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October 28, 2007
Signals from the static: Colorado
Joe Yeager
RedRaiderSports.com The Red Raiders are reeling after falling to Colorado this weekend at home. The loss dropped Texas Tech's conference record to 2-3 and ended any chance of a South Division title. A few thoughts from the loss from senior writer Joe Yeager:
A Nasty Ratio: For the record, the Texas Tech offense had as many interceptions (4) as running plays to Kobey Lewis and Aaron Crawford. I'm not a mathematician a numerologist or even a coach, but I do know that that is an unhealthy statistic. It speaks not only to the accuracy of the passer, but also to the fact that the defense is constantly waiting to pounce on the pass. And against a good defense such as Colorado's, the defense will eventually get its hands on its fair share of passes in such a scenario. I predict that unless the Red Raider offense becomes more diversified (and that means running the rock extensively with somebody other than a receiver), Graham Harrell will throw three or more interceptions against both Oklahoma and Texas.
Killer on Kickoffs: One bright spot in what should have been a win for the Red Raiders was the performance of Tech's kickoff and kickoff coverage teams. The return team consistently opened creases for Detron Lewis and Edward Britton, and those returners, in turn, made good hay. (Lewis looked particularly slippery.) In combination, Britton and Lewis returned four kicks for 103 yards and came very close to breaking a couple. A kickoff return for a touchdown would have been just the thing for what ailed the Red Raiders.
But as good as the return team was the coverage unit may have been even better. The Buffaloes averaged only 16 yards per return, and Adrian Hamilton and Pete Richardson were each in on thunderous hits. All in all, this was an advantage the Red Raiders failed to take advantage of.
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