Last week, Eric Stephens was lost for the year due to a dislocated knee, suffered against Texas A&M. Stephens, the workhorse for the Red Raiders, had already rushed 109 times for 570 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns to go along with 15 receptions for 128 yards. To put this in perspective, Texas Tech's second leading rusher is freshman DeAndre Washington, who only has 22 attempts for 107 yards and 2 touchdowns. Granted, this team is still has a pass first, run second approach, however, the rushing attack has allowed quarterback Seth Doege to be so efficient in the passing game.
Fortunately, Tech has at least a little experience in fifth year senior Aaron Crawford, who had a great freshman year, but has been bit by the injury bug the past few years. True freshmen DeAndre Washington and Kenny Williams are also available. As long as Crawford can stay healthy, expect at least a shred of stability in the run game. However, this rushing game will be thrown into the fire immediately with the arrival of Kansas State's run defense this weekend.
Tech should also be getting wide receiver Darrin Moore back from injury. Moore, coupled with the emerging Eric Ward, should provide Doege enough weapons to make up for the ground game. The rest of this season will be tough without a leader like Eric Stephens taking care of the team. However, Texas Tech has enough talent to at least partially bridge the gap. Expect the Red Raiders to focus more on the passing game for these next couple games. My prediction: Texas Tech beats Kansas State 35-24.
No comments:
Post a Comment