Texas Tech 66, Iowa State 31: What We Learned

22737c9b5494d8007a58c6c4cfd4a146Fast starts are the Red Raiders’ friends. If your defense isn’t always going to show up, you better jump on the other team. Texas Tech hasn’t gotten off to the fastest starts this season despite racking up a boatload of points. That was not an issue against Iowa State, scoring 38 points in the first half. The Red Raiders got off to the races, and the Cyclones just couldn’t keep up. Texas Tech officially has the second-most exciting offense in the state. If Baylor unquestionably has the most exciting offense, loaded with weapons after every skill position, then the Red Raiders have a group that’s up there. The sheer speed at every position is staggering. TCU and Houston are certainly more than formidable in their own rights, and both may end up winning their conferences, but if you want to just sit back and watch every skill player run riot, you get your money’s worth with Tech. Patrick Mahomes connected with 10 different receivers on the day (nine of them caught three or more passes), and the Red Raiders did that without Ian Sadler, Devin Lauderdale or Dylan Cantrell. Jakeem Grant led the way with 9 receptions for 166 yards and 2 touchdowns. From top to bottom, it’s a fun, fun group that’s incredibly fast in the open field. The defense improved from half to half. This is a new thing for the Red Raiders. The defense, which was abysmal last year, has not looked any better this year. Rather, it’s been overshadowed by a high octane offensive attack. On Saturday, Texas Tech allowed 21 points to Iowa State in the first half. The Cyclones only got three more on the first team (and added seven more in the final minutes), while surrendering two sacks and three interceptions to a defense that clearly made a few adjustments and showed some improvement. That said, Iowa State running back Mike Warren still ran 23 times for 245 yards. The corner has not yet been turned, but overall the second half performance was a positive for a unit that hasn’t had many this year.