17 rushing yards. Six sacks. 11 tackles for loss. 5-21 combined on third and fourth down.

To say Texas Tech’s 39-14 win over Baylor Saturday night was anything short of a defensive masterpiece would be underselling the Red Raiders’ performance on that side of the ball.

Though Blake Shapen passed for 324 yards and receiver Monaray Baldwin found space for 126, there were countless times the Tech defense was called upon to “put out the fire” and they answered the call almost every time.

Behind the stout performance were, arguably, the two best players on that side of the field: Dadrion Taylor-Demerson and Jesiah Pierre, the latter of which made his true return to the lineup after being absent from the Houston game. Pierre’s return saw him all over the field, credited with six tackles, 0.5 sacks and 0.5 TFLs. It goes without saying however, that the 5-21 conversion rate from Baylor on third and fourth down was a team effort.

“It’s just playing our football,” Pierre said following the win. “Coach (Joey) McGuire emphasizes it’s never really about them, it’s about us. Really just go out there and play us versus us. Dominate and do our job, that’s what coach McGuire emphasizes, our coaches emphasize just going back to our fundamentals, doing our job and playing with effort and technique.”

The victory was even sweeter for Taylor-Demerson, otherwise known as “Rabbit” around the team. A season ago, Baylor’s sophomore sensation running back Richard Reese tore the Red Raiders apart, running 36 times for 148 yards and an astounding three touchdowns. In the 2023 contest, Reese ran four times for four yards.

“We owed him one, to answer the question,” Taylor-Demerson said when asked about bottling up Reese this season compared to last. “We owed him one, he came to Lubbock last year and disrespected us. He’s a good player, though, he’s a good player. But we owed him one. 17 yards. It’s all love in the game, but he came out and played a good game last year… That’s what this whole night was about, coming out here and paying that back.”

Pierre missed the Houston game entirely, but Taylor-Demerson had his own ailments. Back tightness towards the end of the first half held him out for the back end of the win over the Cougars. The senior safety has often been called “the quarterback of the defense” and having his presence on the field impacted the entire unit in a major way.

“I was asked by the TV crew this week who was most like me, and I said the two No. 1s,” McGuire said, referencing Taylor-Demerson and receiver Myles Price. “Myles Price and Rabbit are the energy of this team. They never shut up, which is a good thing. They’re always competing and they’re always pushing. He has a really high football IQ and he does a really good job of helping us get into the things that we need to get into. He’s such a leader, huge having him back.”

The physicality that bode so well for Baylor a season ago flipped to the Red Raiders’ end. Tech battled at the line of scrimmage and it paid dividends in terms of pushing drives back or stopping them entirely. It was personal tonight. Now the Red Raiders can celebrate a job well done on the road.

“First of all, this is a good team win,” Taylor-Demerson said. “Coming on the road, we needed this. We didn’t start out how we wanted to this season, but once we got into Big 12 play the ball has been rolling, man. Good to come out here and get a win, I’ve never won out here before. It was really special coming out here and getting a win.”

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