The Texas Tech Red Raiders got in done with the sun gone and the lights on as the scarlet and black cruised to a 38-3 victory over the UTEP Miners.
A key factor that played into account of the Red Raiders’ win included allowing only 131 total yards to the Miners. However, Tech still searches for their first takeaway.
Through the air
Tech quarterback Alan Bowman had another stellar night completing 30-45 passes for 260 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Leading the receiving corps was junior T.J. Vasher with six catches, 78 yards and two touchdowns. On the ground, Armand Shyne and SaRodorick Thompson (oddly) had eight carries for 45 yards each. Shyne had a 7-yard score in the fourth quarter while Ta’Zhawn Henry accounted for the other ground touchdown in the first quarter.
Head coach Matt Wells was happy with the team’s win tonight.
“Proud of our team, proud of our guys,” Wells said. “Found a way to win, and we celebrate all wins. (Dana Dimel) has been doing this for a long time. I got a lot of respect for that staff at UTEP.
I’m really proud of our defense, tremendous tonight, 131 yards given up. Tremendous night, wish we could’ve got a shutout. I’m not sure we can coach a little harder than the last two series. Proud of (Keith Patterson) and our defensive staff, thought they had our guys extremely ready to play. They executed at a high level, still looking for that first takeaway. We’re going to continue to coach it, continue to demand it. Takeaways will come, we’ll get them. When they come, they’ll come in bunches.”
During the week, Wells had said he wanted the offense to speed up the tempo. Bowman said the first drive of the game was the fastest the offense has ever been.
“I think we were snapping it 33, 32, 31 seconds left on the (play) clock,” Bowman said. “When you kind of practice it all week, it’s nothing like you can’t simulate it. Coming out and running it every seven, eight, nine seconds. That’s tough. So, we banged four out real quick, trying to get the call in and know where to get lined up. And then throughout the game it tires them down, and so I think that’s why I third quarter, we started running the ball more and getting more explosive plays that way.”
The ground-game
On the ground, the three running backs combined for 143 yards. Receiver Dalton Rigdon added 17 on a sweep-play. Overall, Wells said the ground game was not very good early on in the game.
“I just think the first quarter woes can probably be traced back to some missed blocks and not executing the run game very well. I didn’t think we ran the ball early in the game.”
Three points allowed
The Red Raider defense was three points shy of a leaving a goose-egg on the scoreboard. With 5:32 left in the fourth quarter, Miners kicker Gavin Baechle nailed a 45-yard field goal to put the Miners on the board.
Leading the way was linebacker Jordyn Brooks with 11 total tackles, six unassisted and five assisted, including 1.5 tackles for loss. It is the second week in a row Brooks leads the team in tackles.
As far as turnovers, the Tech defense came up empty. In the fourth quarter, cornerback Zech McPhearson intercepted a pass by UTEP’s Kai Locksley and proceeded to score. However, the pick-6 was negated by an offsides penalty on Dadrion Taylor.
Heading into next week’s challenge with Arizona, the defensive still searches for that first takeaway, and Wells said the team will continue to practice the way they do in order to get that first turnover.
“I’m not going to over-dramatize it. We’re coaching the heck out of it. Last place we coached we led the country in turnovers. We’re doing the same drills. We’re going to continue to coach it and emphasize it, and I truly think when they come, they’ll come in bunches.”
Other notes
Three players were in street clothes in tonight’s game. Coach Wells mentioned that guard Jack Anderson, tackle Terence Steele, and cornerback Damarcus Fields were day-to-day.
“You got it,” Wells joked. “We already talked about this last week. They’re day-to-day.”
On another note, before Bowman began his postgame availability, he began with this statement:
“I want to start off by saying that (Weston Wright) and (Casey Verhulst) stepped up today in a big way, obviously getting those roles. Weston broke out on those two guys.”
Coach Wells had high praise for wideout Dalton Rigdon, who displayed his speed on a designed-screen that turned into a 49-yard trip to the endzone.
“Same guy, same guy every day. Since the minute he walked in here, it’s like, ‘who’s this dude?’ Same guy every day. Never busts an assignment, catches everything thrown to him. He’s 160 pounds drippin’ wet, blocks his tail off, catches everything, and he’s really fast. He’s been a joy to coach. I know (Luke Wells) enjoys coaching him, but he’s been the same guy, consistent guy. Exactly what you get out of Dalton every day.”
Another note, Tech converted 8-13 on third down.
