The Juice: Raiders' lack of football IQ, discipline is biggest concern
Texas Tech’s season-opening loss to Ole Miss does not have to be the beginning of another disappointing season for Kliff Kingsbury and his program.
It’s reasonable to think that a full-strength secondary – i.e. not the one that finished the game down three starters – will plug some of the holes of a surprisingly leaky Red Raider defense and achieve better results against less Monstars-like receivers. There’s ample reason to believe that, as long as its starting quarterback doesn’t go down on the second series, the Texas Tech offense can be more productive than what it showed against Ole Miss.
In short, there’s a legitimate case to be made that what happened Saturday isn’t a great indicator of how the rest of the 2018 season will play out.
I am not here to make that case.
What struck me the most from Saturday’s game was not the lackluster results on offense or defense. Those, as detailed above, can be sensibly explained away to varying degrees.
No, what stuck with me all weekend me was how many times the team made fans wonder, aloud or just to themselves, what exactly the Red Raiders were thinking.
Why did De’Quan Bowman decide to return Ole Miss’ first kickoff at the 1-yard line instead of taking a touchback?
Why did Desmon Smith, on third down, feel the need to level an unnecessary hit on DaMarkus Lodge after an incompletion that would have led to a Rebel punt? Instead, Smith was ejected for targeting and Ole Miss’ drive continued.
What was Vaughnte Dorsey’s decision-making process that led to his clear and egregious targeting penalty in the fourth quarter?
Why exactly did Seth Collins, after officials flagged an Ole Miss defender for a penalty that would have given the Red Raiders 1st and Goal at the 2-yard line, feel it was necessary to continue to pop off instead of jog back to his teammates? Collins’ unsportsmanlike conduct flag pushed a struggling Texas Tech offense back to the 17-yard line and the drive came up empty four plays later on fourth down.
Even more troubling? Bowman and Dorsey are seniors, Smith is a third-year junior and Collins played three seasons at Oregon State before transferring to Texas Tech.
If those four plays are indicative of the team’s football IQ this season, then these Red Raiders will sink themselves - and Kingsbury's tenure as head coach - regardless of when Jah’Shawn Johnson and McLane Carter return to the lineup.