennett is very familiar with the Texas Tech offense, having served as defensive coordinator at Kansas State for the last three years, and at Oklahoma in 1998. Last year, Tech upset Kansas State, 38-19, in Lubbock. In that came, Kingsbury came back from a thumb injury to complete 32-of-47 passes for 409 yards, the most passing yardage ever given up by Kansas State. He also threw four touchdowns that day to give the Red Raiders their first win under Leach over a ranked team (K-State was ranked No. 24).

[Pony Up]

Very thorough preview here. There's a hell of a lot of info in it.
Thanks

[Lotus]

Uh oh. What concerns me is that last paragraph, where you mention what Tech did to K-State last year. If Kingsbury put up those kinds of numbers on the Wildcats, what's he going to do with our defense, whose confidence has to be bruised a little?

Either way, I'll be on The Boulevard by 2, sipping something tall and cold and watching the lovely campus stroll by.

GO PONIES! BEAT TECH!

[ShanDtheMan]

ShanD and Keylon aren't as big as the freshman at Ohio State, but you watch, we'll run the ball on Texas Tech.

[Hilltopper]

Word out of Lubbock is that they're shaking up the offensive line after their loss to Ohio State.

[EP Pony Fan]

Will Keylon and ShanD split the carries against Tech, or did Keylon become the #1 guy after rushing for 101 on Saturday?

[ClassOf81]

Welker, Francis and Paige are all pretty good. When Tech puts them all on the field at the same time, we'll obviously have Rutledge and Garrett on two of them. But who will cover the third guy?

[RRaider]

Very nice write up!

[PonyGirl]

It's hard to agree with a Red Raider, but RRaider's right. Great preview.

[H-Town Raider]

Our game against the Ohio State was not a reflection of our talent! We play poorly on nationally televised games, and were obviously unprepared. I look forward to this week as I will be making the trip from Houston to Dallas to see the game. Any suggestions on where to go out on Friday and Saturday nights? Keep in mind I am 25!

[Raider Aficionado]

Very Good Preview!!

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Reflection is the business of man; a sense of his state is his first duty: but who remembereth himself in joy? Is it not in mercy then that sorrow is allotted unto us? -- Akhenaton

[Kiper]

H-Town, if you're looking for a place to eat, check out the "Burger Wars, Re-Visited" thread somewhere on this football message board. The folks in that group have done an incredibly thorough job of detailing the ups and downs of some of the best burgers in town.

[SMUFan]

Head to the Dubliner and the Tipperary Inn on lower Greenville for good Irish beer.