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Sep. 6—PULLMAN — Here is what to watch for when Washington State hosts Texas Tech at 7 p.m. Saturday evening.
When Texas Tech has the ball…
The only question mark in the Red Raiders’ offense has to do with running back Tahj Brooks, who is quite literally questionable with an arm injury, according to the team’s injury report at the beginning of the week. If he’s unable to play, Texas Tech will operate without one of the best backs in the country, a guy who carded 153 rushing yards and three receptions last week.
Otherwise, there aren’t too many flaws in Texas Tech’s offense, which put up 52 points in an overtime win over FCS Abilene Christian last week. Quarterback Behren Morton connected on 30 of 42 passes for 378 passes and five touchdowns, including one to former WSU receiver Josh Kelly, who paced his team with 10 receptions for 156 yards and the one score.
What makes the Red Raiders’ offense so dangerous is their willingness to take deep shots, to push the ball down the field at any point. In that win over ACU, Morton hit on 3 of 7 passes that traveled 20-plus air yards, a percentage of 43%, and two scores. He was at his best in intermediate range, where he completed 6 of 7 passes for 124 yards and another two scores.
That might put a strain on WSU’s defense, which permitted 30 points in last week’s season-opening win over FCS Portland State, the most the Cougs have allowed to an FCS foe since Cooper Kupp led Eastern Washington to an upset in 2016. WSU’s secondary is almost entirely new, starting redshirt junior Steve Hall at one cornerback spot and redshirt freshman Ethan O’Connor at the other, plus new faces at the safety spots in Jackson Lataimua and Tyson Durant, the latter a transfer from Akron.
How can they slow down Texas Tech’s offense? It might start with the fundamentals. In their win over the Vikings,…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/two-minute-drill-washington-states-020200998.html
Author : The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.
Publish date : 2024-09-07 02:02:00
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