The following Game Breakdown was done by Russ Morris of the Fall 2017 Neff Said Pledge Class:
Texas Tech vs Montana State Breakdown
Montana State (Big Sky)
2018 W-L: 8-5 (5-3)
Received an At Large bid into the FCS Playoffs where they defeated Incarnate Word, but were destroyed by North Dakota State in the 2nd Round
Last year they were projected to finish 8th in both preseason polls, but surprised everyone by winding up tied for 4th and finished 17th in the final polls.
2018 Offensive Numbers
Avg. 28.5 pts/game
225 1st downs
58-172 on 3rd down
45% on 4th down
A rush first team
Avg 231.8 rushing yds/game
Totals out to 3,014 total rushing yards and 37 TDs
Through the air:
Avg. 140.5 passing yds/game
Finished with 1,826 total passing yards and ONLY 8 TDs
Troy Andersen and Isaiah Ifanse are their best players on offense
2018 Defensive Numbers
Gave up 28.5 pts/game
Allowed 264 points in total
Gave up 2,531 rushing yards
Opponents avg 194.7 yds/game and 33 TDs
2018 Defensive Numbers contd.
Allowed 2,775 yds through the air
Opponents avg. 213.5 yds/game and 13 TDs
Lacked on 3rd down and gave up 196 conversions
Opponents kept the on the field with TOP (402:02)
No one really stands out on defense.
They could never keep up with the top offenses
Texas Tech (Big 12)
Coming off of last season in which the Red Raiders went 5-7 and (3-6)…Texas Tech looks to improve for the now with the addition of Matt Wells to the South Plains.
Wells is coming off of a 6 year stint with his alma mater, Utah State, where he went 44-34, two conference championship appearances, two ten-win seasons, and a 2-2 bowl record in the Mountain West.
He brings in a solid staff headlined by OC David Yost and DC Keith Patterson
David Yost has a history with QBs coaching Chase Daniel and Blaine Gabbert at MIZZOU, and current Oregon QB Justin Herbert.
Keith Patterson comes in with stops at Allen High School, Arizona State, and West Virginia all as the DC.
Once again, the defense is the source of question with Patterson bringing in the 3-3-5 scheme back to Lubbock. Only time will tell how this looks on the field with the current defensive staff.
2018 Offensive Numbers
Points for: 448
37.3 pts/game (16th of 130)
2018 Offensive Numbers
Total passing yards: 4,231
67.5% completion percentage, 352.6 yds/game, 28 TDs
Total rushing yards: 1,591
132.6 rushing yds/game and 26 TDs
Total offensive numbers: 5,822 total offensive yards
That’s and average of 485.2 yds/game
Alan Bowman, T.J Vasher, Ta’Zhawn Henry, and Donta Thompson lead the way on offense this season with much to improve upon.
There will be plenty of competition as transfers made headlines this summer, Travis Koontz, McLane Mannix headline the group.
2018 Defensive Numbers
Points against: 373
Opp pts/game: 31.1 (86th of 130)……….down 10 spots from 2017
Gave up 288.3 passing yds/game
56.7% of opponents passes were completed and averaged 2.3 TDs/ game by air
Gave up 160.6 rushing yds/game
More rushing attempts made than passing by opponents with 39.3/game
They averaged 4.1 yds per carry/game and 1.3 TDs/game
Defense averaged 1.5 turnovers per game last year with zero turnover ratio
Needless to say our defense could have been compared to Oprah with the guaranteed TDs we handed out last year.
Jordyn Brooks, Broderick Washington, Douglas Coleman, and Adrian Frye headline the defense this year which looks only to improve from a disappointing 2018.
On average Texas Tech finished with the 13th best offense out of 130 while the defense fell from 65th at the start of last year to 86th out of 130.
Game summary
Montana State has no one who really stands out on defense and are highlighted by a running back who is also their QB and their starting middle linebacker. With only everything to prove Texas Tech should handle the Bearcats very well. I would expect nothing short of about 50pts before the end of the 4th quarter. Basically prepare for another Lamar type game where everyone will play due to the new redshirt rule. Not calling it a cake-walk but expect a W!
This past week we had our bid night and we added 29 new guys to our brotherhood. They are:
Cade Sharp, Corey Obregon, Chris Vardy, Ty McClellen, James Riley Pacinda, Zayan Aly, Frank Maretinez, Marcos Olvera, Logan Alvear, Cameron Smith, Caleb Askins, Manning Marsh, Thomas Kalsch, Chase Hoodenpyle, Max Rodgers, Austin Wheelock, PJ Moore, Aubrey Warner, Jordan Marcum, Nathan Valdez, Justin Osburn, Blaine Richardson, Cody Self, Matthew Brown, Corey Nelson, Andrew Teague, Nathan Dudley, Jim Powers, Sergio Soliz
Congrats!
