The Juice: Scattershooting the Red Raiders after their win over UH
... Texas Tech's defense allowed 24 points and 427 yards - 110 rushing, 317 passing - to Houston's offense last Saturday. The Cougars ran 83 plays, logged 25 first downs and converted 6-of-18 third-downs.
Houston does not play in a Power Five conference, but it seems fair to say that the 2017 Cougars are as good or better than a number of teams that do play in a power league. Here's how the Red Raiders' defensive results Saturday stack up against their outings against Power Five teams last season.
| Category | 2017 UH | Where It'd Rank | 2016 Avg. vs. P5 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Points |
24 |
T-No. 2 |
46 |
|
Total Yards |
427 |
No. 4 |
570 |
|
Rush Yards |
110 |
No. 2 |
254 |
|
Pass Yards |
317 |
No. 5 |
316 |
|
First Downs |
25 |
T-No. 5 |
27 |
|
Third Down % |
33.3 |
T-No. 2 |
45.26 |
|
Plays |
83 |
No. 7 |
78.5 |
|
Yards Per Play |
5.1 |
No. 3 |
7.27 |
... Texas Tech forced nine turnovers against its three non-conference opponents. The Red Raiders forced three turnovers in non-conference play in 2016, eight in 2015, two in 2014 and five in 2013. The nine non-conference takeaways are the most for Texas Tech since 2010, when the team forced 11 in games against SMU, New Mexico, Weber State and Houston.
... The Red Raiders converted just 25 percent (4-of-16) of their third-downs against Houston. That is Texas Tech's lowest single-game conversion rate since the 2011 team converted just 23.08 percent in a loss against Iowa State, and the lowest rate in a win since the 2009 squad converted 14.29 percent against New Mexico.
... The Red Raiders' 17 first downs against the Cougars are tied for the second-fewest in the Kliff Kingsbury era, behind only the 16 logged by the 2013 team in its win over TCU.
... Nic Shimonek had two separate stretches of four-straight incomplete passes against Houston, his first such stretches of the season. He also completed four or more consecutive passes on four different occasions.
... Texas Tech allowed 18 plays of 10-plus yards against Houston. That total is now up 48 on the season - Eastern Washington: 11; Arizona State: 19.
... Houston faced an average of 6.9 yards to gain on third downs. The Cougars converted 3-of-5 3rd and Shorts (0-4 yards) and 1-of-3 3rd and Longs (9-plus).
... Texas Tech faced an average of 7.7 yards to gain on third downs. The Red Raiders converted 3-of-5 3rd and Shorts (0-4 yards) and 1-of-6 3rd and Longs (9-plus).
... Keke Coutee again led Texas Tech in targets with 12. Derrick Willies had nine, Cameron Batson had eight, Dylan Cantrell and Justin Stockton each had four.
... Stockton rushed for 102 yards on 10 carries against Houston, his third-career 100-yard game. The Red Raiders are 5-1 whenever Stockton averages more than 10-yards per carry.
... Texas Tech rushed for 200 yards against Houston, the team's first time reaching the 200-yard rushing mark in 15 games.
... The Red Raiders are 11-2 under Kingsbury when rushing for 200 or more yards in a game.
... Texas Tech is second in the nation in passing yards per game (437.7). Four of the top eight FBS passing offenses reside in the Big 12: No. 5 Oklahoma State (405), No. 6 Oklahoma (399.8) and No. 8 West Virginia (363.8).
... The Red Raiders are one of three Big 12 teams that have played a top 20 scoring defense (Houston, T-No 17.). Baylor has played No. 14 UTSA and T-No. 17 Duke, while West Virginia has faced No. 6 Virginia Tech.
... In three games, Tony Jones has logged eight tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a sack, two quarterback hurries, an interception and a fumble recovery.
... Tre King was responsible for two of Texas Tech's three runs of 10-plus yards against Houston. The team had one such run against Arizona State and five against Eastern Washington.
... Texas Tech (plus-7) is one of five Big 12 teams with a positive turnover margin on the season, along with Kansas State (plus-5), Iowa State (plus-4), West Virginia (plus-3) and TCU (plus-2).
... The Red Raiders are tied with the Wildcats and Cyclones for the fewest lost turnovers (2) this season.
... Texas Tech is the only team in the Big 12 that has not allowed a single run of 30 yards or more this season. The Red Raiders gave up 17 such runs in 2016 and 19 in 2015, dead last in the Big 12 both seasons.
... Coutee is averaging 148.7 receiving yards per game, tops in the Big 12. If he sustains this pace over the course of the season, he would post the league's highest per game average since Michael Crabtree averaged 150.9 yards per game in 2007.
... Texas Tech's win over Houston was its longest game of the season to date, lasting 3:53. The team's win over Arizona State took 3:39, and its win over Eastern Washington took 3:18.
... The Red Raiders' win over Houston pushed Kingsbury's head coaching record back above .500 for the first time since the team was 3-2 last October.
... Kingsbury is 2-16 against AP Top 25 teams, with both victories coming during the 2013 season. He has lost 13-straight against ranked teams.
... Kingsbury is 21-3 when his team allows fewer than 40 points, and 5-23 when his team allows 40 points or more.
... Kingsbury has won four of his last five home night games, and is 8-3 overall in such games.
... Last week, Texas Tech snapped its five-game losing streak on ABC with a win over Houston. The team has a chance to snap its six-game skid on FOX against Oklahoma State on Saturday.
... The Red Raiders are 11-4 against the spread in their last 15 games and 3-2 in their last five games as an underdog.