Start me up

After three games of dress rehearsal time, starting slow seems to be the norm for this Texas Tech, which has fallen behind in each game, with the opponent scoring first in two of those and the Red Raiders trailing at halftime twice. While that might be edge-of-the-seat frustrating to watch, it hasn’t been harmful so far on the way to the program’s first 3-0 start since 2017. Think of the Red Raiders as a moody teenager: They aren’t always eager to jump out of the bed in the morning, but there is plenty of energy once they shake the cobwebs and get going. The good news is that there are clearly adjustments getting made by coaches and, more importantly, the players – some schematic, some from the shoulders up.

Play-action game was a welcome sight

Tech offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie regularly dialed up play-action looks for quarterback Tyler Shough and it was effective. The Red Raiders sputtered on their first series, so when the third one commenced, Cumbie got his crew comfortable by pounding away on the ground with Xavier White and that opened some doors. Once the FIU defense had to focus on the running game, Shough took advantage with effective fakes and found open receivers with the extra time afforded by the play call. Leaning on play-action makes a lot of sense for an offensive line that has proven strong at run-blocking but has had struggles in pass protection.

Plenty of options in the passing game

Shough, Cumbie and Matt Wells fielded questions for two weeks about Erik Ezukanma catching 13 of the quarterback’s 29 completions in the first two games, and there was legitimate reason for mild concern that the Red Raiders were becoming a little predictable. Not anymore. With the Panthers doubling, bracketing and generally harassing Ezukanma all over the field, Shough calmly went through progressions and found plenty of other available targets on his way to a 399-yard, 4-touchdown passing night. He connected with 11 receivers overall and the last Texas Tech player to catch a ball was Ezukanma. The biggest benefactor of the extra attention on Ezukanma was Kaylon Geiger, who pulled down 6 catches for 121 yards. Tight end Travis Koontz was also a popular target with 6 grabs for 53 yards and a pair of scores.

Second-half suffocation

As key as offensive tweaks have been, the way the Red Raiders’ defense has dominated on defense after allowing early scores is a major plus. That didn’t change Saturday, as FIU managed a scant 52 total yards on 24 plays in the second half and four series ended with punts. A constant from opening kickoff to final gun was how well the Red Raiders thoroughly disrupted the Panthers offense with 2 sacks, 3 tackles for loss, an interception (pick-six), 5 pass breakups and 8 quarterback hurries.

Depth emerging more

Close games in the first two weeks made it tough for the coaches to send in reinforcements, but that changed Saturday – and that’s important with Big 12 Conference play on the doorstep. Besides the plethora of receivers and tight ends who got important snaps, SaRodorick Thompson knocking off some rust might’ve been the best thing to see. He carried only 4 times for 11 yards but nosed into the end zone on his first carry of the season and adds an obvious threat for the Red Raiders, as well as another player for opposing defenses to prepare for.