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Published Aug 3, 2019
Roundtable: What makes 2019 a success for Matt Wells?
Staff
Rivals.com

With preseason camp underway, the RedRaiderSports.com staff convenes another edition of the Roundtable to set the bar for Texas Tech's 2019 season.

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What would make the 2019 football season a success for Matt Wells and his Texas Tech program?

Chris Level: I'm sure Coach Wells would have a list handy with a few hundred things listed. But I'll focus on just a few things that I bet are at or near the top.

Did his vision for the culture and discipline of this program take in year one? I'm not sure what that looks like but he will. How disciplined are they Monday through Friday and between the white lines on Saturdays. Does he have the right guys on his leadership counsel? That kind of stuff. These things will go a long way in determining how quickly they get this program to where they want it.

Be better at home. We know the W-L records at home during Mike Leach's tenure here and we know them since. It hasn't been pretty since 2010 and it needs to be better, period. Wells knows it, has emphasized this internally and talks publicly about it often.

Lastly, how quickly can David Yost incorporate the tight end position into his offense and lean on it. I don't think they'll force this but they know what it looks like when you've got that position developed and able to do what you need to have the offense humming. Can Travis Koontz, Tyler Carr, Donta Thompson and Simon Gonzalez get that done in year one with how he wants it? Unlikely but how quickly that comes together is meaningful for getting this program to where they want it.

Aaron Dickens: The last five men to lead Texas Tech's football program posted a winning record in their debut, and the 2019 season will go down as a success for Matt Wells if he can extend that streak to six.

That won't be easy. Getting to seven regular season wins will either require the Red Raiders to sweep their non-conference opponents - including a late-night road tilt at Arizona - or post their first winning record the Big 12 in a decade. Luckily for Wells, he has one of the four or five best quarterbacks in the Big 12 in Alan Bowman and a favorable home schedule. It's not unreasonable to think - or even expect - that Texas Tech could post its first winning record at home since 2015.

A winning season would also snap the Red Raiders' streak of three-straight losing seasons, a first since the program's ignominious Jerry Moore era.

Brandon Soliz: Wells needs to find a way to win at home and win most of them. He's made it clear that is a goal for this team in year one and to make it consistent. He'll have two easy ones to open the year then Big 12 home play hits when you host Oklahoma State, but the positive is you'll have a bye week to prepare to try and beat a school outside of Kansas on your home turf. He puts a product on the field that is a winning home environment outside of nonconference play and that's a winning season.

Secondly, I think Wells needs his team to show improvements in the details. Even if they go 5-7 or 6-6, someone needs to be able to watch and see that A) you were in a dog fight the majority of the game and B) you were playing disciplined, sound football. You do the last part by limiting dumb penalties like late hits, personal fouls, etc. that have hurt this team in the past. They combine those two things then folks can be optimistic once you bring in your first recruiting class next year and build with the returners.

Ben Golan: I think the obvious goal would be to make a bowl game. I have a hard time seeing this coming season as a success with 5 or fewer wins, no matter how you get them.

Now to some this season may not be just about wins and losses, and I agree to an extent. Texas Tech fans want to see a team that plays defense. A team that runs the ball successfully. A team that can win at home, that doesn't shoot itself in the foot and can actually make a comeback if they're down at halftime. All those things are important too.

But to me, I want to see all those things AND Tech still having something to play for in late December. This is a talented team and in a down Big 12, it would be very disappointing to not come out of 2019 with at least 6 wins.

Making a bowl game, any bowl game, and continuing the success the staff has had on the recruiting trail would be more than enough to call 2019 a win for Matt Wells.