texas downs the red raiders...

when texas went up 14-0, early in the first quarter, i was thinking, "this could be a very long night".  the raiders tied the game at 14 all just before half-time, and i had hope.

false hope, as it turns out.  texas has work still to do, i think, but i was fairly impressed by emerging tech defence.  i saw really good stuff from the d side of the ball. 

i do have one question for coach.  what the hell have you done to the tech offense. i get a balanced attack, i do.  in the tuberville version, i'm seeing a lack of offensive spark from years past.  is taylor potts the problem?  is it time to give sheffield a shot at qb?

texas won the game, a loss is a loss, but i choose to see good things down the road. with a new emphasis on the d side of the ball, my raiders will be fine.  that is if coach can be smart enough to find the spark for the o side again.  aio   

keep your guns up...

as expected, my red raiders prevailed against new mexico, on saturday.  the score, tech 52  new mexico 17, if considered alone, might indicate a rout.

the box score paints another picture altogether and is the source of my concern as the raiders enter the big 12 schedule starting saturday against texas.  the number of first downs for each team? t-24 nm- 23.  tech had 152 rushing yards on 36 carries-- average 4.22 per carry.  up from last week against smu but... nm- 97 yards on 27 totes-- 3.59 yds/ carry.  i don't know whether to gather hope from tech's gains on the ground or wring my hands over their soft defence against a "weaker" opponent.

tech's total passing yards 310, down some but temper that with the increase in ground yards. the lobos, 336 yards through the air. taylor potts 22-34-0  for 293 yards, sheffield 2-7-0 for 17 yards. for the lobos holbrook 30-50-2-323 and sustine 2-2-0 for 13.

return yards for tech, 93, lobos 0. punts avg.  2-47.5 new mexico 7-30.9  fumbles lost  tech 4-2, nm 3-1  penalty yards tech 6-69 nm 16-145  not unexpected time of possession t 26:19 nm 33:41

the headline in today's agn reads "tech wallops new mexico" and if you just look at the final score you would tend to say that, i guess.  the story of the box score says something totally different.  the tale of the tape tells me that although the defence is improved it is still allowing teams to run and pass up and down the field only to stiffen some once the opponent gets deep into tech's territory. that's what worries me with the big 12 schedule ahead of us.

i like taylor potts, but i'm a bigger fan of steven sheffield, or i was.  there's another thing the box score revealed to me.  coach tuberville is a seer. he chose the right guy to lead the raiders into big 12 battle.

on, saturday tech's tuberville litmus test kicks off as the big 12 campaign begins aginst the UT longhorns.   tech -- make sure your guns are loaded, with extra ammo close to hand. eat your wheaties!

better yet, have a side of gunpowder for dessert. aio